Super Pac Insider Sheds Light on Bribery, Delegate Math

April 15, 2016

Writer

Glenn's open opposition to Donald Trump’s candidacy has him taking shots from critics on every side. Breitbart, Drudge Report and Alex Jones --- to name a few --- have relentlessly attacked Glenn's character and intelligence with twisted facts and false allegations, making their true colors known.

The latest conspiracy theory now circulating is that Glenn has received millions of dollars from a pro-Ted Cruz super PAC in exchange for his endorsement and stumping on the Texas Senator's behalf.

Drew Ryun, political director for Trusted Leadership PAC (the super PAC in question) joined The Glenn Beck Program on Friday to shed light on the “bribery” and to talk money and math as the campaign heads towards a contested convention

Listen to this segment or read the transcript below.

The "Evil" Super PAC

GLENN: Drew Ryan is the political director for the Trusted Leadership PAC, which is one of those evil super PACs. Why are you so evil?

DREW: Well, you know, it's just one of those things.

But really what it is, is a super PAC is --- we run as, in a sense, a parallel PAC to a political campaign. And usually super PACs are filled with trusted operatives that the campaign knows and is comfortable with. And there's a high wall between us, according to the Federal Election Commission, that we can't communicate with the campaign. So we look to see where the campaign is, what the message is from the candidate, in our case, Senator Ted Cruz. And where they are playing. And we will look at financial reports and see what ad buys they've made, the message that they're driving. And we will, in a sense, serve to drive that message home.

Now, a super PAC is not constrained in the way that a campaign is. A campaign is locked in at a certain rate for maximum donors that can only give $2,700. A super PAC, the donations are unlimited. So we deal a lot with the major donors that help fund TV, radio -- in our case, a lot of highly targeted voter ID and grassroots rallies.

GLENN: Do they know that you have given me -- you've funneled through my charity $8 million right directly --

DREW: See, I would love to know where that money is.

GLENN: I've already spent it.

DREW: Oh, you have? Well, if you could actually find a way to get it back, that would be great too.

GLENN: Right.

DREW: But, you know, unlike, say, the Jeb Bush super PAC that blew through $100 million or Rubio's PAC that went through $70 million, we have raised and spent right at $30 million. So for us, it's one of those things where every dollar matters and how we spend it matters.

GLENN: Yeah. Because it's -- you really have a problem -- everybody has a problem right now that the money is staying off -- you know, a lot of people came in early. And a lot of the money has stayed off and said, "You know what, I don't know who is going to win it." Is that true or not?

DREW: No. We're actually seeing some movement in our direction, as it becomes clear that we're going to a contested convention. And there is a delegate path where Senator Cruz could win this on the second ballot at the convention. So we're starting to see a lot more movement from some of the traditional, what we could call establishment donors inside the Republican Party.

Delegate Math

GLENN: Can you go through the delegate math? Because this is -- this, I think, is going to be really confusing for Americans, that this isn't stealing the election. This is the way it's done. It was done this way in 1976. It was done this way in the 1950s. Abraham Lincoln won the presidency this way. This is the way it works.

DREW: So what happens in a lot of these presidential elections is you have pools of delegates to the national convention sometimes that are picked a year in advance. So what you're seeing is when you have, say, a Donald Trump win South Carolina and take all 50 delegates, unfortunately for Donald Trump, he found out that those delegates had been picked a year in advance, and he would not have a say in who these delegates would be. These are not Trump delegates, per se, that will be going to represent South Carolina at the national convention.

GLENN: If he had the 1237, they would have to be Trump delegates.

DREW: They would have to be -- in fact, they are bound on the first ballot. So when you look at how a Republican Convention works and obviously a Democrat as well, you have delegates that are bound through certain number of ballots. So a lot of states, if a candidate wins, again, going back to South Carolina, Donald Trump wins all 50, those delegates are bound by the by-laws of the party to vote for him on the first ballot. But if he doesn't get to 1237 -- and there's an increasing likelihood that he won't -- then all of a sudden those delegates become unbound for the second potentially third ballot of voting on the convention floor. And that is danger for Donald Trump.

STU: They can do whatever they want at that point, right?

DREW: They can do whatever they want to at that point.

Voting Their Conscience

STU: Does Donald Trump have any sway over them? If he says, "Look, I want you guys to continue to vote for me."

GLENN: Because we've heard that you can bribe these people. You know, you can give them golf memberships, let's say you own beautiful golf courses all around the world.

DREW: Let's just say that the law regarding bribery and delegates at a national convention is murky at best. There's always the possibility there may be some things going on like that, particularly from a Trump campaign. But, yeah, once the first ballot is over, a lot of state delegates are released to vote their conscience in the second or third ballots.

GLENN: So let me ask you about the delegates. Because you've done this before. So the delegates -- who are these people generally? Because I would think -- let me tell you why I'm asking this question. And then you can take it where you want to go.

One, bribery. Are they believers enough to be offended by that? And two, how are they going to react to somebody threatening to give out their address, their phone number, their hotel room?

DREW: Well, let's start from that second question and work our way back. I think you'll have a very vociferous reaction to being threatened. A lot of these folks are party loyalists. When you look at who usually goes to the conventions, it's usually a party. We don't have contested conventions. As you referenced, 1976 was the last time we had a contested convention inside the Republican Party.

These are also conservative grassroots organizers. These are not traditionally on either camp Trump-type people. So when you look at the Trump loyalists --

GLENN: Why do you say that? Why do you say that?

DREW: Trump, when you look at his natural base is -- and he actually does have a base.

GLENN: Oh, yeah.

DREW: 50 percent of these people, we've never seen before. They're independents. They're Democrats crossing over in these open primaries, which why the next six to seven weeks look tenuous. After we get out of the northeast and head towards Indiana and West Virginia and Nebraska, these are all closed primaries. It looks like a tough road for Donald Trump over the last five to six weeks in this primary. He's not going to have independents and Democrats crossing over and voting in the Republican primaries. When you look at the delegate pool, as I referenced earlier, a lot of these people have been picked by the party hierarchy, sometimes as much as a year before these primaries actually took place. These are not people that are naturally going to be going towards Donald Trump.

Devil’s Advocate

GLENN: Let me play devil's advocate, if they're establishment people, they're not likely to go to Ted Cruz either.

DREW: I think that all depends on Rule 40B. And there's been a lot of conversation about the impact that the rules committee will have on the 2016 convention.

GLENN: What's Rule 40B?

DREW: Let me roll this back a little bit. So you have a rules committee that meets a week before the convention. Each state or territory has two delegates per...

(ringing)

GLENN: Okay.

DREW: And you will have 112 members on the rules committee that will actually meet and decide what the rules will be for the convention in 2016. Rule 40B right now states that you have to win the majority of --

(ringing)

GLENN: Sorry. My phone is seemingly going off here. And I'm sorry for that. Go ahead.

DREW: It's totally fine.

GLENN: Go ahead.

STU: Do you have any idea how to turn the thing off?

GLENN: No, because I never carry my phone. I don't ever use it. Somebody else uses it. I don't carry.

DREW: I love this show already. This is fantastic.

STU: For a guy that just got $8 million.

GLENN: I know. But I hire somebody to --

STU: Okay.

GLENN: They tell me.

DREW: You hire a phone Sherpa? You could hire two phone Sherpas.

GLENN: That's right. Yeah. So I'm sorry. I lost you at hello.

DREW: Yes, well, that's fine. Because I'm coming back to you.

All right. So when you talk about the rules committee, and I think that's a story that's going to become bigger and bigger as we go towards the convention. The rules committee always meets the week before the actual convention. Each state or territory gets two delegates a piece on this rules committee. So you'll have 112 delegates that will decide what the rules for the convention will be.

Currently, the party states that Rule 40B, you have to win the majority of delegates in eight states.

GLENN: Okay.

DREW: There will be only two candidates that will have the opportunity to be considered on the floor of the convention right now. Obviously, the rules can change the week before. And I'll talk about that later.

GLENN: How many states did Marco Rubio win?

PAT: One. He won one state. And a territory.

DREW: One. He won Minnesota. And a territory, Puerto Rico. John Kasich has won Ohio.

Playing Around With the Rules

GLENN: So there's only those two -- even if they're suspended, there's only those two.

DREW: Potentially. I mean, John Kasich may win Pennsylvania, but there are no other states that he can win. So at best, he'll win two states going in.

Right now, I think Ted Cruz is going to win 13 to 14 states when you look at the remainder of the states on the calendar. He's already won seven. And obviously Donald Trump will clear the threshold of Rule 40B. Something for your listeners and your viewers, however, if you start to see Republican National Committee men and women start appointed to the rules committee, there is a good chance that Rule 40B will change, and we potentially will go from a contested convention to an open convention. And that's when things potentially get crazy.

But if the Trump and Cruz campaigns are doing their job, you will see a rules committee stacked with their people and Rule 40B will stay in place.

GLENN: Is Donald Trump --

DREW: Paying attention? I don't know.

GLENN: Yeah, I mean, is he -- it's crazy. It's really crazy.

STU: From a guy who has pitched his campaign as I'm the guy who can get all these things done. I'm going to understand the rules more than everybody.

GLENN: Right. And I'm the guy who can hire really smart people. The people around him are dummies.

DREW: You know, he's running around saying, I'll hire the best people, how is it then if you hire the best people, you're hiring the guy that drove Scott Walker's campaign into the ground?

STU: He's a good candidate. I liked Scott Walker.

DREW: I liked Scott Walker. Literally he was my second choice in this election season, and Rick Riley drove his campaign into the ground in seven to eight weeks and blew through millions of dollars and yet he gets hired by Donald Trump's campaign yesterday.

PAT: Wow.

STU: They were saying, you need to define someone who has some ability. Which obviously Scott Walker saw something in Riley, but also, someone who was so down on their luck and had performed poorly that they would take the job with Donald Trump. And he's kind of the sweet spot of those two things, right? I don't want to put words in your mouth. That's kind of why they went to this guy. Because, I mean, he's not completely without ability. But he's in a tough spot because of the Walker campaign. Walker was one of the frontrunners. A good candidate. A guy who could really connect with both sides, sort of an establishment and conservative side. And his campaign ended before Jim Gilmore's did.

DREW: So what Stu is saying is he's taking the best available tier-three talent. You're right, he is.

JEFFY: He'll always have Lewandowski to consult with.

DREW: Well, of course. And Paul Manafort. And Roger Stone.

GLENN: Have you ever seen anything like this before?

DREW: No. And here's what I think is going on is, I don't think Trump expected to be in this long, to be honest.

GLENN: I don't think so either.

DREW: I think this was something of a protest campaign. He said a few things that resonated with the grassroots, with the disaffected. And all of a sudden, it's like he's taking off. And he doesn't have the infrastructure or the talent to see this thing to the end. Now, I think he's the least serious serious contender for nomination that we've ever seen.

Featured Image: Attendees to a Republican fund-raiser walk by protesters and activists outside of a midtown hotel which is hosting a black-tie event for the state Republican Party on April 14, 2016 in New York City. Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are all scheduled to appear at the event which comes days before New York will hold its primary. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The Deep State's NEW plan to backstab Trump

Brandon Bell / Staff | Getty Images

We cannot make the same mistake we made in 2016 — celebrating victory while the deep state plots its next move.

In 2016, Donald Trump shocked the world by defeating Hillary Clinton. Conservatives cheered, believing we’d taken back the reins of our country. But we missed the bigger battle. We failed to recognize the extent of the damage caused by eight years of Barack Obama and decades of progressive entrenchment. The real war isn’t won at the ballot box. It’s being waged against an insidious force embedded deep within our institutions: the administrative state, or the “deep state.”

This isn’t a new problem. America’s founders foresaw it, though they didn’t have a term for “deep state” back in the 1700s. James Madison, in Federalist 48, warned us that combining legislative, executive, and judicial powers in the same hands is “the very definition of tyranny.” Yet today, that’s exactly where we stand. Unelected bureaucrats in agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Justice hold more power than the officials we vote for. They control the levers of government with impunity, dictating policies and stifling change.

This is the fight for the soul of our nation. The founders’ vision of a constitutional republic is under siege.

We’ve felt the consequences of this growing tyranny firsthand. During COVID-19, so-called experts ran our lives, crushing civil liberties under the guise of public safety. Our intelligence agencies and justice system turned into weapons of political warfare, targeting a sitting president and his supporters. Meanwhile, actual criminals were given a pass, turning American cities into lawless war zones.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1816 that “the functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents.” Today, we see Jefferson’s prophecy fulfilled. The deep state exercises unchecked power over our freedoms, and information itself is controlled by the fourth branch of government: the legacy media.

Even when we win elections, the deep state doesn’t concede defeat. It switches to survival mode. Trump’s first term proved this. Despite a historic mandate to dismantle the bureaucracy, the deep state fought back with everything it had: leaks, investigations, court rulings, and obstruction at every turn. And now, with the possibility of Trump returning to office, the deep state is preparing to do it again.

Progressives are laying out their attack plan — and they’re not even hiding it.

U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) recently boasted about forming a “shadow cabinet” to govern alongside the deep state, regardless of who’s in the White House. Nickel called it “democracy’s insurance policy.” Let’s be clear: This isn’t insurance. It’s sabotage.

They’ll employ a “top down, bottom up, inside out” strategy to overwhelm and collapse any effort to reform the system. From the top, federal judges and shadow officials will block Trump’s every move. Governors in blue states like California and New York are gearing up to resist federal authority. During Trump’s first term, California filed over 100 lawsuits against his administration. Expect more of the same starting January 20.

From the bottom, progressive groups like the American Civil Liberties Union will flood the streets with protesters, much as they did to oppose Trump’s first-term immigration reforms. They’ve refined their tactics since 2016 and are prepared to unleash a wave of civil unrest. These aren’t spontaneous movements; they’re coordinated assaults designed to destabilize the administration.

Finally, from the inside, the deep state will continue its mission of self-preservation. Agencies will drag their feet, leak sensitive information, and undermine policies from within. Their goal is to make everything a chaotic mess, so the heart of their power — the bureaucratic core — remains untouched and grows stronger.

We cannot make the same mistake we made in 2016 — celebrating victory while the deep state plots its next move. Progressives never see themselves as losing. When they’re out of power, they simply shift tactics, pumping more blood into their bureaucratic heart. We may win elections, but the war against the deep state will only intensify. As George Washington warned in his Farewell Address, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force; and force, like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

This is the fight for the soul of our nation. The founders’ vision of a constitutional republic is under siege. The deep state has shown us its plan: to govern from the shadows, circumventing the will of the people. But now that the shadows have been exposed, we have a choice. Will we accept this silent tyranny, or will we demand accountability and reclaim our nation’s heart?

The battle is just beginning. We can’t afford to lose.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Drone mystery exposes GLARING government incompetence

Gary Hershorn / Contributor | Getty Images

The drone issue is getting way out of hand.

Earlier this month, Glenn first reported on the mysterious drones stalking the night sky over New Jersey, but the situation is increasingly concerning as the sightings have escalated. Not only have drones been seen across the Northeast Coast, including over New York City, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, but recently, they have been spotted over the night skies of San Diego and other parts of Southern California.

It doesn't take an expert to identify the potential dangers and risks that dozens of undetectable, unidentified six-foot or larger drones pose to national security. Yet, our government's response has been one of unimaginable incompetence, leaving us to speculate on the origin and intention of these drones and wonder in astonishment at the government's ineptitude. Here are three examples of the government's lackluster response to the mystery drones:

Iranian Mothership and Missing Nuclear Warheads

- / Stringer | Getty Images

After several weeks of hubbub, New Jersey Representative, Jeff Van Drew gave an interview on Fox News where he claimed that the drones originated from an Iranian "mothership" off the East Coast of the United States. This theory has since been disproven by satellite images, which show that all Iranian drone carriers are far from U.S. shores. Another theory suggests that drones may be equipped with sensors capable of detecting nuclear material and that they are looking for a nuclear warhead that recently went missing! With these apocalyptic theories gaining traction in the absence of any real answer from our government, one can't help but question the motive behind the silence.

Pentagon's Limp Wristed Response

Alex Wong / Staff | Getty Images

In a recent press conference, national security spokesman John Kirby responded to reporters demanding answers about the government's lack of transparency, which has caused increasing public anxiety. He insisted that the drones did not pose a threat and were not assets of a foreign power, such as from Iran or China--even though he is still uncertain about their identity and origin. He also claimed that many of the sightings were simply misidentifications of normal aircraft.

This lackluster answer has only further inflamed national anxieties and raised even more questions. If the government is unsure of the identity of the drones, how do they know if they are a threat or if they aren't foreign assets? If they aren't foreign, does that mean they are U.S. assets? If so, why not just say so?

The Pentagon has also stated that they are leaving it up to local law enforcement to spearhead the investigation after concluding that these drones pose no threat to any military installation. This has left many feeling like the federal government has turned a blind eye to a serious issue that many Americans are very concerned about.

Where's Pete Buttigieg?

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

We are in the closing weeks of the Biden administration, and with the finish line in sight, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg probably figured nothing else could go wrong on his watch—but boy was he wrong. As Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg is in charge of the FAA, the agency responsible for managing all air traffic across the nation. One would think that mysterious, 6-foot-long, seemingly intractable drones are invisible on radar and flying above major cities would pose a serious threat to the myriad of legal aircraft that traverse our skies. Yet, Buttigieg has been silent on the issue, adding another failure to his resume which includes: malfunctioning airplanes, the train derailment in Ohio, and the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse, just to name a few.

Glenn: How Alvin Bragg turned hero Daniel Penny into a villain

Michael M. Santiago / Staff | Getty Images

We cannot allow corrupt institutions to punish those who act to protect life and liberty.

America no longer has a single, shared understanding of justice. Two Americas now exist, each applying justice differently depending on who you are and where you live. One America, ruled by common sense and individual courage, praises heroes who stand up to protect others. The other, driven by political agendas and corrupted institutions, punishes those same heroes for daring to act.

This stark division couldn’t be clearer than in the case of Daniel Penny, the Marine whose trial in New York City this week drew strong reactions from both sides across the divided line of justice.

If we let this slide, we accept a world in which heroes are treated as criminals and the law is a weapon for ideological warfare.

Penny was on a subway train last year when Jordan Neely — a man suffering from severe mental illness and reportedly high on drugs — began threatening passengers, saying, “I’m going to kill you all.” The fear on that subway car was palpable, but nobody moved. Nobody, that is, until Penny did what needed to be done. He took action to protect innocent lives.

In the America many of us used to believe in, Penny’s response would be heralded as heroic. His actions mirrored the courage of Todd Beamer on Flight 93, who, on September 11, 2001, rallied others with the words, “Let’s roll,” to prevent further tragedy. But in New York, courage doesn’t seem to count anymore. There, the system turns heroes into villains.

Penny subdued Neely using a chokehold, intending only to restrain him, not kill him. Tragically, Neely died. Penny, filled with remorse, told the police he never meant to hurt anyone. Yet, instead of being recognized for protecting others from a clear and present threat, Penny stood trial for criminally negligent homicide.

In Alvin Bragg’s New York, justice bends to ideology. The Manhattan district attorney has made a career of weaponizing the law, selectively prosecuting those who don’t fit his narrative. He’s the same prosecutor who twisted legal precedent to go after Donald Trump on business charges no one had ever faced before. Then, he turned his sights on Daniel Penny.

A jury may have acquitted Penny, but what happened in New York City this week isn’t justice. When the rule of law changes depending on the defendant’s identity or the prosecutor's political motives, we’re no longer living in a free country. We’re living in a state where justice is a game, and ordinary Americans are the pawns.

The system failed Jordan Neely

It’s worth asking: Where were activists like Alvin Bragg when Neely was suffering on the streets? Jordan Neely was a tragic figure — a man with a long history of mental illness and over 40 arrests, including violent assaults. The system failed him long before he stepped onto that subway train. Yet rather than confront that uncomfortable truth, Bragg’s office decided to target the man who stepped in to prevent a tragedy.

This isn’t about justice. It’s about power. It’s about advancing a narrative where race and identity matter more than truth and common sense.

It’s time to demand change

The Daniel Penny case — and others like it — is a wake-up call. We cannot allow corrupt institutions to punish those who act to protect life and liberty. Americans must demand an end to politically driven prosecutions, hold DAs like Alvin Bragg accountable, and stand up for the principle that true justice is blind, consistent, and fair.

If we let this slide, we accept a world in which heroes are treated as criminals and the law is a weapon for ideological warfare. It’s time to choose which America we want to live in.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

CEO Brian Thompson's killer reveals COWARDICE of the far-left death cult

Jeff Swensen / Stringer | Getty Images

Early on the chilly morning of Wednesday, December 4th, Brian Thompson, CEO of health insurance giant, UnitedHealthcare, was walking through Midtown Manhattan on his way to a company conference. Suddenly, a masked and hooded figure silently allegedly stepped onto the sidewalk behind Thompson, drew a 3-D printed, silenced pistol, and without warning fired multiple shots into Thompson's back before fleeing the scene on an electric bicycle. After a multiple-day manhunt, a 26-year-old lead suspect was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania after being recognized by an employee.

This was not "vigilante justice." This was cold-blooded murder.

As horrific as the murder of a husband and father in broad daylight in the center of New York City is, the story only gets worse. Even before the murder suspect was arrested, left-wing extremists were already taking to X to call him a "hero" and a "vigilante" who "took matters into his own hands." Even the mainstream media joined in on the glorification, as Glenn pointed out on air recently, going out of the way to show how physically attractive the murder suspect was. This wave of revolting and nihilistic fanfare came in response to the findings of online investigators who surmised the murder suspect's motives to retaliate against healthcare companies for corruption and denied coverage. The murder suspect supposedly underwent a major back surgery that left him with back pain, and some of his internet fans apparently viewed his murder of Thompson as retribution for the mistreatment that he and many other Americans have suffered from healthcare companies.

me liking tweets celebrating the assassination of the united healthcare ceo pic.twitter.com/N41w51ZuZR
— 🔻 (@pegasustits) December 5, 2024

The murder suspect and his lackeys don't seem to understand that, other than depriving two children of their father right before Christmas, he accomplished nothing.

The murder suspect failed to achieve his goal because he was too cowardly to try.

If the murder suspect's goals were truly to "right the wrongs" of the U.S. healthcare system, he had every tool available to him to do so in a constructive and meaningful manner. He came from a wealthy and prominent family in the Baltimore area, became the valedictorian at a prestigious all-boys prep school, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a master's in engineering. Clearly, the murder suspect was intelligent and capable, and if he had put his talent into creating solutions for the healthcare industry, who knows what he could have accomplished?

This is the kind of behavior the far-left idolizes, like communists on college campuses who wear shirts that celebrate the brutal Cuban warlord, Che Guevara. Merchandise celebrating the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect is already available, including shirts, hoodies, mugs, and even Christmas ornaments. Will they be sporting his face on their T-shirts too?

A liberal TikToker is selling a t-shirt that glorifies the recent assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in NYC.
“deny , defend, depose” was reported to have been on the shell casings. pic.twitter.com/IWpHYkx2lF
— SteveSant66 🇺🇸 (@SSant66) December 8, 2024

This macabre behavior does not breed creation, achievement, success, or life. It only brings death and risks more Americans falling into this dangerous paradigm. But we still have a chance to choose life. We just have to wake up and take it.

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