PRIMARY CONCERNS
I have never been an enthusiastic supporter of the political primaries which are so routinely held prior to elections. Ostensibly, the system is designed to ferret out the one person deigned to be the very best, most qualified, most capable individual possible. Once designated as such, they are, then, anointed by party officials to be the party’s official entry in the election race just ahead.
I have repeatedly been told that the primary system prevents the presidential candidates from being “named” by a bunch of party cronies in a smoke-filled back room. The plan is said to be very democratic, as we say, allowing the general public to have a say in the choice to be made. It is supposed to remove the danger of our future leader being named by a narrow group of party hacks, but I think it falls apart on such nomenclature as that alone.
A like circumstance: If you want to know which horse of several in your stable to run in a race at the tracks, you seek the viewpoint of trainers, jockeys and handlers rather than that of touts, other owners or outright fortune telling freaks. You don’t ask the possible betters; you don’ t quiz the busy homemaker, or ask the person who does not know one end of a horse from the other.
The individuals who make any kind of showing at the earlier primaries such as those in New Hampshire and Iowa, the ones who most nearly toe the party line, cause caucus groups to get together which comes about as near as one might get to being “party hacks” converging in air-conditioned rather than smoke-filled rooms. We may call them “political activists” now-a-days and they now come in all shade, sizes, colors - and in all degrees from right to left, and with seemingly different tendencies and temperaments. All run on the same narrow-gauged track, however.
I fail to see the plan as being even a modest improvement on a system which allows a political party to simply designate the individual they choose to run on their behalf.
The rather weird manifestations taking place in a Recall Election in the State of California this year will serve as a valued guide to future elections. It will show “how to do it”,and “how not to do it” as well, I'm sure. Our primaries do somewhat the same. The media has reported anywhere from “138 to 328” as having registered to run for Governor of the Golden State but the only one named in the news seems to be someone named “Arnold”. See what happens when the public holds a popularity poll?
Our entire primary system is suspect to me.
A.L.M. August 11, 2003 [c480wds]
