The next battleground for Conservatives will take place on the floor of the Republican Convention when they scrabble with donors and, possibly, their presumptive nominee over the official party platform.
Two groups are on an all-out blitz to ensure core conservatives secure slots on the 112-member Platform Committee.
According to
Politico, one group is spearheaded by Arizona Republican National Committeeman Bruce Ash and GOP attorney Jim Bobb; the other is composed of loyalists to Ted Cruz led by Ken Cuccinelli.
The threat to the orthodoxy comes from Donald Trump, who has split from core conservative values and said he'd like to soften the platform, and a multi-million campaign from some of the GOP's biggest donors to do the same.
"You don't hear Donald Trump talk about traditional values or conservative principles," Iowa Rep. Steve King told Politico. "I want to preserve them … Depending on how it turns out, you could have a major fight."
Then there's billionaire Paul Singer, among others, who are helping to bankroll American Unity Fund, a pro-gay group designed to sway the GOP's position on same-sex marriage, reports Politico.
Long shot or not, conservatives are going on the offensive.
Earlier this week,
The New York Times reported Cuccinelli invited Cruz allies to participate on a conference call to discuss the convention strategy.
Cuccinelli told
The Hill on Friday that the Cruz campaign's "extraordinary head start getting really rock-ribbed, conservative delegates" will help "preserve and protect a conservative platform."
In an interview with Politico, Bopp stressed that his group wasn't preparing for a battle against Trump, but rather they are eager to assist and guide him back to the path that has defined the party for decades.
The purpose, he wrote in a letter to 168 members of the RNC obtained by Politico, "is to develop a platform which will provide a basis for our party to unite in order to win the White House fight."
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