The movement to dump Trump at the convention has picked up enough steam that a Republican on the permanent rules committee has written a letter to his colleagues warning of “rage” if Trump is denied the nomination. The Associated Press reports on the thinking behind the effort to dump Trump:

“If Trump is the nominee, we truly believe it’s the end of our party,” said Kendal Unruh, a Colorado delegate who is leading the effort to dump Trump. “We’re trying to save the party.”
There could be floor fights over convention rules and the party’s platform. And instead of a coronation, the roll call to nominate Trump could allow delegates to voice their displeasure on national television.

“What’s worse for the Republican Party — this is the calculation — one week of absolute chaos and all sorts of recriminations or four and a half months of this looming, rolling catastrophe?” conservative Milwaukee radio host Charlie Sykes said on his Tuesday show.

In a radio show appearance, Republican Bruce Ash, who sits on the rules committee, noted the recent appointment of two men to the rules committee who have connections to Mitt Romney. Ash defended his criticism of the appointment in a subsequent letter to his colleagues. Politico published the full letter which reads in part:

I have enormous respect for Mitt Romney, however, in view of his support of the NeverTrump movement I questioned how it looked that two of the leaders in the 2012 Romney campaign (Enid Mickelson and Ron Kaufman) were running convention rules and former RNC Chair Haley Barbour is running Permanent Organization in the middle of a rising “conscience” vote movement being organized by Governor Romney and others who seek to nullify 56 state contests and possibly bring in another nominee?

[…]

I pray we avoid drama such as what occurred at the 2012 convention rules committee. We have our county’s future and the future of our party in our hands. Can you imagine the rage if Trump is denied the nomination? The RNC created a level playing field to select our 2016 nominee. Against 17 contestants Donald Trump surprised the political world and out-performed everyone. He bested his closest contestant Ted Cruz by a nearly 2 to 1 margin. Fellow members, the only way we can win in 2016 is to stick together. If we don’t, the result will be catastrophic. Donald Trump might not have been our first choice but he is the people’s choice and I support his candidacy…

Our party is built on rules. The rules we set up at the RNC got Donald Trump and us to this point. This is what we all wanted when we started the process in 2013. I am not blind to our presumptive candidate. He has flaws. Some are huge. I am very encouraged, however, changes in the Trump campaign which have come about in the past 96 hours or so will bear fruit for us. With the RNC in charge Donald Trump now has the best chance to win which may have been difficult to achieve under the prior leadership team.

Ash’s radio appearance became news Monday when the Daily Caller reported on it. On the Tucson radio show Ash suggested Trump’s advisers should be “shot in the back of the head” for allowing people with close connections to Romney on the rules committee.