Primary nomination process not as sacrosanct as some choose to believe
Like so many things that politicians do that end up in a tangled mess, the current rules and practices may have been things that "seemed like a good idea at the time."
There might be a lesson there about not getting carried away with rhetoric, and about the need to stop and think through the consequences before the consequences overwhelm you.
Do we want the magic words of "universal health care" to end up in a similar tangled mess — as it has already in some other countries — while we end up saying, "it seemed like a good idea at the time"?
The idea behind letting "the people" decide whom the Democratic Party should nominate for president of the United States was that such things should not be decided behind closed doors by party bigwigs in the proverbial smoke-filled room.
But, in this context and in many others, the question must be asked: Who are "the people"?
Not only in primary elections, but in other local elections — and especially in off-year local elections — vested interests such as the teachers' union can get a big turnout that can give a disproportionate weight to people who are nowhere near a majority but who can win big time with one-fourth or less of the electorate.
Is that the voice of "the people"?
As far as party primaries are concerned, both Republican and Democratic Party primaries are dominated by the most zealous voters, whose views may not reflect the views of most members of their own respective parties, much less the views of those who are going to vote in the November general election.
In recent times, each election year has seen each party's nominee selected — or at least subject to veto — by its most extreme wing and then forced to try to move back to the center before the general election.
This can only undermine the public's confidence in the integrity of the candidates of both parties.
Back in the bad old days of the smoke-filled rooms, people with a long-term stake in their party had to take into account what the American public at large wanted, because that would determine who would actually get elected to the White House and the Congress, who in turn would then decide who would be put on the federal courts across the land, including the Supreme Court.
Recent comments
Thomas Sowell is right on, as usual. He has an amazing understanding...
Anne | March 27, 2008 at 9:09 p.m.
