Trump should follow rules
When a candidate seeks the nomination of his or her party for office, they implicitly agree to the rules of the game. Not so, of course, with Donald Trump, the would be potentate in chief who has always made the rules, not having to abide by what others have decreed.
The Republican Party, which solely determines the criteria for an individual to snag its presidential nomination, mandates that in order to win on the first ballot, the contender must secure not the greatest number of votes, but a majority of the delegates: in this case, 1,237.
Even a man so lacking in intellect, reason, and common sense as Mr. Trump recognizes that it is now virtually impossible for him to secure the requisite number of delegates to sew up the nomination on the first ballot and that a contested convention is highly likely.
Perhaps his advisers have told him so. Consequently, he is now hysterically charging that individuals are plotting to “steal” the nomination from him and he implicitly promises retaliation, that there will be “trouble” if he does not emerge from Cleveland a winner, serving to encourage “riots.”
It is unfortunate for Trump that the Secret Service has decreed that firearms will not be permitted at the convention, a nutty idea which was not surprisingly embraced by the gun party, the GOP. If attendees could bring guns with them to the event, they could get a strong boost in fomenting mayhem in the streets when Trump goes down to defeat.
Among all of the outrageous and offensive things Donald Trump has done, near the top of the list is his demand that he be nominated despite not having the required number of delegates. He and his fellow hater, Ted Cruz, have done so much damage to the party that not even a unifier like John Kasich will be able to put the pieces together and be competitive in the general election.
The only way the Democrats could lose in November would be to offer Democratic Socialist, Vermont U. S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, as its standard-bearer. Party leaders are not going to allow that to happen. Despite all of her warts, Hillary Clinton is the individual who is all but certain to be our next president as the Republican Party has committed suicide.
Oren M. Spiegler is a resident of Upper St. Clair.