Movement to unbind the delegates comes up one short
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Colorado delegate Kendal Unruh and the Colorado delegation on the floor of the national convention.
July 19, 2016
By Charles Aull
A movement to unbind the delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention, at least in part to deny Donald Trump the party's nomination, made a final stand on Monday afternoon but came up short.
One short, to be exact.
By 3:00 pm—about two hours into the convention's first business session—reports had begun circulating that the movement had not only laid the groundwork to force a rare parliamentary procedure on the convention floor with the potential to embarrass the Trump campaign and throw the event's televised proceedings—and timing—into chaos; but the movement itself was rumored to have grown to include members of the powerful convention Rules Committee whose proposals had been squashed on Thursday night by an alliance of pro-Trump and allied party regulars.
The plan was complex. In short, it called for a delegate-by-delegate roll call vote on the official convention rules.
The convention rules—which are rewritten every four years at the start of each national convention—had been drafted and approved on Thursday in a contentious meeting of the Rules Committee, a 112-member body consisting of one male and one female delegate from each state and territorial delegation. In the rules meeting, anti-Trump committee members had sought to pass a rule that would have allowed delegates to vote for candidates other than the one to whom they were bound by the results of their state's primary election or caucus if such a vote violated their conscience. Had the amendment passed, delegates bound to Trump could, in theory, choose to vote for a different candidate at the convention, which in turn could cause Trump to lose nomination. The amendment, however, failed in a voice vote, and the committee proceeded to amend rules that reinforced the binding of delegates instead of loosening them.
So what does this have to do with a roll-call vote?
Typically, voting at the convention on procedural issues—like the adoption of the rules package—takes place by a voice vote. Interpreting voice votes, however, can be subjective, which is one reason why the anti-Trump delegates pushed for a roll-call. A second advantage to this approach for the unbinding movement was the fact that it would have unfolded slowly and publicly, which the Trump campaign, seeking to project an image of party unity at the convention, hoped to avoid. Thirdly, there was the possibility that a roll-call vote could have exposed a serious enough lack of support for the rules package among the delegates to force a full reconsideration of the entire package, which potentially could have provided the breathing room needed for the anti-Trump delegates to reenergize their efforts to unbind the delegates.
In order to trigger a roll-call vote on the convention floor, two things needed to happen. As laid out in Rule 39 of the Rules of the Republican Party, delegates first needed to gather signatures from a majority of the delegates in at least seven states and submit those signatures to the secretary of the convention. Second, the convention chair must formally recognize a delegate on the floor, who then must motion for the roll call vote.
Both of these things seemed to have happened, but then one fell through.
Near 4:30 pm, Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas, serving in place of the temporary chair, presented the rules package for approval from the convention body. The reaction from the delegates was chaotic—a roar of indiscernible ayes and nays. Womack ruled in the ayes' favor and declared the package approved, a decision that was immediately met with even more intense protests from the floor. Delegates from the Colorado and Texas delegations stood on chairs, as delegates across the arena hall chanted "roll call vote" and yelled "shame."
Womack left the stage only to return moments later to call for a second vote. The response was similar to the first, yet this time the chair recognized Utah delegation chairman Phil Wright who formally motioned for a roll-call vote. Womack assented and responded that signatures had been submitted from majorities from nine delegations—reportedly, Utah, Colorado, Washington, Virginia, Minnesota, Wyoming, Maine, Iowa, and Washington, D.C.—but then noted that three states had withdrawn, leaving the anti-Trump movement one state short. Womack declared the support "insufficient." Moments later, the package was formally approved, and the chair moved on with the convention's business.
Protests followed once again, with chants of "roll-call vote" and "free to vote" ringing throughout the arena. Colorado delegate Kendal Unruh, a vocal opponent of Trump and key player in the movement to deny him the nomination, stood atop her chair and encouraged the dissenters.
In many areas of the convention floor, the mood was a combination of sheer anger and disbelief. One delegate from Texas lamented that this was "his generation of Republicans" as others threw their credentials down on the floor. Another delegate just called it "bullshit."
But in other quarters of the arena, away from the pro-Cruz Texas and Colorado delegations, attitudes were enthusiastic. From the guest sections could be heard shouts of "We want Trump," which were echoed by supporting delegates on the floor, and "USA, USA!"
What's next for the conservative anti-Trumpers is hard to say. A common refrain amongst the group, which has grabbed headlines for the past three months, has been that "Trump's not the nominee until he's the nominee," perhaps an indicator that they have saved one final instance of disruption for when Trump's name is actually on the convention ballot later tonight. But the rules package adopted in Monday's business session may have limited them to only a few options other than outright protest.
See also
- Rules Committee member from Alaska says debate lacked honesty
- The GOP establishment and Trump embrace
- RNC Rules Committee, 2016
- The Republican Platform and RNC Platform Committee, 2016
- Republican National Convention, 2016
- Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
