Heard on the Tom/Toms
Stephen Frank, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views, 7/13/23 www.capoliticalreview.com
California Republican Party (CRP) Chairwoman Jessica Patterson, National Committeeman Shawn Steel and National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon have proposed a by-law change to steal delegates from the winner of every congressional district in California. It’s appropriate that one of proponents has a name that sounds like “steal” because the actual outcome of the proposal is to take delegates from the winner and gives them to the second-place finisher in a process that can only be called “stealing”.
For example, with their “proposal to steal delegates” (PTSD) in effect, suppose a candidate gets 90% of the vote in a California congressional district and the runner-up gets 5% of the vote. With PTSD, the winner gets two delegates and the runner-up gets one. Without it, the candidate with the most votes gets all three.
While Trump is winning poll after poll in California by wide margins—many by 50% or more—the PTSD operates like Lucy stealing the football off the “tee” just as Charley Brown is ready to kick it away. “Lucy” Patterson with the help of her consiglieres on the Executive Committee will take away the candidate football and “steal” delegates from Donald Trump if it passes.
LSD (“Lucy”, “Steal” and Dhillon) say their hands are tied. Rule 16(c)(2) of The Rules of the Republican Party (pdf), adopted by the 2020 Republican National Convention, says:
Any presidential primary, caucus, convention, or other process to elect, select, allocate, or bind delegates to the national convention that occurs prior to March 15 in the year in which the national convention is held shall provide for the allocation of delegates on a proportional basis.
Because California’s Presidential Primary occurs on March 5, 2024, California Republicans are bound by this rule. At least that’s the excuse. With only 10 days prior to the “safe harbor”, why can’t we make the argument that the vote isn’t certified until after March 15th so we comply?
LSD say they are ONLY doing this because California will lose half (83)of our 166 delegates if they don’t. Why? Because Rule 17(a) adopted at the same convention states:
If any state or state Republican Party violates Rule No. 16(c)(2), the number of delegates and the number of alternate delegates to the national convention from that state shall each be reduced by fifty percent (50%).
Giving 69 votes to the runner-up is better than losing 83 delegates. Evidently “or” is not significant as the State of California has already violated Rule 16(c)(2). It’s not clear how the PTSD removes the delegate knife. But if PTSD is implemented, the result will be a divided delegation and undue influence at the National Convention in Milwaukee for someone the majority of our State’s voters didn’t choose.
Patterson, Steel and Dhillon are members of the Republican National Committee (RNC). Did they vote against Rule 17(a) when it was proposed? NO. They voted for the rule fully aware that Governor Moonbeam had signed a bill in 2017 to permanently move the California presidential primary to March in Presidential election years that would always occur before March 15th.
Plus, LSD have known about Rule 17(a) for three years. In that time, the CRP has had six (6) state conventions—at least 4 of them in person—all chaired by “Lucy” Patterson. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why they waiting until the deadline to react. Because the Executive Committee—NOT the California Republican Party delegates—can pass their PTSD on an urgency basis.
Lucy holds the candidate football. She can pass PTSD because she appointed the majority of the Executive Committee. Her delegates like “Party man” Tim O’Reilly will vote the way she says.
We need to punt, rather than pass. Lucy, “Steal” and Dhillon have set us on a collision course to take 69 delegate votes away from California’s polling leader and likely statewide choice of Republicans in California. All that will be left is singing that Beatles hit “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”.
California has more Republican voters than any state in the Union. Yet, our voters will not turnout after seeing their leaders go against their votes. Our Presidential nominee will again fail to win the national popular vote—the 8th time in the last 9 elections.
If PTSD is not the final nail in the coffin of CRP relevance, it’s certainly a dagger aimed at the “heart” of California’s Republican electorate.
Thanks Lucy.
(Periodically the California Political News and Views will publish tidbits of political news, to keep you in the loop of what the pooh bahs know. The phrase “tom/tom’s” comes from my mentor, Lorelei Kinder who never passed a rumor, just called to tell me what she heard on the “TomTom’s”. This column is named in her honor.)
