Under regulations established in the 1980s, delegates cannot take money from corporations, labor unions, federal contractors or foreign nationals. But an individual donor is permitted to give a delegate unlimited sums to support his or her efforts to get selected to go to the convention, including money to defray the costs of travel and lodging.
A candidate’s campaign committee can also pay for delegate expenses. Some legal experts believe a campaign could even cover an all-expenses-paid weekend prior to the convention to meet with senior staff at, say, a Trump-owned luxury golf resort in Florida. …WaPo
Uh huh. Yep. That’s one way of making damn sure you’ll get nominated in the US of A.
Trump and Cruz, who have shown their relentlessness in this season’s rough-and-tumble campaign, are expected to look for every legal edge possible if neither is able to secure 1,237 delegates before the July convention. Also in the mix is Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who forged an alliance with Trump on Saturday in a delegate fight in Michigan.
The candidates “will be in a bidding war for delegates,” said Brett Kappel, a veteran campaign finance lawyer who has represented Democrats and Republicans. “They’ll live like kings at the convention.”...WaPo
This script wasn’t written in the Constitution. It was developed by political parties — or at least the Republican party…
Cross-posted from Prairie Weather
photo credit: Louis lens iced up with the black diamonds via photopin (license)