Dadoalex
Gold Member
- Jan 11, 2021
- 15,114
- 6,457
- 208
Prior to 1968 only 28 states in total held presidential primaries.
Then the Democrats screwed the pooch at the 68 convention by nominating a guy who'd won no primaries.
The response of course was that nearly every state decided to hold primaries with a few sticking to the caucus.
Pretty fair. Or so it seemed.
Then the primaries became a method of kicking incumbents to the curb for failing to respond to the extremists in the parties. With the GOP this served to drive the party to the extremist mess we see today.
The Democratic party is affected as well but because there are fewer areas dominated by Democratic extremists this strategy hasn't worked as well or as broadly and, in most cases, the Democratic extremists are gone after one term.
Primaries are dominated by the party loyalists and, since the early 90s, by party extremists. We can't keep the extremists from voting so there are only a few available options.
Open Primaries
Ranked choice open primaries
Get more people to the polls for primaries to limit the extremist impact
Eliminate primaries and go back to the "smoke filled rooms"
The primaries at every political level have delivered more and more fringe candidates to the general and, within the GOP, the extremists are beloved.
Like Nazis, there's Gosar
Like stupidity you got Kennedy(LA) and Tuberville(AL)
Like racism, take your pick...
Despite their obvious inability to do the job for which they were elected, they keep winning the primaries because the extremists like their crazy.
I like the first two options. Open and Ranked Choice Open primaries. But the success depends on the integrity of the parties and, let's face it, integrity on both sides is in short supply.
Therefore, let's get rid of the primaries and put politics back in the smoke filled rooms where it belongs.
Then the Democrats screwed the pooch at the 68 convention by nominating a guy who'd won no primaries.
The response of course was that nearly every state decided to hold primaries with a few sticking to the caucus.
Pretty fair. Or so it seemed.
Then the primaries became a method of kicking incumbents to the curb for failing to respond to the extremists in the parties. With the GOP this served to drive the party to the extremist mess we see today.
The Democratic party is affected as well but because there are fewer areas dominated by Democratic extremists this strategy hasn't worked as well or as broadly and, in most cases, the Democratic extremists are gone after one term.
Primaries are dominated by the party loyalists and, since the early 90s, by party extremists. We can't keep the extremists from voting so there are only a few available options.
Open Primaries
Ranked choice open primaries
Get more people to the polls for primaries to limit the extremist impact
Eliminate primaries and go back to the "smoke filled rooms"
The primaries at every political level have delivered more and more fringe candidates to the general and, within the GOP, the extremists are beloved.
Like Nazis, there's Gosar
Like stupidity you got Kennedy(LA) and Tuberville(AL)
Like racism, take your pick...
Despite their obvious inability to do the job for which they were elected, they keep winning the primaries because the extremists like their crazy.
I like the first two options. Open and Ranked Choice Open primaries. But the success depends on the integrity of the parties and, let's face it, integrity on both sides is in short supply.
Therefore, let's get rid of the primaries and put politics back in the smoke filled rooms where it belongs.