# Republican National Convention - A Meltdown in Progress? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 20, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084 "2012-08-20T19:33:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084/81 "2012-08-21T23:14:10Z")
The Convention Chair then showed the crowd a couple of fish wrapped in a delegate’s ballot. “Its a Republican message. Ron Paul sleeps with the fishes…” ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084/82 "2012-08-22T00:38:58Z")
> [@babygoat666](#): > > I’m not sure where you’re getting that from what I wrote. I wanted to know how you thought that RP winning all these delegates where he got a miniscule percentage of the vote in the primary/caucus is democratic. It’s the exact opposite. No one but a few thousand people on the internet want Ron Paul to be president. A democracy can only function when the rules set forth by the authority are followed. The rules in these states provided for what was basically a “straw vote”. The results of that vote were to be among the criteria for selecting the delegates that would represent the state at the national convention. These rules were published and made available to the public. Each person participating in the process had the right to cast a vote for the delegates of his or her choice. In what way was the process undemocratic? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084/83 "2012-08-22T01:18:29Z")
Possibly he feels it’s undemocratic that the straw votes were only _ **among** _ the criteria for apportioning delegates to the convention, rather than _ **the** _ criterion. Feel free to file my prior post under “Statements That Are Accurate Without Being Germane.” ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084/84 "2012-08-22T07:06:26Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > A democracy can only function when the rules set forth by the authority are followed. The rules in these states provided for what was basically a “straw vote”. The results of that vote were to be among the criteria for selecting the delegates that would represent the state at the national convention. These rules were published and made available to the public. > > Each person participating in the process had the right to cast a vote for the delegates of his or her choice. In what way was the process undemocratic? How do you feel about faithless electors? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084/85 "2012-08-22T12:15:54Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > The ad hominem attacks don’t help the cause. Unless you’re saying he floats because he’s full of hot air. [del]If they cone all of the highways out of town down to one lane, like Christie does in NJ, how will they ever get out of the path of the… [/del] Go, Isaac, Go…! ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084/86 "2012-08-22T12:28:47Z")
Those heathens aren’t real citizens. ---
**Author:** ![csupp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@csupp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/csupp)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084/87 "2012-08-22T19:23:38Z")
[Irony? The GOP will tout “We Built This” at an RNC held at an arena mostly paid for with public funds.](http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/08/gop-will-tout-we-built-arena-built-public-funds/56059) ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084/88 "2012-08-23T16:25:34Z")
And if that wasn’t bad enough, they’ve now adopted [Todd Akin’s position on abortions](http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/g-o-p-approves-strict-anti-abortion-language-in-party-platform/?ref=politics) as part of the national platform. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084/89 "2012-08-23T17:58:17Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > And if that wasn’t bad enough, they’ve now adopted [Todd Akin’s position on abortions](http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/g-o-p-approves-strict-anti-abortion-language-in-party-platform/?ref=politics) as part of the national platform. [QUOTE=The Republican Party] “Faithful to the ‘self-evident’ truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed,” said the draft platform language approved Tuesday, which was first reported by CNN. [/QUOTE] Note that their commitment to the “fundamental individual right to life” ends the second the kid clears the birth canal, though. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084/90 "2012-08-23T18:25:32Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > Note that their commitment to the “fundamental individual right to life” ends the second the kid clears the birth canal, though. They don’t really believe what they are saying. Ask them to choose between saving a living newborn baby and a cannister of 100 frozen embryos and they will choose the newborn baby. So they for the most part already recognize that there are gradations of life that would justify sacrificing 100 “lives” for a single life, they just aren’t willing to sacrifice one of those “lives” just because it means a woman would have to carry and give birth to the child of her rapist. Its a matter of priorities. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084/91 "2012-08-23T20:06:49Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Go, Isaac, Go…! Hell, no! We want this clown show to play out in prime time! If I were a multimillionaire, right now the Tampa area would be covered with “the circus is coming to town!” billboards. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084/92 "2012-08-24T08:11:20Z")
Thing about God punishing people with hurricanes I have never understood: why does the Almighty have such bad aim? Couldn’t He just single out the biggest evil-doers with lightning bolts or something? Anyway, I don’t know if ‘meltdown’ is the right word. More like a high-profile exercise in polishing a turd. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084/93 "2012-08-24T09:51:29Z")
> [@Try2B Comprehensive](#): > > Couldn’t He just single out the biggest evil-doers with lightning bolts or something? but that’d be too unambiguous. He wants people to have faith and for clever chaps like Pat Robertson to interpret every mysterious event for us. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084/94 "2012-08-25T00:36:13Z")
> [@gamerunknown](#): > > but that’d be too unambiguous. He wants people to have faith and for clever chaps like Pat Robertson to interpret every mysterious event for us. Well, as I understand it it is Jesus who wants faith, whereas you are supposed to know God. From my understanding of the Bible, mind, which is of course a problematic source, but what else do we cite for questions like this?\* \*Mormonism may vary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-national-convention-a-meltdown-in-progress/632084.md?page=4)