The Delegate Fight: 2012

[Esquire 22]

Thanks Erc for these great posts.  I'm new to the forum so maybe this has already been discussed, but what happens to Gingrich's (or Paul's) delegates if he drops out/ suspends his campaign prior to Tampa?  Are his delegates bound to vote for him on the first ballot or do they get released?

If they are released, maybe a situation emerges where neither Romney or Santorum wins 1144 through primary victories, but still secures a first ballot nomination by "winning" unbound Gingrich/ Paul delegates through old fashioned wheeling and dealing.   There may be a major incentive for this to happen so that the party can avoid the potential embarrassment of a brokered convention.

[Esquire 22]

The whole process is a nightmare.  Do all of the nuances get worked out by the Rules Committee?  If things are really tight and there are all of these crazy contingencies and state law and state party requirements wouldn't it take a tremdous amount of time for the Committee to hear every case or challenge?  Can the Convention go on for longer than four days? 

Also, as an aside (and this is obviously an academic question) what would happen with a "faithless delegate"?  Who actually monitors whether or not a random delegate from Nebraska is bound to vote for Romney on the first and second ballot?  Is there like a post-balloting challenge procedure or something?  If the authority that binds the delegate to his or her convention vote is state law does the Republican party actually rely on a Nebraska statute to decide whether or not Joe Schmo can or cannot vote for the person they want to?