I’m disappointed but fascinated all the same to
watch the insane lengths to which some hallucinating Republican morons will go
to get Hillary Clinton elected President of the United States simply because
they don’t like Donald Trump. Politics is indeed a blood sport and many
participants are willing to dishonestly abase and embarrass themselves in
public if that will satisfy their impossible fantasies.
Now there are reportedly hundreds of delegates to
the Republican convention who openly seek to disavow their solemn legal obligation
to vote for Trump on the first ballot. In short, they think they can get away
with nullifying the voting results in the many state primary contests that
Trump won. They want to stiff the voters in their own party who are relying on
them to honestly perform their legal duties.
Trump won Virginia's primary in March. Carroll B.
Correll, a Virginia delegate to the convention has actually filed a class-action
lawsuit challenging
his state law that commits him to backing the presumptive nominee. This moron served
as a campaign co-chairman for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. He’s still sore because his
candidate lost so he’s trying to weasel out on his commitment to his own Party.
How this guy found an attorney to bring on this laughingly
frivolous case is beyond me, but he apparently found a disreputable one. They’re
out there. His complaint states that: “Correll believes that Donald Trump is
unfit to serve as President of the United States and that voting for Donald
Trump would therefore violate Correll’s conscience. Accordingly, Correll will
not vote for Donald Trump on the first ballot, or any other ballot, at the
national convention.”
Now if Correll came to me and said that, I’d tell him that he
has a simple remedy. Just resign his commission as a delegate, don’t go to the
convention, and don’t vote for Trump or anyone else. Let someone who has a
modicum of human integrity take his place. It’s that simple. But he’s not
interested in integrity; he wants to be a weasel and vote for Cruz even though
Cruz has lost and he’s obligated by Virginia law to vote for Trump.
That law provides in pertinent part: delegates are
bound to vote on the first ballot for the candidate receiving the most votes in
the primary “unless that candidate releases those delegates and alternates
from such vote.” Correll claims this violates his First Amendment rights.
So he’s seeking an injunction to exempt him from criminal penalties under
Virginia law or possible retaliatory litigation by Trump for backing another candidate
on the first ballot.
He knew what the law was when he sought to become a
delegate. He knew exactly what his obligations would be. He enjoys no First
Amendment right to be a delegate. You weren’t, for example, selected as a
delegate. Does that violate your First Amendment rights? Hell no!
Correll’s claim is baseless, groundless; ridiculous
on its face. It’s frivolous. His lawsuit should be summarily dismissed. He
should be financially sanctioned. His attorney should be disciplined by the bar
and have his license to practice law revoked.
There should be consequences for bringing frivolous
lawsuits and engaging in dump Trump hallucinations.
I guess you are correct, if by "solemn legal obligation" you mean "obligation which is non-existent under the rules as they are, said rules being subject to modification or suspension at will by the delegates."
ReplyDeleteIf there's something else you mean by "solemn legal obligation," not so much.
"delegates are bound to vote on the first ballot for the candidate receiving the most votes in the primary"
DeleteNo, they are not. IF they vote, they are bound to vote for said candidate, but they are not bound to vote at all. There's nothing whatsoever in the GOP convention rules requiring them to vote.
By “solemn legal obligation” I mean a serious duty as provided by Virginia law to do the will of the majority of the voters in the primary who want Trump to be the nominee. As a delegate, he is not a free agent who can do as he pleases. He’s been delegated by his Party to vote for the winner of the primary on the first ballot. The voters have delegated the obligation to him; are relying on him, and he is bound to comply. Otherwise a primary contest win would amount to naught and the voters would be stiffed. He therefore should man up, do his duty to the voters, or resign and let someone else do it.
DeleteTim,
DeleteThe Republican National Convention is not subject to Virginia law. It's only subject to the Republican National Committee's convention rules, which the delegates themselves re-ratify and sometimes re-write every four years and which they are free, like any parliamentary body, to suspend.
Is the Republican Party subject to the Federal Election Laws?
DeleteYes, the Republican Party is presumably subject to the Federal election laws. I'll be surprised if you find any federal election law trying to tell them how to run their conventions, though.
DeleteThe Virginia law doesn't dictate how the GOP convention is run. It applies only to the Virginia delegation and seeks to prevent fraud against Virginia primary voters.
DeleteI just went through Virginia's election laws and found nothing whatsoever applying to national convention delegates. ELECTORS are required to vote for the nominee chosen by the national convention, but I found not a word on how delegates to the national convention are required to vote. The convention sets its own rules.
DeleteTom has it... There is no law that can bind the convention delegates, only party rules apply.
ReplyDelete2014 Virginia Code
ReplyDeleteTitle 24.2 - Elections
§ 24.2-545. Presidential primary
D. The State Board shall certify the results of the presidential primary to the state chairman. If the party has determined that its delegates and alternates will be selected pursuant to the primary, the slate of delegates and alternates of the candidate receiving the most votes in the primary shall be deemed elected by the state party unless the party has determined another method for allocation of delegates and alternates. If the party has determined to use another method for selecting delegates and alternates, those delegates and alternates shall be bound to vote on the first ballot at the national convention for the candidate receiving the most votes in the primary unless that candidate releases those delegates and alternates from such vote.
No, Tom doesn't have it.
Cool.
DeleteBut I just noticed that the Republican National Convention is in Cleveland. And that Cleveland isn't in Virginia. Do Virginia's delegates have to go by Virginia's traffic laws instead of Ohio's as well?
It matters not whether the convention is in Cleveland OH, or Poughkeepsie NY. Delegates from VA are bound to follow VA law. It ain't about traffic. It's about the results of the VA primary election.
ReplyDeleteThe Republican National Convention doesn't operate under Virginia law. It operates under the rules of the Republican Party, which you can find at:
ReplyDeletehttps://s3.amazonaws.com/prod-static-ngop-pbl/docs/Rules_of_the_Republican+Party_FINAL_S14090314.pdf
As I note in my own latest column, those rules as written allow for a delegate revolt -- and even if they didn't, they provide for their own suspension at the will of the delegates.
Seems to me that Virginia's legislature might want to invite King Canute in for a seminar.
I say that Correll is going to lose his lawsuit. Do you want to bet?
ReplyDelete