Fuel For The Fire

In light of recent discussions we've had about open primaries and democracy, here's an interesting article from AP:

Several states have moved to drop their presidential primaries next year, worried about costs in still-tight financial times and wondering if the political exercise would serve any purpose.

Some say they can't afford the millions of dollars it costs to put on an election. Others say the decisions reflect the lopsided nature of modern primaries: The front-runner gets anointed by the media and campaign donors after the first few state primaries and the rest of the primaries are formalities.

The decisions add fuel to the argument that the primary system is in dire need of repairs. In most states forgoing a primary, party-run caucuses will be used instead to choose delegates to the national conventions.

I am dismayed by this trend. On the one hand, this proves a point I've made before: if your party has primaries, it costs me lots of money, so I think open voting is only fair.

Unfortunately, some states are going back to caucuses, which I think are inherently less democratic and keep more people out of the process. Indeed, this entire system is in need of much repair.

ntodd  ¶ 4:09 PM