COMMENTARY | As Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum slug it out for the Republican nomination, with Ron Paul lagging behind, a whisper has started among political pundits. That whisper says, "Brokered convention."
The theory, according to Real Clear Politics, is neither Santorum nor Gingrich quite manages to become the sole, undisputed "not Romney" candidate, each winning their share of primaries. Santorum's sweep of Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota raises the odds of that happening, according to MarketWatch.
Then each of the three major candidates comes to the convention with about 900 delegates, more or less, with Paul getting about a 100 or so. Then the Republican Party goes into waters that have been uncharted for the last couple of generations.
To get a taste of what a brokered convention might be like, the gentle reader is directed to rent a copy of "The Best Man," the movie version of the Gore Vidal play starring Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson wheeling and dealing for their party's nomination for president.
As ballot after ballot fails to pick a nominee, the candidates maneuver behind the scenes. Cabinet posts and judgeships are handed out as bribes willy nilly to try to attract delegates. Blackmail and bribery are standard tools in the smoke-filled rooms of politics.
The difference for a modern version is that the rooms will not be smoke filled and the process will be played out in the full media glare, with all the potential for ugliness.
A brokered convention could play out in a number of ways. Romney could cut a deal with one of his conservative rivals for a united ticket, with required promises about the platform and who gets what position in the potential administration. Or Gingrich and Santorum could cut a deal and edge Romney out.
The sticking point would be who would be in the top slot and who on the bottom. If a wrangle starts over that, a deal might be impossible.
That means the emergence of a new, compromise candidate that those who could not quite close the deal for themselves could rally behind. The names of such a person include Rep. Paul Ryan, Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. Mitch Daniels. Or, maybe ?
Sarah Palin once decided her kids needed their mom more than the country needed her to be president. But perhaps destiny will take a turn after all.
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