Reader Posts
« previous | TPM CAFÉ READER POSTS HOME | next »
Democrats Need A System That's Easier For The Public To Understand
Although Democrats have succeeded in capturing the attention of voters, it's risky to have such a complex nominating system in place. While much of the reporting on the issue has been helpful, questions must be raised about a process that requires such extensive explanation. On the one hand, party officials are trying to get people excited about the election. They want people out there voting, and they want Democrats to get in the habit of voting on election day. It's risky, though, to assume that voters will respond favorably to a system that is obviously loaded with counter-measures. The layers of influence, right or wrong, threaten to turn people off. There are too many variables in the equation. Better to give the public something linear. It's probably not unreasonable to say that a fair percentage of voters don't want to be bothered with decoding a Byzantine nomination process. They want to support a candidate and get out and vote. They want the votes to be counted and to be told who won. Then they want to get on with the business of living. On the whole, party officials ought to at least recognize the possibility that the existing system may seem dodgy to a fair percentage of people. Weigh that possibility against the merits, whatever they may be, and decide if an overhaul is warranted. If the wheels come off to the extent that voter turnout is low come November, then it might be time to revisit the program.
Comments (4)
Voters should consider a class action lawsuit to end the process of super-delegates. A case can be made that the super-delegates degrade, and are intended to dilute, the weight of our votes to allow the party elites to determine who gets the nomination of the party. It doesn’t matter whether Hillary or Obama gets the nomination, both will be great democratic leaders. However, the fact that super-delegates have the power to overrule the voters is against the concept of democracy, and harms the voters of this country. A single super-delegate vote can carry as much weight as 50,000 citizen votes.
Do not lose focus on this issue after the primaries are over. While it may turn out that this process does not override the American vote this year, the chances are there for the future. Our votes must be equal to those of the Washington insiders.
February 18, 2008 12:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
For starters, our president is not elected in a democratic process. And, the party nominees are not selected democratically either. The party nominees are selected by a convention where the delegates do the deciding. The fact that for many years we have had a huge majority of the delegates known to favor one candidate doesn't change the actual process.
If we want a democratically elected president, and I do, we have to get rid of the Electoral College, and we have to count every vote with the same weight. That goes for counting primary votes as well as general election votes. We would need a national primary election held on one day, with the candidate having the majority of the votes becoming the party candidate. So, we would need an "instant runoff" primary.
Then in the general election we would all vote directly for the candidate we favor for president, again with the candidate having the majority of the votes becoming the president elect. And, again that would require instant runoff voting.
So, shall we amend the Constitution to do this? And, do you really think that 2/3's of the states, 38 states, would vote for the amendments? Not a chance.
February 18, 2008 12:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
The super delegates (like the electoral college) are only a problem in elections that are to close to call. Elimination them would just lead to a different set of problems in those close elections because close elections are hard to deal with in any case. What do you do when the margin of victory is smaller than the margin of error? Flip a coin?
This year the super delegate system is giving the punditocracy something to chat about but by the end of the primaries the problem will have vanished because we are going to have a decisive winner.
Sen Clinton has missmanaged her campaign and it is all over except for the crying.
February 18, 2008 9:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
You can't file a "class action suit" against a political party just because you don't like the rules. If you don't like the rules, join the party, participate in precinct, local and state party conventions and committees and work to change the rules.
Super delegates have one vote, just like every other delegate.
February 18, 2008 12:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Post a Comment