02-16-2012, 04:24 PM
I agree that the primary system needs reform. The trouble is that you have to get the parties to agree on something, and we see how that goes. There are lots of proposals out there.
The primary rules for '12 are quite different from '08 due to both state-level party changes that were made and lawsuits regarding who can participate.
However, whatever system we have in a current year is what we have. Because voters choose to participate at low levels, that doesn't make it meaningless or unimportant, those are the people who get to pick the candidates because they elect to participate. I don't think there has ever been a time when voter turnout for primaries was a big number, even in years with "historic" and high-interest candidates, like '08.
So if people want it to go differently, they should lobby their congressmen for change, or at least their state level party chairman.
The primary rules for '12 are quite different from '08 due to both state-level party changes that were made and lawsuits regarding who can participate.
However, whatever system we have in a current year is what we have. Because voters choose to participate at low levels, that doesn't make it meaningless or unimportant, those are the people who get to pick the candidates because they elect to participate. I don't think there has ever been a time when voter turnout for primaries was a big number, even in years with "historic" and high-interest candidates, like '08.
So if people want it to go differently, they should lobby their congressmen for change, or at least their state level party chairman.