A rule used in 2012 to prevent Ron Paul from having his name placed on the Republican nomination in Tampa, Florida will be discarded to prevent Donald Trump from claiming it this year.
There is no "Rule 40(b)" https://t.co/KeIKIxtjsb
— David M. Drucker (@DavidMDrucker) March 21, 2016
The Washington Examiner reports:
Party officials and knowledgeable sources have confirmed over the past few days that Rule 40(b) doesn’t exist for the purposes of the upcoming convention. That means at this point, the three candidates left in the race, front-runner Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, are all eligible for the nomination, as, possibly, are the Republican contenders who have since suspended their campaigns.
“There will always be a perception problem if people continue to miss—to not explain the process properly. So, the 2012 rules committee writes the rules for the 2012 convention. The 2016 rules committee writes the rules for the 2016 convention,” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus told CNN.
Priebus insisted what the voters decide in the primaries matters, and yet the RNC has sent the message they are not important and the Republican establishment will decide the rules based on the threat Trump presents to the status quo.
Establishment Republicans may argue otherwise, but actions speak louder than words.
Rule 40-B used to require a majority in six states but when Congressman Ron Paul met that goal it was quickly cha… https://t.co/5SD0h14TT4
— Diana West (@diana_west_) March 21, 2016
We’re all about to start learning the finer points of the RNC’s Rule 40(b): https://t.co/f04f61FurH
— Yoni Appelbaum (@YAppelbaum) March 16, 2016