LET THE SCHEMING BEGIN – AT 9:09 A.M. ET:   The reality of Trump, whether we like him or not, is starting to take hold at the Republican National Committee.  From the Washington Times:

Top Republicans will try to force more transparency at the party’s national convention in July, aiming to scrap their 1,500-page rule book in favor of simpler procedures that they hope will head off arcane maneuvers designed to deny Donald Trump the presidential nomination.

The changes wouldn’t guarantee Mr. Trump the nod but would make it easier for all sides to see what sorts of changes anti-Trump factions are attempting.

Some members of the Republican National Committee want to ditch the massive rule book, which is based on the parliamentary handbook of the U.S. House, and instead use Robert’s Rules of Order to govern floor action at the convention. Robert’s is the standard manual used by entities such as civic associations, county boards and state legislatures.

Those pushing the change are not Trump partisans, but they want to make it hard to forge in secrecy what voters might see as backroom deals to “steal” the presidential nomination from Mr. Trump, the front-runner.

“To make this convention more transparent, I will advocate, at the RNC Standing Rules committee meeting in April, adoption of Robert’s Rules of Order to replace the 1,500-page U.S. House rules to govern the convention,” Oregon RNC member Solomon Yue told The Washington Times on Wednesday.

COMMENT:  I really don't know if Robert's will be any better than the current rules, but at least the party is starting to be concerned about public perception.  Now, if Trump would adopt some measures to make himself more presidential, and bring any thuggish elements around him into line, some progress could be made.  This will not be an easy presidential election for the GOP.  And the future of Senate control is at stake as well.

March 17, 2016