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The Establishments war on Donald Trump Title: GOP rules fight caps weekend in politics GOP rules fight caps weekend in politics By Eric Bradner Washington (CNN)In an undecided Republican nominating contest, every single rule and procedure looks to be hotly contested -- a reality that came into clearer view over the weekend. After Ted Cruz picked up all 14 delegates at Wyoming's Republican convention, Donald Trump amped up his complaints about a process he's called "rigged." Meanwhile, Republican National Committee members' behind-the-scenes fight over a rules change that could make it harder for a "white knight" to ride in at the last minute erupted Sunday. But immediately before all the candidates is the looming -- and likely very consequential -- showdown in New York. For Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are both playing the home state card. Sanders capped his Empire State campaigning with a Prospect Park rally and a record crowd, while Clinton -- who leads in the polls -- spent time in Washington Heights alongside New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and grooving to Latin beats with state lawmakers. On the Republican side, Trump hopes to quash the competition and secure as many of the 95 delegates as he can to continue his march to the nomination. Here are the highlights of the weekend in politics: Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Sunday pushed back against Donald Trump's assertion that the nominating process is "rigged" to block him. Priebus dismissed Trump's comments as "rhetoric" and "hyperbole" in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union." He said: "Since I know what the truth is, I don't really worry about it because I know what is right and I know what is wrong." Priebus has been playing defense for more than a week, beating back charges from Donald Trump that the party has "rigged" the nominating fight against him. Trump was at it again Sunday, tweeting: "Lyin' Ted Cruz can't get votes (I am millions ahead of him) so he has to get his delegates from the Republican bosses. It won't work!" And Trump told The Washington Post in an interview published Sunday, he's not sure he'll keep Priebus as chairman of the Republican National Committee if he becomes the nominee. "I don't know. I haven't made the determination," he said Sunday. As the Trump-Priebus fight played out in public, top Republican National Committee members were fighting behind the scenes shortly before their critical meeting in Florida later this week. It's all over the rules that will govern the GOP's July convention in Cleveland, and when they'll be set. Priebus wants to delay any rules changes for now. But RNC Rules Chairman Bruce Ash, who is part of a group of conservatives who want to openly debate rules changes when they meet in a few days, on Saturday accused the party's top lawyer, John Ryder, of attempting to stifle that debate and a "breach of trust" in an email obtained by CNN. Ryder, who is supporting Priebus' efforts, replied that it had been a misunderstanding. He cautioned in a reply email that "it is important that the RNC not take action that can be interpreted as attempting to favor one candidate or another ... Major changes now are dangerous and not a good idea, in my humble opinion." At the center of the fight is a push by conservatives on the Republican National Committee to have Robert's Rules of Order govern the convention instead of the rules of the U.S. House. It sounds arcane, but conservative RNC members argue the change is needed to prevent party establishment figures from pushing through someone like House Speaker Paul Ryan in the convention. Over the weekend, the fight for delegates continued in Georgia, where the Trump campaign battled the Cruz campaign for supporters, despite winning the Georgia Republican primary on Super Tuesday. In New York's hotly contested primary, Trump -- who polls have shown topping 50% support in the state -- has a chance to put weeks of struggles over delegate losses, self-made controversies and staffing behind him with a big win. He's deployed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's own words against him, repeatedly highlighting Cruz's smackdown of "New York values," giving the Texas senator little room to grow in the state. [snip] Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread |
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