The party establishment invariably wants to close the door on an open convention. With early success, the presumptive nominee can reposition, refocus and refinance for the fall. The convention is a four day informercial for the nominee and a bonding for the party factions.
By contrast a contested convention leaves the eventual nominee sullied, exhausted and financially and politically ill prepared for the general election. Factional fissures expand and emotions erupt, goaded by enraptured media. That a brokered convention is the last, best hope of the GOP establishment, tells you all you need to know about the state of the Republican party.
David Lauter, Washington Bureau Chief for the LA Times shares my analysis: It's not every day that senior members of a political party think up a nominating strategy that ends -- in the best case -- with a bitter civil war erupting at their national convention.
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