Comments: Some primary thoughts
Hi, Chris. Glad to see you back. An open primary is a very interesting idea. I'm just too tired tonight to write about it. I'll try to join the debate tommorow.
Posted by tings at November 19, 2004 10:01 PM
First of all, where were the D to R crossover votes? If they were outside the suburbs yall got yourselves a problem, but if a even a significant plurality of these were in the suburbs I wouldn't worry; a lot of those voters wanted Isakson in office instead of the two wingers he was against, and knew that the D field was very, very bad (though W. Cliff did have some nice food at his free buffet)
Secondly, semiclosed primaries, like we have now, probably encourage moderation anyway, especially in districts as gerrymandered as GA. In a noncompetitive Congressional race, many people will cross and vote for a candidate in the party who seems more in line with their beliefs (Majette McKinney race). Don't you think they'd probably vote up and down ballot for similar types of people?
I don't have any data for any of this, so spank me if I'm wrong.
I'm really just opposed to the state-sponsored primary system in general, and also with popular voting for candidates. If candidates were still selected in smoke-filled rooms, I think you'd see a lot more moderation than you do today.
Posted by LeftTheCapitol at November 20, 2004 04:00 AM
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