The Patriot Post® · RNC Committee: Convention Rules Won't Change

When it comes to the rules that will govern the Republican National Convention, no news is news. During its meeting in Hollywood, Florida, the RNC’s Standing Committee on Rules decided that it was too late in the game to be changing the rules of the convention. Randy Evans, a committee member from Georgia, told the group Thursday, “We’re basically in the seventh inning of the ballgame, and I don’t think it’s right to change the rules.” Other members of the committee noted this was one of the most closely watched conventions in recent history. Any tweaks to the rules will be seen as the RNC trying to tip the playing field to one candidate or another, and the GOP can ill afford any more of that perception.

This means the Republican Party will head to the July convention imperfect rules and all. The convention will probably operate by House rules, not the more easily understood Roberts Rules of Order. Morton Blackwell, longtime member of the GOP’s rule committee, criticized Rule 40, the rule that dictates only votes for candidates that have won majorities in at least eight states be counted when the delegates cast their convention votes. In 2012, Mitt Romney’s campaign pushed for the rule to block insurgent candidates — at the time Ron Paul — from gaining traction in the gathering of delegates.

Left unchanged, the rules essentially mean John Kasich — who won only his home state of Ohio — is no longer viable. Some of us have known that for a while now. But it also all but prevents the GOP establishment from introducing a white knight candidate to ride in and snatch the nomination from Donald Trump or Ted Cruz. Some may worry this will lead to a candidate who won’t win against the Democrat nominee. But that’s not the point, columnist Jonah Goldberg writes, as the historical goal of the convention was to help the whole party unify around one candidate. That alone will be a monumental task, given the tone of the primary so far.