Closed Primaries?

[midcan5]

Huh? What! John McCain was the only candidate possible given the fractured nature of the republican ideological platform: Religion and Greed are its motivating ideas. Romney, in case you all forgot, was Mormon and Huckebee only appealed to the religious, he was missing the greed factor. Be honest folks, you lost because your party is extremist. On one side taliban like and on the other, trickle down. But please stay in the fog so others can straighten the mess your ideas caused.

"Why Conservatives Can't Govern" by Alan Wolfe
The Conservative Nanny State

 

[DiveCon]

C'mon, are you serious?

100%
you do NOT have a right to vote in a primary

 

[NOBama]

100%
you do NOT have a right to vote in a primary

LOL! That's not what I was asking you if you were serious about but, I still disagree with you. Even in the closed primary system, which I hate, I still vote for whoever I want, because it's my right. I just have to reregister, which is an unproductive waste of time for me and a unnecessary expense for the state/county. As I said before, closed primaries don't do squat for either party, no matter what glock says!

 

[DiveCon]

LOL! That's not what I was asking you if you were serious about but, I still disagree with you. Even in the closed primary system, which I hate, I still vote for whoever I want, because it's my right. I just have to reregister, which is an unproductive waste of time for me and a unnecessary expense for the state/county. As I said before, closed primaries don't do squat for either party, no matter what glock says!

actually, they do, they mean more control over their own primary

 

[Cecilie1200]

C'mon, are you serious?

Well, the Supreme Court has ruled that way several times, and the applicable law they've cited seems quite in order, for once.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Huh? What! John McCain was the only candidate possible given the fractured nature of the republican ideological platform: Religion and Greed are its motivating ideas. Romney, in case you all forgot, was Mormon and Huckebee only appealed to the religious, he was missing the greed factor. Be honest folks, you lost because your party is extremist. On one side taliban like and on the other, trickle down. But please stay in the fog so others can straighten the mess your ideas caused.

"Why Conservatives Can't Govern" by Alan Wolfe
The Conservative Nanny State

When I want to hear your partisan, off-topic shouting, I will jerk your chain and say, "Speak, boy!" In the meantime, kindly go find a thread that actually ASKS you who you think should have won and why, and go pester THEM with your inanities.

 

[Cecilie1200]

LOL! That's not what I was asking you if you were serious about but, I still disagree with you. Even in the closed primary system, which I hate, I still vote for whoever I want, because it's my right. I just have to reregister, which is an unproductive waste of time for me and a unnecessary expense for the state/county. As I said before, closed primaries don't do squat for either party, no matter what glock says!

Well, clearly it ISN'T an unproductive waste of time, since you make the effort to do it.

 

[NOBama]

Well, clearly it ISN'T an unproductive waste of time, since you make the effort to do it.

I think I'll continue to determine what is or isn't an unproductive waste of MY time but, thanks for your concern.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I think I'll continue to determine what is or isn't an unproductive waste of MY time but, thanks for your concern.

I'm not the least bit concerned what you do or don't do. I'm just pointing out the painfully obvious fact that YOU have already determined that it's not an unproductive waste of your time, because YOU have chosen to do it anyway.

However, if changes to the primary process MAKE it an unproductive waste of your time to impose yourself into the primaries of a party you do not otherwise wish to be affiliated with, then that was the entire point of changing the process, wasn't it?

 

[Gunny]

It seems that most of the people attending the Republican Governors Association Conference in November feel that the Republican Party needs to become more conservative in order to win in the future. To that end, many people in the party are looking at the idea of closing Republican primaries to anyone who is not actually registered as a Republican.

Wow, that was complicated. I said that months ago, and didn't even have a high-powered conference to figure it out.

In the 2008 presidential primaries, exit polls prove John McCain failed to win a single race among registered Republican voters in open primaries up to Super Tuesday, yet during that same period he went from also-ran to front runner because most non-Republicans who crossed over voted for him. In New Hampshire, Romney won among registered Republicans, but McCain won overall. Likewise, in South Carolina, Huckabee won among registered Republicans, but McCain won the state.

This, of course, demonstrates that open primaries yield more leftward candidates. And why is it, I keep asking, that the GOP would want Democrats and moderate independents choosing their candidates for them? Democrats, obviously, are going to vote for the Democrat candidate in the general election, and if 2008 is any indication, moderates who voted for the more liberal of the GOP candidates in the primary are ALSO going to vote for the Democrat in the primary. So why listen to them?

Saul Anuzis, chairman of the Michigan GOP and one of the three leading candidates for RNC chairman, says this:

The Republican Party is moving inexorably toward closing rather than opening its presidential primaries, because the party needs to pick its candidates rather than allowing others to do so. As Chairman, he would facilitate and encourage the increasingly closed primary process, which could not be formally adopted as a nationwide mandate until the Republican National Convention in 2012. However, the RNC could indeed pass a Resolution in the meantime encouraging the states to close their primaries in the interim in the run-up to 2012.

Katon Dawson and Michael Steele, two other leading candidates for RNC chairman, also favor the idea.

That's real bright. The Republican party needs to become more conservative so they are closing the primaries to anyone that is not a Republicans?

The f-ing neocon Republicans are THE problem. Hell-o-o-o?

These MFers just DON'T get it.

 

[Cecilie1200]

That's real bright. The Republican party needs to become more conservative so they are closing the primaries to anyone that is not a Republicans?

The f-ing neocon Republicans are THE problem. Hell-o-o-o?

These MFers just DON'T get it.

Nope, they're correct. While there ARE moderate-to-liberal people who are actually registered Republicans, there are not enough of them to overwhelm the numbers of more conservative Republicans and stick the party with a RINO candidate without the help of independents and Democrats in the open primary states.

Look at the numbers I cited in the last GOP primary. In New Hampshire and South Carolina, I believe it was, Huckabee won among registered Republicans, but McCain won overall because he won among people who were NOT registered Republicans.

 

[Gunny]

Nope, they're correct. While there ARE moderate-to-liberal people who are actually registered Republicans, there are not enough of them to overwhelm the numbers of more conservative Republicans and stick the party with a RINO candidate without the help of independents and Democrats in the open primary states.

Look at the numbers I cited in the last GOP primary. In New Hampshire and South Carolina, I believe it was, Huckabee won among registered Republicans, but McCain won overall because he won among people who were NOT registered Republicans.

I disagree. The Presidency has not been won by a straight ticket since LBJ. Whoever pulls down the moderate vote wins. There aren't enough real conservatives to win on their own, nor do they control the GOP.

McCain IS a registered Republican. What this high-minded crap boils down to is disenfranchising anyone that doesn't toe the party line.

Let them pull that shit and they WON'T get my vote and they will alienate themselves from a LOT of independents. And in case you didn't notice, that didn't work out so well in 2006 and this year, did it?

 

[DiveCon]

I disagree. The Presidency has not been won by a straight ticket since LBJ. Whoever pulls down the moderate vote wins. There aren't enough real conservatives to win on their own, nor do they control the GOP.

McCain IS a registered Republican. What this high-minded crap boils down to is disenfranchising anyone that doesn't toe the party line.

Let them pull that shit and they WON'T get my vote and they will alienate themselves from a LOT of independents. And in case you didn't notice, that didn't work out so well in 2006 and this year, did it?

how does that change the fact that NON-republicans changed the outcomes of NH and SC?

 

[Gunny]

how does that change the fact that NON-republicans changed the outcomes of NH and SC?

I did not dispute that fact. My argument is with so-called conservatives deciding to close the voting to all but club members and what the logical outcome of that would be.

Only Republicans vote in the primaries the result is only Republicans choose the candidate. I'm not going to call them conservatives because as of late they've proven they don't know what the word means.

For the sake of argument, let's say Huckabee took those states and became the Republican candidate. I wouldn't vote for him. I don't want some evangelical in the White House legislating his/her morals anymore than I want some self-proclaimed intellectually elite, amoral snob doing so.

I'm just giving you the pespective of an independent who has voted Republican since 1980. If I have no say in who's being chosen, you aren't getting my vote. If I don't like the other party's candidate, I will STILL abstain.

 

[Chris]

I did not dispute that fact. My argument is with so-called conservatives deciding to close the voting to all but club members and what the logical outcome of that would be.

Only Republicans vote in the primaries the result is only Republicans choose the candidate. I'm not going to call them conservatives because as of late they've proven they don't know what the word means.

For the sake of argument, let's say Huckabee took those states and became the Republican candidate. I wouldn't vote for him. I don't want some evangelical in the White House legislating his/her morals anymore than I want some self-proclaimed intellectually elite, amoral snob doing so.

I'm just giving you the pespective of an independent who has voted Republican since 1980. If I have no say in who's being chosen, you aren't getting my vote. If I don't like the other party's candidate, I will STILL abstain.

If you have voted Republican for 28 years how can you be an independent?

 

[Gunny]

If you have voted Republican for 28 years how can you be an independent?

Several reasons. One, I WAS a registered Democrat prior to 1980. Two, I will vote for who I believe is the best candidate and I don't care which party they represent.

I realize that's a hard concept for you to understand being so black-and-white, Left=good, right=bad about your politics, but I'll vote for a Democrat in a minute if I believe the Democrat is the better candidate.

 

[DiveCon]

If you have voted Republican for 28 years how can you be an independent?

because, you can VOTE for republicans without BEING one

 

[DiveCon]

Several reasons. One, I WAS a registered Democrat prior to 1980. Two, I will vote for who I believe is the best candidate and I don't care which party they represent.

I realize that's a hard concept for you to understand being so black-and-white, Left=good, right=bad about your politics, but I'll vote for a Democrat in a minute if I believe the Democrat is the better candidate.

if the democrats put up a conservative, i would vote for them
and i used to
but havent in about the same time frame as you
in the city of Portland, ME, we had a very conservative democrat on the city council, he got my vote EVERY election
till i moved out of state


hell, the only republican on the city council back then was a flaming liberal, i NEVER voted for him
and the guy lived in MY neighborhood

 

[Gunny]

if the democrats put up a conservative, i would vote for them
and i used to
but havent in about the same time frame as you
in the city of Portland, ME, we had a very conservative democrat on the city council, he got my vote EVERY election
till i moved out of state


hell, the only republican on the city council back then was a flaming liberal, i NEVER voted for him
and the guy lived in MY neighborhood

I have voted for Democrats in local elections. Democrats here aren't Democrats in California nor NY. If you vote for a Republican in CA, you'd be voting for that same person as a Democrat here. A lot of these fireeaters don't seem able to comprehend that there is a very REAL geographical/regional difference as far as who is what.

 

[Article 15]

And the GOP continues to wonder aimlessly through the woods trying to figure out "what went wrong" ...