Monday morning, more than 60 leaders of conservative and grass roots organizations sent a letter to RNC Chair Reince Priebus, urging him to consider Rules changes that would reverse a power-grab by the national party at the convention in Tampa. In August, the RNC adopted a number of rules changes that stripped state parties of their control of convention delegates, among other changes. The rules changes further centralized control over the nominating process for the Presidency. They would give DC greater control over picking the GOP nominee.
Many of the changes to the RNC rules adopted in Tampa may seem innocuous, but their effect would shorten the presidential primary and strengthen the position of any front-runner at the beginning of the contest. They would eliminate the proportional allocation of delegates in early primaries and limit the candidates whose names could be offered at the convention for the nomination. It would also allow stripping state-elected convention delegates of their voting rights.
The letter reads in part:
Conservatism and the Reagan coalition that created the modern Republican Party represents the fusion of economic conservatives, social conservatives, and national security conservatives. Rather than allowing political consultants and other elite minorities to shed our principles in the name of political expediency, we must reaffirm our commitment to these timeless American principles and the work that it will take to again make them relevant to a majority of our citizens.
The signers of the letter cover the breadth of the conservative and grass roots base of the party. They seek to reverse the recently adopted rules at the upcoming Spring meeting of the RNC, to ensure that all voices in the party have a role in selecting its Presidential candidate.
Engaging and winning a competitive primary does not drain a nominee of resources or energy, as many in DC contend. Rather, it makes the nominee stronger, having been forced to build a broad coalition from all wings of the party. A candidate who is successful at that is well on their way to building a winning general election coalition.
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