Sen. Orrin Hatch's campaign tells UtahPolicy.com that they plan on "stacking" next year's mass meetings with their own supporters in order to get them elected as delegates to the State Convention. Hatch's campaign says they plan to get enough people elected as delegates that they would win the nomination outright at the convention, despite any challenges.
How effective do you think this strategy will be?
This is why the GOP system is flawed.
The real key is who may file against him. There is enough groundswell against Sen. Hatch because of his former ties to Sen. Kennedy and the long time he has been there. The more publicity he gets with stacking the caucuses, the more that may backfire on him.
It depends on how dynamic Jason Chaffetz is in working the delegates and how unpopular Hatch is by next year. Hatch's money will allows a lot of communication with likely delegates.
Any gains from recruiting Hatch supporters to the caucus meetings will be offset by increased attendance of those upset by his effort to stack the deck. It's a net zero proposition.
Over the past two years it has become increasingly difficult to stack the caucus meetings because attendance, and particularly attendance from those with a "tea party" bent, is way up. It is still possible but it will be far more difficult.
36 years is just too long. The environment has changed. The people of Utah want a departure from the past. Sen. Hatch represents the past.
A lot of different groups have tried for a very long time to game the delegate system. It has never worked and never will work. Delegate make-up is open to grass roots changes, but any time someone appears to be tampering, a backlash ensues.
Every candidate I have ever known has employed the same tactic, sometimes it works sometimes not, but Orrin has the time, money and organization to pull it off.
Hatch won't be the only candidate working to get friendly delegates elected at the mass meetings.
All other candidates will do the same.
A primary is "very" successful because beating Hatch in a Primary is "very" unlikely.
Senator Bennett tried that last time. It didn't work. I do believe Sen. Hatch's team will be more successful, but it is really hard to stack a mass meeting, particularly for a state wide race. Been there tried that, didn't work.
Utah needs Hatch. This is NO time for two rookie senators from Utah.
Money can't buy enough delegates to win at convention and Hatch doesn't have much grass roots support, but it will be enough to force a primary which Hatch will likely win.
Plan- Hatch a batch, but a ratch will thratch by Chatch (Utah County speak for Chaffetz).
This is what worked so well against Bennett and Hatch has hired the team who beat Bob. It will be successful.
Bringing in 'more mainstream republicans' to caucus night that haven't been watching specific votes in Washington will still vote against Hatch because he has just been there too long. It is the right approach for the campaign to take, but in the end it will produce the same result.
Craziness. The people who he is trying to work with eat their own young.
I think Hatch is in for a fight, but I wouldn't count him out.
Every candidate wants to stack the convention by controlling the delegate selection. No candidate ever has. But that doesn't mean Hatch will be eliminated at convention. Even if he doesn't control the precinct caucuses, the delegates may decide to keep him. I don't think they will, but they could.
Money can not buy a nomination and that is Hatch's only advantage. Whatever you think of Chaffetz, he is the new "pro" in Utah politics.
Most Utahns seem to agree that Sen. Hatch has served our state well for many years. But now might be the right time to "call him home", his sycophantic affection for the extreme right wing of the Tea Party notwithstanding.
You can not control the delegates and a sure way to tick them off is to act as if you can.
Why is he dumb enough to announce his strategy publicly? Both Chaffetz and the Tea-Partyers also know how to recruit delegates and stack Caucus mtgs. All he has done w/ this public statement is to draw a line in the sand and dare his opponents to cross.
Caucus meetings can't be stacked. Just ask Bob Bennett.
Everyone tries to stack caucus meetings, but the sheer number of groups trying prevents anyone group from succeeding. Only "organic" stacking succeeds, at least statewide.
It will fail and he will know it before the candidate filing deadline and he will file to run as an independent.
Stacking delegates is just another reason to ditch the current caucus/convention system.
The Tea Party shot itself in the foot with regards to Sen. Bennett, I see no reason to believe that they learned anything from that fiasco.
Respondents include -
Fred Adams, Stuart Adams, Jess Agraz, Scott Anderson, Patrice Arent, Bruce Baird, Tom Barberi, Heather Barney, Steve Barth, Jeff Bell, Tom Berggren, Mike Bertelsen, Ron Bigelow, Rob Bishop, Laura Black, Jim Bradley, Ralph Brown, Ken Bullock, Chris Bleak, Curt Bramble, Ralph Brown, Aaron Browning, Dave Buhler, Ken Bullock, Ric Cantrell, Maura Carabello, Rebecca Chavez-Houck, Kay Christensen, David Clark, Thomas Clay, Peter Corroon, Fred Cox, Lew Cramer, Gene Davis, Richard Davis, Brad Daw, Alan Dayton, Margaret Dayton, Mike Deaver, Brad, Dee, Joseph Demma, John Dougall, Randy Dryer, Donald Dunn, Becky Edwards, Scott Ericson, Jessica Fawson, Janice Fisher, Wendy Fisher, Lorie Fowlke, Ronald Fox, Jordan Garn, Luke Garrott, Dave Gessel, Natalie Gochnour, Robert Grow, Karen Hale, David Hansen, Neil Hansen, Joe Hatch, Jeff Hartley, Deidre Henderson, Lyle Hillyard, Randy Horiuchi, Bruce Hough, Scott Howell, Miriam Hyde, Allison Isom, Eric Jergensen, Mike Jerman, Roger Johnson, Michael Jolley, Gordon Jones, Leslie Jones, Kirk Jowers, Brian King, Scott Konopasek, Chris Kyler, Fred Lampropoulos, Douglas Larson, David Litvack, Larry Lunt, Matt Lyon, Ben McAdams, Gayle McKeachnie, JT Martin, Jason Mathis, Karen Mayne, Derek Miller, Rob Miller, Ethan Millard, Brett Millburn, Karen Morgan, Mike Mower, Holly Mullen, Wayne Niederhauser, Mike Noel, Ralph Okerlund, James Olsen, Val Oveson, Scott Parson, Kelly Patterson, Frank Pignanelli, Jason Powers, Joe Pyrah, Mike Reberg, Jill Remington Love, Lauren Richards, Holly Richardson, Robin Riggs, James Roberts, Luz Robles, Ross Romero, Don Savage, Bryan Schott, Jay Seegmiller, Patrick Shea, Randy Shumway, Soren Simonsen, Jeremy Slaughter, Carol Spackman-Moss, Howard Stephenson, Mike Styler, Todd Taylor, Juliette Tennert, Gary Thorup, Kevin Van Tassell, Royce Van Tassel, Michael Waddoups, Chuck Warren, Christine Watkins, LaVarr Webb, Todd Weiler, Alan West, Ted Wilson, Carl Wimmer, Mike Winder, Thomas Wright
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