What's a "brokered convention"?

[Bush loves Jiang]

Does it occur when no candidate wins a majority of delegates going into the convention?

[elperromagico]

1. A "brokered convention"

is when no candidate has enough delegates to win the nomination. The result is deadlock and innumerable ballots cast. Essentially, everybody winds up agreeing on a compromise candidate (namely, the candidate least offensive to the most delegates) in order to end the deadlock.

It hasn't happened much lately. The primary system has been retooled in the past several years in order to ensure that it won't. I doubt it would happen this year.

[Bush loves Jiang]

2. Don't underestimate brokered convetions then...:-P

The Catholics got John XXIII out of one. :)

[ringmastery]

3. Was '84 brokered?

Gary Hart was on Hardball today and said he had won 8 out of 9 primaries on Super Tuesday in '84 but lost the nomination cause of the super delegates went to Mondale?

[Bush loves Jiang]

4. Super Delegates are bullshit...

They're a Stalinistic tool used by the establishment to prevent he base from getting "out of line".

[elperromagico]

5. That's one of the ways they avoid a brokered convention.

The last thing either party wants is a convention, broadcast to literally dozens of people on national television, where the party appears indecisive and unable to pick a candidate.

Is is democracy? No. But neither is the Electoral College, and we seem to be keeping that.

[SheilaT]

8. No. There hasn't been a brokered convention

in over 50 years. 1952, to be exact. Before that I believe it was some time in the 1920s.

My recollection of the nominee selecting process over the last 35 years is that it's never even been close to being brokered, that well before the convention one man has more than enough delegates to be nominated.

And we don't want one this time, either. If it takes us until July to know who our nominee is, that person will be worn out as will all the rest of us by what it will have taken. And no doubt out of money. Meanwhile, George W Bush will be cruising along with $200 million and one of the themes of his campaign ads will be along the lines of telling us how wonderful Republicans are because they don't indulge in petty in-fighting, but run the country while Democrats hack each other to death.

[Bucky]

6. If it ain't brokered, don't fix it

A brokered convention is hardly corrupt or undemocratic. They brokered a number of deals at a certain 1787 convention and we've been benefiting from those smoke-filled rooms ever since. The genius of our system is that it's about 50% voting and 50% negotiating.

[elperromagico]

7. Yeah, but back then the smoke was marijuana.

:P