Massachusetts News

March 3--The GOP group that is pushing for voters to go to the party caucuses and vote for delegates to the national convention who will vote for a flat tax is allaying fears that the winning candidate, who is expected to be Sen. McCain, could veto the results.

"The winning candidate cannot arbitrarily reject a delegate," says Cambridge Republican David Trumbull, who is leading a grassroots effort to send flat tax activists to the convention.

"If the delegate is a registered Republican in the district and promises that on the first ballot, he or she would vote for the winner of the primary, he or she would have to be certified," said Trumbull. He noted that the chairman of the Buchanan campaign was certified in 1996 once he promised to vote for Dole on the first ballot.

Although the Republican State Committee has not yet announced the date or location of the caucuses, past experience suggests that they will be held on a Saturday in April.

"The establishment Republicans shy away from issues, but the grass roots strongly supports the flat tax. Under the caucus rules, if we get enough people to the caucuses, we just may succeed in electing a flat tax delegation," says Trumbull. 

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