SALON: The Presidential Primary Scam-WHY THE GAME IS RIGGED

[kpete]

The presidential primary scam
Why the game is rigged, and why true democracy is only a secondary factor in the nation's rush to nominate the next president.

By Michael Scherer


Oct. 8, 2007 | WASHINGTON -- It's far worse than you think -- worse than hanging chads, faulty Diebold machines, and billionaires who bankroll last-minute attack ads. The American system for nominating a presidential candidate has about as much in common with actual democracy as Donald Duck has with a lake mallard. It's not just that this year's primaries have been further front-loaded, or that the early primary states aren't representative of the nation at large. There is only passing fairness. There is only the semblance of order. There is nothing like equal representation under the law.

The whole stinking process was designed by dead men in smoky parlors and refined by faceless bureaucrats in hotel conference rooms. It is a nasty brew born of those caldrons of self-interest known as political parties. At every stage, advantage is parceled out like so much magic potion. "The national interest is not considered in any form," says University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato. "Everything is left up to an ad hoc decision. It's chaotic."

That is not an exaggeration. Consider this: If you are a Republican, your vote for the presidential nominee will be worth more in Tennessee than in New York. If you are a Democrat, your vote in the primary will not count in Florida and is unlikely to count in Michigan. If you are a Republican in Wyoming, you probably won't get to vote at all, since only party officials have a say.

And it gets worse. This election cycle, a top Democratic candidate shaking someone's hand in Miami before the end of January is breaking the rules, unless that someone is handing the candidate a check at the same time. To put it another way, Democrats' communicating with voters has been barred in Florida, but taking money from voters is OK. To put it a third way, the system is not only irrational but offensive to the nation's most basic values. "The only way that you can hear a candidate campaign is if you are willing to pay a campaign contribution," explains Steven Geller, Florida's exasperated state Senate Democratic leader. "It is astounding."

much more at:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/10/08/presidential_primary/

[NotGivingUp]

1. It's all smoke and mirrors. There is no democracy. n/t

[Pachamama]

3. I went out to dinner last night and a woman who grew up in the former Soviet Union was saying how it

is so much further along here than any American realizes. She laughed when she says she hears people talk about how "free" and "democratic" the United States is. She says Americans don't even see it, but she does since she grew up in the Soviet Union and even now still goes back to Russia to visit family and she sees all the signs of a fascist police state here. She continued to go on and say "oh, but your safer, right?" and then she said that our elections, like in Russia, are rigged, and we don't see it either. Our TV is a propaganda machine of the gov't, but oh no, Americans have "freedom of the press".

She said the theory of ignorance is bliss lives well in the US.

[Hydra]

6. I've studied Nazi Germany, and the parallels are stunning

But like your friend says, the illusion of freedom burns so brightly in some people's minds that they can't see the reality.

[Pachamama]

9. "THE ILLUSION OF DEMOCRACY" - that's exactly what we have!

Funny you mentioned that and so did another poster who answered at the same time as you and they heard it years ago from someone in Belgium....

[Hydra]

13. This isn't a new thing

“It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts... For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it.”

Patrick Henry

My personal hero know quite a bit...and was considered a paranoid loon for it :evilgrin:

[John Q. Citizen]

35. I would call it "managed democracy." You don't actually think the oligarchy is going to leave

decision making powers up to the masses do you?

[Blashyrkh]

40. Yes, we get to "pick" from their list of candidates.

Does this open some windows to the Hillary supporters who cannot understand the attitudes of some of the anti-Hillary folks?

[KansDem]

7. In graduate school in the early 1990s, I met a woman from Belgium

We would talk about world politics and whenever I mentioned "United States" and "democracy" in the same sentence, she would shake her head and say "America does not have a democracy. America has the illusion of a democracy." That comment has stayed in my head ever since.

It's amazing (and embarrassing) just how much more the Europeans know about American politics than Americans do.

[davekriss]

36. Many of us have seen through the illusion for a long time

May not be as eloquent as quoting Tom Paine, but fwiw:

The illusion of freedom in America will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way, and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theatre.
-- Frank Zappa, 1977

[NotGivingUp]

44. Plenty eloquent....it gave me the chills. n/t

[LibDemAlways]

46. Some Europeans know more about American politicians, too.

A few years ago when Tom Daschle was still Senate Majority leader C-Span cameras followed him around on a driving tour through South Dakota during the August recess. He stopped at a diner off the highway on the road to Mt. Rushmore and went in. He walked around introducing himself and was met with mostly blank stares. You'd think South Dakotans might recognize their Senator or Americans in general might recognize the Senate Majority leader, but no. The only person in the diner who recognized him was a French tourist, who ran over and insisted that the Senator come meet his family and pose for pictures. He introduced the Senator to the others in his party saying, unprompted and in English, "This is Tom Daschle. He is Majority Leader in the U.S. Senate."

Watching that was embarrassing.

[Chemical Bill]

8. My brother-in-law from Nigeria...

said he's used to elections being rigged. The rigged ones here didn't shock him. Interesting what a little perspective brings.

Bill

[Pachamama]

10. Interesting how the people from systems that are corrupt and rigged do see it so clearly

Yes, we are living in a fantasy here in America and those of us who see it can't understand how others can't see it when its as plain as day. But I'm absolutely convinced that most people can't and don't want to comprehend the truth because it would probably cause their heads to explode or they would spin into a cycle of chaos and they just can't handle that. So instead they choose the illusion, the fantasy of democracy and freedom and meanwhile the whole world shakes their heads.

We really are the teenager amongst Nations....We are such a young country relative to the rest of the world, and like a teenager, we think we know it all and are reckless....

[Kermitt Gribble]

53. That is the best analogy of the US mindset that I have ever read!

I'll have to remember that one, thank you!

[tom_paine]

12. Unquestionably so. This is a great unreported sorry, also.

I could just about guarantee that in any group of Holocaust survivors or other who have had direct experience with totalitarian, the question, "Does Bush and his bunch remind you of (whichever totalitarian nation the respondent has personal experience with)?" would be replied to by at least 50% saying "yes, somewhat" or "yes, a lot".

50% OR MORE.

Somebody should do this, but they never will because it violates Bushie Political Correctness to point this out.

[Joe Chi Minh]

22. I love that country-and-western song, Okie From Muskokie, because

it harks back to some old-fashioned values, even if some of it is over-the-top and never fails to crease me up.

One is the 'manly footwear', as if sandals - something I wouldn't wear if I was paid a fortune to - were the devil's work! And the other is the 'being free', in 'living right and being free'.

If only! The freedom of Americans stopped with the erosion of the New Deal, in favour of corporatism and, in the UK, the class victory of La Thatcher's vandals.

[Jackpine Radical]

31. You know that song was originally meant as satire,

but the Rednecks never got it, so Haggard was kinda forced into playing it straight? He would have been dismembered by outraged droolers if they suddenly figured out he had been poking fun at them instead of providing them with an anthem.

[truedelphi]

33. That explains a lot.Thanks for the tip about Haggard. n/t

[CoffeeCat]

38. That was also true about Archie Bunker...

Norman Lear created the Archie Bunker character for the 1970's
sitcom "All in the Family". Archie represented closed-minded,
ignorant bigots.

However, when the show aired, many people in America identified
with Archie and actually sympathized with him. I read that Lear
was absolutely stunned. "Meathead", Archie's son-in-law was
supposed to be the voice of reason and the "good guy" with
Archie being the obvious idiot.

"All in the Family" garnered widespread appeal because liberals watched because they liked "Meathead" and conservatives watched because they liked Archie.
People viewed the show with selective perception--believing that their side won
the arguments.

Conservatives believed that Archie kicked the crap out of "Meathead" and
liberals believed that "Meathead" made Archie look like an idiot.

It's pretty scary, when an over-the-top, ignorant bigot can become one of
America's most loved sit-com characters--especially when he was created
to expose bigotry and make fun of such idiocy.

[nxylas]

52. True with one minor correction

Lear didn't create Archie Bunker, he was adapted from the character of Alf Garnett in the BBC sitcom Till Death Us Do Part, created by Johnny Speight. One of the earliest examples of a format deal. Speight described Garnett as "a man at the bottom of the heap voting resolutely for the party which is determined to keep him at the bottom of the heap". Sound familiar?

[Joe Chi Minh]

57. I can't say that's a total surprise. There are parts of it all right that sound hilarious,

though, as I say, I'm both a social conservative, and a political left-wing radical. It does, in any case, depict an idealised world-view in relation to rednecks, as well.

[WinkyDink]

30. We will ALWAYS believe we are "free" as long as we are free to BUY STUFF.

Why do you think Bush exhorted us to "go shopping"?

[CoffeeCat]

39. The sad truth is....

...as we continue to express our "freedom" by buying more stuff
using Credit card....we are less free than we've ever been.

Being owned by the credit card companies is horrible. It's a self-imposed
prison.

Don't think for a nanosecond that BushCo doesn't understand this.

There's a reason that cc companies are allowed to be free and loose with
giving credit--and why they can do anything they want to you once you
sign up--including raising your interest rate to 50 percent if it strikes
their fancy.

If I could give any American any bit of advice about surviving the bad
stuff that's coming--I'd say---get debt free. Pay off those credit cards.

Otherwise you've got leg irons on. And who wants that discomfort when you're
trying to fight Fascism?

[ixion]

15. exactly... simply a facade, nothing substantial.

[Skink]

2. Since we are a Republic actually why not let the House and Senate decide

We elect congress people to represent us. Given this power Congress would stop outsourcing their job to the President.

[rucky]

4. Who is responsible? n/t

[Le Taz Hot]

47. WE are!

n/t

[madfloridian]

5. Why a big state loses delegates...breaking rules. Five sides to the story.

The first four states have rights, the DNC has rights, and Florida voted theirs away by working with the other party.

For scheming and voting with the Republicans for over a year at least to move up the primary, KNOWING they would lose their delegates. Then telling the people of Florida who are really quite uninformed on delegates and conventions....that Howard Dean and the DNC stole their votes.

Then stick a few lawsuits against your own party in there, sue the first four states....

And lie and say the Republicans made you do it.

FLorida Democrats were on board with the GOP about the primary as early as March 2006

Then they blamed the national party for stealing vores. The author of that article is only presenting one side. There are two sides to this issue. Four sides, five sides.

[Holly_Hobby]

11. It's no wonder why half the country doesn't vote n/t

[intheflow]

14. kick

[Gman]

16. Primaries are functions of the state party

not the national parties. State parties decide how delegates will be selected. Often the way Democratic and Republic delegates will be selected is completely different in a given state. One party may use the results of the primary vote to select all delegates and the other party uses the primary vote as a referendum and selects all delegates at the state convention. Often there is a mix. Comparing someone's vote in TN to one in NY is apples and oranges. Each campaign tailors their state strategy to the state rules for selecting delegates.

In other words, if people don't like how something is being done in their state party get your people to your state convention and change the rules.

[madfloridian]

18. Wrong, the national party is in charge of the delegate rules.

The Supreme Court gave that opinion in a ruling in 1981

[Selatius]

23. Then why did Florida Democrats vote with Repubs to defy the national party on primaries?

What was the point?

[madfloridian]

Duplicate

.

[madfloridian]

25. To be first?? Me first?

So they can blame the national party, sue Dean and the DNC and hurt fundraising?

Someone has been behind it, but I don't post stuff I only speculate about.

[Romulox]

51. Florida has as much (perhaps more) right to be first as does wee little right-leaning Iowa...

You keep arguing that Florida's representative has broken "the rules", but the people of Florida did not vote for these rules, and are not bound by them.

Moreover, the underlying issue is the substantive fairness of allowing each voter the same voice in the political process, irrespective of the state in which the voter lives. You are arguing that some bullshit, backroom rules drafted by a committee appointed by Terry McAulliffe is more important than "1 person = 1 vote" and equal protection under the law, which are the two foundational concepts of American democracy.

[Gman]

28. You are correct

What I left unsaid in my post was that the delegate selection process in each state must conform to the national party rules. For example, as you very well know, party rules say when the first primary will be and if you have a primary before that date it is not legal by the rules of the party.

My point was that national rules allow different types of selection processes including primary or caucuses or a combination of both. This is where the state's discretion is exercised as to how the state wants to elect delegates. (all of this assumes the automatic inclusion of super-delegates (DNC members, members of congress, etc.), of course according to national rules.)

So yes, you are correct that the national party makes the rules, but the national party also allows some discretion to the state parties to decide how they want to elect delegates. So if someone doesn't like for example the caucus method in their state, then go to the state convention and change the rules for the next election to make it a primary method or maybe a hybrid of the two.

Also, it is always the state party that conducts primaries for state wide or multi-county jurisdiction elections and the local county parties that conducts primaries for local elections, not the national party. Given also these are conducted in accordance with national party rules.

All party rules for everything from the county up through the state must all conform with the national rules with no exceptions.

I know you know this stuff given all that you've blogged on the Florida situation! Thanks for keeping us all posted on what's going on there. Hopefully some sanity will prevail.

[madfloridian]

17. He quotes Geller who called IA, NH, NV, and SC "terrorist rogue states"??

and threatened to sue them? Good reporting there. Geller might sue those four states for "conspiracy to intimidate the presidential candidates", and Scherer is giving him credit by quoting him?

He also laughed his own amendment off the floor of the Florida legislature.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1461

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. Another good argument for a national primary.

And, a national primary would spare us the antics of rich politicians acting like farmboy goobers fooling around with shovels and sitting on tractors.

[madfloridian]

20. Scherer gives credence to Steve Geller?

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1538

[madfloridian]

21. Florida worked with the GOP to get that early primary...they broke the rules on purpose

and then spread propaganda about the DNC.

Scherer should be careful quoting people like Geller.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1562

[mod mom]

24. We need a national uprising with populist candidates who will be willing to

fight the corrupt system.

RUN AL RUN!

[madfloridian]

26. This Geller is quoted as being exasperated??? This Geller.

The gang who can't shoot straight

The one who called them terrorist rogue states, and the one who said Dean was not welcome in Florida?

Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller, who on Wednesday labeled Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina “terrorist, rogue states” for coercing Democratic presidential candidates not to campaign in Florida in advance of its Jan. 29 primary, on Thursday announced he will not be attending a Tallahassee fundraiser held by the head terrorist himself, Democratic chairman Howard Dean.

“He’s welcome in certain, small enclaves of the state,” Geller told the Q. “If you don’t have something nice to say about someone, you shouldn’t say anything at all. Therefore I will not go.”

Maybe Geller will give up the $350,000 they get from the DNC for 6 paid staffers.

And they are using the money to screw the other states and blame the DNC.

:shrug:

Michael Scherer, be careful who you quote from Florida.

[T.Ruth2power]

27. Yep

They've rigged it.

And this is the tip of the iceberg. Try getting on a ballot for an even moderate State office.

[snappyturtle]

29. K&R nt

[earth mom]

32. I like your avatar-we need "V for Vendetta" in this country. nt

[snappyturtle]

42. I couldn't agree with you more but who is our ""V" ? I have watched

the movie several times. It's evident that England had to go through an awful time before the citizens came to their senses....I think we're at the brink of that time. Hopefully, something or someone will be able to get the attention of the AMerican people soon enough to keep the fall from happening. However, my hopes were again dimmed this morning when I heard on Washington Journal that the Dems are conceding once again on FISA. I think the Constitution has become what * called it: a damn piece of paper!

[Richard Steele]

50. Nothing truly changes until EVERYONE is "V". nm

[snappyturtle]

55. Well, that's exactly what happened in the movie! and I agree

with you on that too.....but the character "V" was the catalyst.....that's what we need.

[earth mom]

56. I'm hoping that maybe there is a V that we don't know about yet.... nt

[Kurovski]

34. K&R.

Wow. Posting this in GD made all the difference. Thanks, kpete! :thumbsup:

[illinoisprogressive]

37. I feel our elections have been decided for us long before any primary season begins.

[MetaTrope]

41. Gee, I thought this was going to be about how the MSM only talks about two Dem candidates

C'mon Salon, if you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem.

[Apollo11]

43. Many Iowans here on DU want to hold on to their privileged status

They remind me of the slave-owners back in the day who would come up with all kinds of excuses to defend slavery, which in the end all boiled down to naked self-interest.

It would obviously be much fairer if the DNC would fix some common rules on who is allowed to vote and organize some kind of a random draw to decide the order in which the 50 states hold their primaries.

With a random draw, it is very unlikely that Iowa and N.H. would be drawn first and second every time.

[Romulox]

49. "naked self interest"---BINGO

But it's a two way street: obviously the party insiders feel they can control the process if it takes places in tiny states. "Naked self interest" applies to party insiders, too.

[trogdor]

45. It's based on the number of party members per state.

That's the only way it makes sense. I'm not sure I like that setup because it gives states containing more of your own party's people greater weight at the convention when we ought to be subjecting the nominee to the same test he or she would be facing in the general election. It doesn't serve us well to have tons and tons of delegates from California and New York, while sending only a handful from, say, South Carolina. Ignoring the red states is not a good idea.

[Romulox]

48. Is proportional representation a new concept for you?

:wtf:

[bluescribbler]

54. What's the problem?

Delegate apportionment is governed, not by population, but by Democratic voters. In addition, delegate spots are given to elected members of the DNC and to prominent elected Democratic officials. What's wrong with that? :shrug: