A Federal judge in Virginia has just ruled that VA delegates are free to vote any way they want at the Republican convention. He has dissolved the requirement under state law for delegates to vote the way the primary election turned out.
Wow. If this decision stands, the convention will be strange, very strange.
The convention delegates are all old Republican hands. Everyone wants to go to the convention, it's a blast. Hell, my mother got to be a delegate to the 1964 convention. Needless to say, the plum of going to the convention is handed out as a perk to solid Republicans by various strange party systems, a different system for each state. The lucky delegates were then informed that they had to vote this way or that way. And all the delegates are old Republican people. Some office holders, some party workers, some big donors, some activists, but all members of the Republican establishment.
And the Republican establishment doesn't like The Donald. If the delegates are told they can vote their consciences, a lot of em will vote against Trump. Nobody knows who they would vote for, but someone will turn up.
The Republican National Committee doesn't like this idea at all. They have rightly figured that the dyed in the wool Trump voters are absolutely necessary for winning. Without the Trump voters, Hillary wins. So opening the door to dumping Trump is opening the door to losing big. Nobody is sure that Trump can win, but they know that without Trump they loose. The RNC understands this. Not sure if the Republican establishment understands it.
The Wall Street Journal sees this as a big issue. They ran an editorial about it today. They were sorta whistling past the grave yard, opining that Trump would make it even if all the delegates are unbound. Maybe, but I wouldn't bet on it. There is a lotta NeverTrump sentiment out there.
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