Super Tuesday analysis: Backroom deals and bar room brawls

Believe it or not, there was a time before mass media maneuvering and sound bite saturation dominated the American electoral process. Prior to the advent of television (signaling the transfer of salience from issues and platform to personality and image) political outcomes were manipulated by party bosses and big city political machines. Deal-making and cost-cutting were the means of change, and employed so liberally by zealous public figures that shadowy bargains in “smoke-filled back rooms” became journalistic shorthand in covering elections, ingraining the connoted image and ambience upon the popular imagination.

Thankfully, the classic backroom-deal emerged again on Super Tuesday. Mike Huckabee won the delegates from West Virginia, but only after colluding with supporters of McCain and Paul to pool support and knock out Mitt Romney.

Romney came to the West Virginia Republican convention confident in his support base in the state. Under the rules of the convention, a candidate needed a majority of the votes to win the state’s delegates. Delegates representing each county participated in two rounds of voting.

No candidate secured a majority of votes in the first round: Romney had 41 percent, Huckabee 33, McCain 16 percent, and finally Paul with 10 percent. Paul was eliminated from the second round of voting to help assure one of the contenders would receive more than 50 percent of the votes.

At this point representatives for the McCain and Paul campaigns asked their supporters to give their votes to Huckabee. The reasons for this are clear: for McCain, Romney was the greatest competition and threat to his bid. Securing the state for Huckabee would let some steam out of the Romney momentum machine.

As for the support from the Paul camp? From an MSNBC article:

“[The Huckabee people] came to us and dealt with us honorably and with respect,” said Edward Burgess, a spokesperson for the Paul campaign. “And so we told them that if Dr. Paul didn’t make it through the first round, that we would go for their man. They pledged us three delegates to the Republican National Convention.”

Romney camp responds:

“Unfortunately, this is what Senator McCain’s inside Washington ways look like: he cut a backroom deal with the tax-and-spend candidate he thought could best stop Governor Romney’s campaign of conservative change,” said Beth Myers, Romney’s campaign manager.

So that’s how Huckabee beat Romney in West Virginia, 51 percent to 47, and how Ron Paul got three of the state’s delegates. More analysis of the shenanigans from The Hill and The Atlantic. The move must’ve had some effect on Romney, who has now “suspended” his White House scramble, so as to not embolden our Enemies.

Buzzwords and talking points have no place in the realm of political maneuvering. Nobody sinks a personal fortune into a presidential campaign because they believe in the transformative powers of “change” and “experience.” The real political machinations are never glimpsed by the public at large. Brokering, bartering, and backstabbing are the fundamental political platforms upon which Winners and Losers are made. And it is these principles the illusory media campaigns peddled to the public exist to sustain.

But enough talk of West Virginia, there was plenty other activity on Super Tuesday. Paul finished second in Montana behind Romney (he had secured strong Montana support in the preceding days). See this article in the Billings Gazette for more. Unfortunately Paul did not win Alaska, as many in his camp had expected. However there is still hope to be glimpsed in the great white north: Washington offers up its state delegates on Saturday, and Paul is the favorite there among the remaining Republican candidates.

Some other analyses and op-eds regarding the Paul campaign:

The beginning of the end for Ron Paul
The end for Ron Paul
Why a third party candidacy makes sense for Ron Paul
Next big prize: Washington State

Thanks for hanging in there, everyone. Clearly freedom is popular with Americans. Look for more reflections on the events of Super Tuesday soon, as well as a political obituary for the suspended White House aspirations of Mitt Romney. Until then, true believers, keep going for The Gold!