In Vermont we’re having an early spring and maybe the GOP is working on their own early fall. Even as Romney racks up the delegates he can’t quite dispatch his closest rivals. Chances are slim even less than slim according to pundits but there is talk, lots of talk of a brokered Republican Convention. When asked about this Fox News' Sarah Palin said
“I wouldn’t be afraid of that” [perhaps seeing it more in terms of her own celebrity career she added] it was “continuation of a process… that would perhaps be very good,”
Onetime RNC chairman Governor Haley Barbour admits that the long undecided primary could “leave scars” but good ol’ Haley knows how to make a little lemonade:
“If it is a convention where we get there with nobody having the vote, [that is] not necessarily all bad.”
Beyond the jump:An energizing train wreck
The Hill.com found some insiders that think it would not be as Mike Huckabee fears “nothing less than a train wreck” but actually energize the party. Some of the speculation is coming from those unaligned with a specific candidate but opposed to Romney. The drama and intrigue of a brokered convention and accompanying battles would energize and mesmerize the broader public they claim. It certainly wouldn’t hurt TV news ratings either.
“Conventions are just hideously boring these days and have become more so, gradually, over the course of my lifetime,” Republican strategist Curt Anderson told The Hill. A brokered convention, he added, “could make for an actual event that would interest people.”
Keith Appell also held out the possibility that a new candidate could come forward at the convention, presenting themselves as a ‘unity’ choice, capable of bringing together supporters of both Romney and Santorum. Names like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and even Palin herself have been mentioned.
Romney has a good stock of delegates and will gather more this Tuesday but what Democrat isn’t energized at the thought of a brokered Republican convention? It has been a long time since the Republican’s last brokered convention in 1976. Back when Ronald the Reagan battled and lost the nomination to President Gerald “Whip Inflation Now” Ford. Some Republicans may remember President Ford went on to lead his energized party to defeat.
and one of those giant hand thingies!
A brokered convention that nominates someone who has not been active in the primaries could be a real boost to the GOP.
Right now, all of the contenders are suffering from attacks on each other. They are also amassing hours and hours of really stupid and/or really extreme comments that could come back to haunt them in the general.
Trotting out a new nominee at the end of the process has downsides, for sure. But jettisoning all the baggage that the active primary candidates have accumulated might be worth it.