Primaries

For this weeks blog we are supposed to answer three questions... 1. Are primaries good or bad for democracy? 2. Are primaries good or bad for parties? 3. Are primaries good or bad for candidates?

1. I think that primaries are good for democracies. One thing is certain, they are definately more democratic than the caucus or the party conventions. Primaries take the power away from elites and party bosses and allow the public, who are interested, vote. They also are run by the states, so states can focus on issues and canidates that are more friendly to their needs.

2. I think that primaries aren't necessarily BAD for the parties, but I think that parties would definately prefer not to have them and use the caucus or convention instead. Parties would rather have the control, and primaries take some control away from them. With that in mind, I would say that primaries are generally frowned upon by party bosses who want to control the candidates, platforms, and votes.

3. I would say that primaries are generally good for the candidates, other than the expenses. It gives candidates a chance to get their face out in the media, get their policies heard, and meet the public. Primaries give candidates who would be otherwise relatively unheard of a chance to gain some publicity that they would not otherwise get.

With all of that in mind, the primary type that I believe best serves in the interest of the people and the parties would be the closed primary. This allows people who are interested to vote, while still allowing parties to have some control over the primary. People who are informed on the issues, and are relatively loyal to their parties, can choose to register with a party and vote. It is more democratic than a caucus, but at the same time the party maintains some control because only registered people may vote, and vote for their party-no cross overs. Open primaries, non partisan primaries, and blanket primaries are very bad for parties because there can be a lot of cross over voting, independents running, and the results are not necessarily clear to the parties, for example John McCain in the 2004 election.