Friday, April 15, 2016

THE DEATH OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY?!?


HAHA symbolism.

In my last post about Mr. Trump, I mentioned I would soon discuss the possibility of a split vote within the Republican party.

See, the ongoing caucuses are an attempt by the Republicans and Democrats to determine which prominent members of their party should represent them in the presidential election. The party leaders could just choose their candidate themselves, but they instead seek the opinions of the majority. The thing is, if no one potential candidate gains enough of a majority vote within the political party, then we have what's called a 'brokered convention.' 

In essence, a brokered convention could mean that anyone in the party may be chosen to run for president, regardless of who was running in the race previous. The leaders of the party may pick a candidate from among the currently running candidates, or they may choose someone who hasn't participated in the race at all previously.

My description dumbs down the subtleties of brokered conventions, but it serves my purposes here.

Now consider that the leaders of the Republican party don't particularly like Trump. Want proof? Check this out. Or this. Or that. Or even this. There are many people at the top of the GOP who want Trump out.

The thing is, Trump fans are numerous and rabid. They want their man to win. And Trump has the power and money to continue campaigning under the banner of a third party. The media certainly love him, and they won't forget about him even if he's no longer the Republican candidate.

The thing is, people participating in the Republican caucuses are registered as Republicans. So what happens when a large chunk of registered Republican voters switch over to Donald Trump's third party?

This Q&A from Quora sums up the issue nicely. Let's just make things simple. Let's say that, in a typical election, 40% of Democrats always vote Democrat and 40% of Republicans always vote Republican. The remaining 20% remains undecided until the election.

But let's say Trump steals 50% of Republican party voters. The Democrats would still get their 40%, but with Trump supporters, Republicans, and undecided voters getting 20% of the overall vote each ... Odds are, the Democratic party has already won the election.

What if Trump's third party ends up creaming the Republican nominee in the final election? Are we witnessing the death of the Republican party and the birth of the Trump party?

Even worse, are we looking at a country that is governed by one majority political party?

It's no secret I don't like the bipartisan system, but a uni-partisan system is even more terrifying. And quite frankly, I don't care which party gains control of the nation. I don't want any of them to have that kind of power.

If you're curious to read my other entries in my series on Donald Trump, check these links:

Stop Talking About Donald Trump

Why Donald Trump Will Not Win

No comments:

Post a Comment