Post-Trump "Anti-McGovern-Frasier" Reforms

[Erc]

So, let's say, as is looking increasingly likely, that Trump wins the nomination---and, for the sake of the argument, that he loses the general and it's not a nailbiter.

What does the Republican party do after this to prevent this sort of disaster from happening again in a future cycle?

Can they even do so, with Trump supporters having a majority at the convention? I don't know enough about the internal workings of the Republican party, here.  The Republicans passed a lot of anti-Paul rules after 2012, but that was with Romney securely in control.

Assuming they can, what wold they do?

• Shake up the calendar, try to evict NH from the opening lineup?  
• Reintroduce superdelegates on a grand scale to put a brake on the process?  
• If Trump's wins in WTA states are blamed, do they enforce proportionality across the board, and maybe even lower the maximum threshold from 20% to 15%?
• Seriously modify the debate schedule?
• Dismiss Trump as an eighty-year-itch and do nothing beyond minor changes?

[Sumner 1868]

Do you mean returning to a party boss system without primaries? Because that would not be well-received.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Add Superdelegates like the dems, make sure only top 3 in national polls in each state gets on the primary ballot

[ElectionsGuy]

Add Superdelegates like the dems, make sure only top 3 in national polls in each state gets on the primary ballot

That's not democracy.

[Prince of Salem]

Add Superdelegates like the dems, make sure only top 3 in national polls in each state gets on the primary ballot

That's not democracy.

That doesn't mean they can't do that

[Intell]

Add Superdelegates like the dems, make sure only top 3 in national polls in each state gets on the primary ballot

Do you really want to remove the very few things that the republicans are better at then the democrats at?

[Erc]

Add Superdelegates like the dems, make sure only top 3 in national polls in each state gets on the primary ballot

The latter would presumably be illegal and unfeasible for a variety of reasons, but the forrmer could be a distinct possibility.

Another possibility: some sort of alternate voting scheme (IRV, etc.), though it's arguable (at best) whether that would have hurt Trump this time around.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Add Superdelegates like the dems, make sure only top 3 in national polls in each state gets on the primary ballot

That's not democracy.

Many countries have/had a democracy which governments are oppressive. We need safeguards in a democracy to make sure authoritarians donts get elected

[Nichlemn]

The Republican Party (well, any party) is a private organisation and free to select its candidates in any way it likes. Primary elections are the exception, not the norm, around the world. Lots of countries that have indisputable democratic credentials have major parties which nominate candidates in ways that are not especially democratic.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Both parties can to some extend not recognize or sideline certain challengers. It happened to Larry Agran in the 1992 Democratic primaries, for example.

[Orser67]

It has less to do with Trump, but Nevada stands a good chance of losing its place in the GOP calendar. It would make sense for the GOP to replace Nevada with another Western state that's more establishment-friendly, though I don't know what state that would be. The GOP could also try to move some of the blue and swing states up in the calendar, e.g. Pennsylvania (no bias here or anything).

[/]

Add Superdelegates like the dems, make sure only top 3 in national polls in each state gets on the primary ballot

That's not democracy.

And the American primary system is?

[ShadowRocket]

I would think introducing super delegates would be that first place to start. Something like that would probably give an establishment candidate a boost. Ditching winner-take-all and going with completely proportional allocation could be the other fix.

[James Bond 007]

The states need to pass laws stating people can't cross over in the primaries, but that's not the big issue.  What the bigger issue is is that the Republicans need to respect the will of the people starting with who wins the primaries.  It seems like many establishment Republicans are only afraid of losing power and influence which is why we need term limits and campaign finance reform.  I understand there's alot of things about Trump's personality that could chase people away, but his "tell it like it is" strategy seems to be working so far and could carry over to the general.

[bagelman]

The states need to pass laws stating people can't cross over in the primaries

Are you saying that this is something they might try to do to give a boost to establishment candidates, or is this something you actually want? Because if it's the latter then your opinion is wrong. If it's the former then it would help stop situations where members of the opposite party vote for the candidate further away from the party establishment or base but I think such voting is exaggerated.

[James Bond 007]

The states need to pass laws stating people can't cross over in the primaries

Are you saying that this is something they might try to do to give a boost to establishment candidates, or is this something you actually want? Because if it's the latter then your opinion is wrong. If it's the former then it would help stop situations where members of the opposite party vote for the candidate further away from the party establishment or base but I think such voting is exaggerated.

We need to stop people from screwing up the other party's primaries.

[bagelman]

The states need to pass laws stating people can't cross over in the primaries

Are you saying that this is something they might try to do to give a boost to establishment candidates, or is this something you actually want? Because if it's the latter then your opinion is wrong. If it's the former then it would help stop situations where members of the opposite party vote for the candidate further away from the party establishment or base but I think such voting is exaggerated.

We need to stop people from screwing up the other party's primaries.

1. That doesn't happen nearly as much as you might think it does

2. I deserve the freedom to vote for whoever the hell I want in the primaries regardless or party