What is the RNC's doomsday plan?

[Rockefeller GOP]

They don't have one, and they can't stop Trump. They just have to hope that he implodes. If Trump actually wins the nomination, the Republican Party will actually just get worse (just like Goldwater pushed the party to the right, Trump will push it in a different direction). They will become a protectionist party, centered around nationalism and nativism. No longer a party of big business, but a party that serves the interest of the native population and its 'national interest' abroad.

"Worse".

Yes, much worse.

Interesting to see so many on a supposedly centre-left forum standing up for corporatism over representative democracy.

It's still a center-left forum.  TWO people quoted me, and one was a Republican, haha.

[136or142]

Republican doomsday plan? Endorse Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Rince Preibus "All that stuff about her private email server, we were just lying that it mattered."

[bobloblaw]

Let's say it's June 2016 and after a long primary battle it looks like Donald Trump will in fact win either a majority or a strong plurality of delegates. Does the RNC have a plan in place to either try to deny Trump the nomination outright or minimize the damage to the party in this scenario? Does Reince Priebus have people working up a "doomsday plan" right now to respond to a Trump win?

Is there any way the RNC could wrestle the nomination away from Trump at the convention?
Would they try to force an unwanted running mate onto Trump's ticket?
Do any major establishment players back some kind of mainstream conservative third party ticket (knowing this will lose Republicans the election but possibly minimalize down-ballot damage)?
Would most sitting Senators and Governors bite their tongues and endorse Trump, or would many refuse to do so?
Could any state parties refuse to give Trump their ballot line? 

Doomsday would be denying Trump the nomination.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Just accept that Hillary or Biden will be POTUS, and hope that Trump does not take down two many Pubs in Congress with him.

If that's the case, then is there a way for Republicans to minimize the down-ballot damage?

Well, McGovern got creamed, but the Democrats actually gained Senate seats in 1972.  Republican incumbents lost in Maine, Colorado, Delaware, and Iowa, and the open seats in Kentucky and South Dakota flipped to the Democrats.  The GOP's only incumbent defeated was Virginia's William Spong, and open seats in Oklahoma, North Carolina, and New Mexico flipped to the GOP.  The losses in the House were minimal, and could mostly be accounted for by a shift in population from the Northeast to the Sun Belt, and by a couple of open seats in the South electing Republicans instead of conservative Democrats. 

Still, the game plan for Democrats for Nixon worked because the partisan divide of 1972 was not as ideological as the divide today.  It would be hard to create a "Republicans for Hillary" in the Democrats for Nixon mold because Democrats for Nixon abandoned the Congressional Republicans, and I doubt Hillary could get away with forming a "Republicans for . . ." group that would be the main arm of a campaign and blatantly abandon the GOP.

Trump really has the GOP over a barrel, doesn't he?

[Crumpets]

Republican doomsday plan? Endorse Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Rince Preibus "All that stuff about her private email server, we were just lying that it mattered."

If the RNC does this, I will literally send Reince Priebus a bouquet of flowers and give him a kiss if I ever meet him.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Let's say it's June 2016 and after a long primary battle it looks like Donald Trump will in fact win either a majority or a strong plurality of delegates. Does the RNC have a plan in place to either try to deny Trump the nomination outright or minimize the damage to the party in this scenario? Does Reince Priebus have people working up a "doomsday plan" right now to respond to a Trump win?

Is there any way the RNC could wrestle the nomination away from Trump at the convention?
Would they try to force an unwanted running mate onto Trump's ticket?
Do any major establishment players back some kind of mainstream conservative third party ticket (knowing this will lose Republicans the election but possibly minimalize down-ballot damage)?
Would most sitting Senators and Governors bite their tongues and endorse Trump, or would many refuse to do so?
Could any state parties refuse to give Trump their ballot line? 

Doomsday would be denying Trump the nomination.

In the end, that's what I think will happen, but it will be so ugly as to damage the GOP brand in a year where it has a chance of upgrading itself.

There are options.  Individual state parties could name GOP electors not pledged to Trump, but that would probably be only an option in the South and Mountain West, where Trump would probably be strong.  In the Northeast and Midwest, the GOP would be up against it a bit more; those who would be handicapped by Trump in the GOP would probably have to fall back on making statements like "Well, I'm voting the National Ticket, but I'm only campaigning for myself."

I can't emphasize enough how ugly it would be if Trump doesn't implode, but he's denied the nomination if he's the leading vote-getter amongst the GOP field.  I don't know that the GOP could get Trump's supporters to vote for the GOP ticket under those circumstances, and some of them may well actually vote for Hillary to spite Trump's enemies within the GOP.  I am sure that the GOP will do everything to try to stop Trump's nomination, but at a certain point, doing so is worse than living with Trump.

[Cory]

Is there a possibility that Trump could launch an independent campaign as a write-in candidate  if he was swindled out of the nomination at the last second?

His supporters would back him and if he ran a write-in campaign he wouldn't have to worry about ballot access per se. He is also a household name that everyone knows and even if someone missed a letter spelling it voter intent would still be clear.

Is there something I'm missing?

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Is there a possibility that Trump could launch an independent campaign as a write-in candidate  if he was swindled out of the nomination at the last second?

His supporters would back him and if he ran a write-in campaign he wouldn't have to worry about ballot access per se. He is also a household name that everyone knows and even if someone missed a letter spelling it voter intent would still be clear.

Is there something I'm missing?

Many states have deadlines by which you must submit an official declaration that you are accepting write in votes, or else they don't count. Some may be after the convention, I don't know.

[dudeabides]

Let's say it's June 2016 and after a long primary battle it looks like Donald Trump will in fact win either a majority or a strong plurality of delegates. Does the RNC have a plan in place to either try to deny Trump the nomination outright or minimize the damage to the party in this scenario? Does Reince Priebus have people working up a "doomsday plan" right now to respond to a Trump win?

Is there any way the RNC could wrestle the nomination away from Trump at the convention?
Would they try to force an unwanted running mate onto Trump's ticket?
Do any major establishment players back some kind of mainstream conservative third party ticket (knowing this will lose Republicans the election but possibly minimalize down-ballot damage)?
Would most sitting Senators and Governors bite their tongues and endorse Trump, or would many refuse to do so?
Could any state parties refuse to give Trump their ballot line? 

Doomsday would be denying Trump the nomination.

In the end, that's what I think will happen, but it will be so ugly as to damage the GOP brand in a year where it has a chance of upgrading itself.

There are options.  Individual state parties could name GOP electors not pledged to Trump, but that would probably be only an option in the South and Mountain West, where Trump would probably be strong.  In the Northeast and Midwest, the GOP would be up against it a bit more; those who would be handicapped by Trump in the GOP would probably have to fall back on making statements like "Well, I'm voting the National Ticket, but I'm only campaigning for myself."

I can't emphasize enough how ugly it would be if Trump doesn't implode, but he's denied the nomination if he's the leading vote-getter amongst the GOP field.  I don't know that the GOP could get Trump's supporters to vote for the GOP ticket under those circumstances, and some of them may well actually vote for Hillary to spite Trump's enemies within the GOP.  I am sure that the GOP will do everything to try to stop Trump's nomination, but at a certain point, doing so is worse than living with Trump.

The RNC should do what it takes to deny Donald Trump the GOP nomination because Donald Trump is not a real Republican. If he gets 30% of the votes, that means 70% supported someone else.

Donald Trump is for direct talks with terrorists who fund our enemies. His response to 57 million murdered fetuses is to continue to fund an abortion provider, he has no respect for human life. He is for socialized medicine and rationing. He is for the government seizing private property. He is for economic stimulus. He is against free trade and therefore jobs that pay well. He wants to ban "assault" weapons as opposed to allowing state's to decide how best to combat crime. He wants to raise taxes and increase federal spending. My point: there is not a dime's worth of difference between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on issues other than illegal immigration. So the RNC is justified in standing for the majority of Republicans who want to give Americans a choice in this election.

I can't emphasize enough how great it would be to see this idiot with an ego implode, it would be beautiful. The RNC needs to ensure Trump loses.

[Orthogonian Society Treasurer]

Let's say it's June 2016 and after a long primary battle it looks like Donald Trump will in fact win either a majority or a strong plurality of delegates. Does the RNC have a plan in place to either try to deny Trump the nomination outright or minimize the damage to the party in this scenario? Does Reince Priebus have people working up a "doomsday plan" right now to respond to a Trump win?

Is there any way the RNC could wrestle the nomination away from Trump at the convention?
Would they try to force an unwanted running mate onto Trump's ticket?
Do any major establishment players back some kind of mainstream conservative third party ticket (knowing this will lose Republicans the election but possibly minimalize down-ballot damage)?
Would most sitting Senators and Governors bite their tongues and endorse Trump, or would many refuse to do so?
Could any state parties refuse to give Trump their ballot line? 

Doomsday would be denying Trump the nomination.

In the end, that's what I think will happen, but it will be so ugly as to damage the GOP brand in a year where it has a chance of upgrading itself.

There are options.  Individual state parties could name GOP electors not pledged to Trump, but that would probably be only an option in the South and Mountain West, where Trump would probably be strong.  In the Northeast and Midwest, the GOP would be up against it a bit more; those who would be handicapped by Trump in the GOP would probably have to fall back on making statements like "Well, I'm voting the National Ticket, but I'm only campaigning for myself."

I can't emphasize enough how ugly it would be if Trump doesn't implode, but he's denied the nomination if he's the leading vote-getter amongst the GOP field.  I don't know that the GOP could get Trump's supporters to vote for the GOP ticket under those circumstances, and some of them may well actually vote for Hillary to spite Trump's enemies within the GOP.  I am sure that the GOP will do everything to try to stop Trump's nomination, but at a certain point, doing so is worse than living with Trump.

The RNC should do what it takes to deny Donald Trump the GOP nomination because Donald Trump is not a real Republican.

If your party registration lists you as a Republican, you're a Republican.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Priebus appoints a whole new slew of super delegates the day before the convention that all vote against Trump at the convention. It will be too late to get on many state ballots as an independent, and the Libertarian/Green/Constitution/Justice nominees will likely be already selected, so Trump will be out of luck.

That would kill the GOP deader than Trump could ever make it. 

Republican - the choice of voters who like to be certain that their opinion doesn't matter!

[HAnnA MArin County]

If the RNC/establishment denies Trump the nomination (should he win), it will just further infuriate his supporters to either not vote, vote for Hillary, or write in his name. I'd bet almost all of his supporters are supporting him only because he's an outsider and not a career politician. His supporters are steadfast in their devotion to him, reminiscent of the Tea Party movement, anti-Washington and anti-establishment. He offers little to no substantive policy positions and the more things he says which are deemed "offensive" and "controversial," the more supporters he gains. The Republican Party created the beast that is Donald Trump with all the birther nonsense, and now they don't know how to deal with him. He used to be a kingmaker when he endorsed a candidate, and now it seems as though those same politicians are trying to throw him under the bus. In Donald's defense, that would upset me too. I'm sure Reince Priebus knows (or should know) that denying Trump the nomination should he clinch it would be disastrous to the party in the general election. Best bet for Republicans is just to go after him on policy and ignore all the personal attacks he spews on them and just hope that he implodes. Sometimes the best way to deal with a pest is to ignore it. Trump, like Sarah Palin, is a media attention whore celebrity who's all talk and no walk.

Not sure why so many Democrats are joining the establishment Republicans in condemning Trump and dismissing him as a sideshow clown since we should hope that he gets the nomination via the Claire McCaskill strategy, unless that's why they're doing it (so that Trump's supporters can link the establishment Republicans to Democrats who are "conspiring" to "silence" him and he can tap into that angry "Washington vs. outsider" vein).

[Fuzzy Bear]

If the RNC/establishment denies Trump the nomination (should he win), it will just further infuriate his supporters to either not vote, vote for Hillary, or write in his name. I'd bet almost all of his supporters are supporting him only because he's an outsider and not a career politician. His supporters are steadfast in their devotion to him, reminiscent of the Tea Party movement, anti-Washington and anti-establishment. He offers little to no substantive policy positions and the more things he says which are deemed "offensive" and "controversial," the more supporters he gains. The Republican Party created the beast that is Donald Trump with all the birther nonsense, and now they don't know how to deal with him. He used to be a kingmaker when he endorsed a candidate, and now it seems as though those same politicians are trying to throw him under the bus. In Donald's defense, that would upset me too. I'm sure Reince Priebus knows (or should know) that denying Trump the nomination should he clinch it would be disastrous to the party in the general election. Best bet for Republicans is just to go after him on policy and ignore all the personal attacks he spews on them and just hope that he implodes. Sometimes the best way to deal with a pest is to ignore it. Trump, like Sarah Palin, is a media attention whore celebrity who's all talk and no walk.

Not sure why so many Democrats are joining the establishment Republicans in condemning Trump and dismissing him as a sideshow clown since we should hope that he gets the nomination via the Claire McCaskill strategy, unless that's why they're doing it (so that Trump's supporters can link the establishment Republicans to Democrats who are "conspiring" to "silence" him and he can tap into that angry "Washington vs. outsider" vein).

It's too late for the "best bet".  Had the crowd treated Trump like any other candidate, he may well have been dispatched to the kiddie table by now.  Instead, Trump is DEFINING this year's Presidential race.  In the words of Casey Stengel, "Who woulda thunk it?"

Where the above poster is wrong is on the policy issues.  Trump is succeeding  because he IS advocating specific policies.  The specific policies he advocates give him a unique niche within the GOP, and it's a niche that there was/is a demand for.  He's a protectionist/nationalist Republican, a "paleoconservative" in a party which harbors a lot of such folks, but whose candidates rarely reflect their views.