Assault on the primary system

Most states now use some sort of primary system to nominate candidates to stand
for election. In many congressional districts, the primary is the most
important election because through gerrymandering, most congressional districts
are either solidly Republican or solidly Democrat.

About 40 states use primaries, most of which are closed primaries, meaning that
you have to register as a member of that party to vote in that party’s primary.
Some are open primaries, meaning you only have to declare the day before or the
day of in the polling place to be eligible to vote. Only one state, Louisiana,
has a nonpartisan blanket primary. In Louisiana, candidates run unaffiliated,
and the top two qualify for a runoff if no candidate breaks 50 percent in the
first election.

While reformers in the progressive era a hundred years ago thought that the
primary was a step forward, things change. Back then, progressives were the
original mavericks who were unaligned and viewed as disloyal by both political
parties. La Follette led a revolt against Speaker Joe Cannon, even though he
was a Republican just like the czar.

But mavericks are now doing their best to turn the primary system on its head.
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who ran as the Democratic vice presidential
candidate a decade ago, started the trend by rejecting the desires of partisan
Democrats and running as an Independent after he lost the Democratic primary.
Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) did a slight variation on the theme, when he
switched parties rather than face Republican primary voters. And now, Florida
Gov. Charlie Crist has decided that rather than fight for the Republican
nomination for the U.S. Senate (and probably lose), he would run as a
non-affiliated Independent (and possibly win).

Crist’s decision drew boos from most national Republicans, but it got a hearty
endorsement from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a maverick Republican
if ever there was one. The independent-minded actor-turned-politician is so fed
up with primary politics that he is supporting an initiative to do away with
the primary in California once and for all.

Speaking of mavericks, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is now denying that he ever
was a maverick in his heated Senate primary campaign against a right-wing
partisan, former talk show host J.D. Hayworth, a notable departure from his
presidential campaign, which proudly highlighted his maverick credentials in a
memorable ad campaign, complete with a Western soundtrack.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), who sometimes played her own version of
Democratic maverick in her tenure as a senator, faces a similar challenge from
the left, in a state that roundly despises Barack Obama. Imagine how hard it
must be for Lincoln to move to the left in a primary, knowing that every step
she takes to appeal to Democratic partisans is one more step into the political
grave for her career as senator.

Think about how each of one of these senators would feel if he knew that he
could run not only as a partisan but also as a centrist. Think, if they all had
the chance, with their name ID, to appeal to voters not as Republicans or as
Democrats, but simply as constituents, how much more running room they would
have to work with.

The primary system is the one place where the far left and the far right can
reach agreement, because it is in the primary system where they have their
biggest influence. African-American politicians see the primary system as their
best chance to win elected office, as do the most conservative white
politicians. In most congressional districts, and increasingly in most Senate
elections, either the most liberal or most conservative ideologue tends to win
the most votes.

In Congress, you can see the result. Few politicians dare march near the center
of the political spectrum, especially in an election year, where most of the
American people reside, because the percentages simply don’t add up to appeal
to the primary voter.

The political parties, by their very definition, should be and are the biggest
supporters of the primary process, especially the closed primary process. They
should be because that is where they have the most power. But even within the
political parties, one can see growing discomfort. Extreme partisans on the
right and the left are threatening, in this election of elections, to upend and
hijack the primaries, putting in danger the chances of the party to win.
Thusly, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) faces a left-wing challenge that may put
that seat in danger for the Democrats whilst Rand Paul threatens to beat the
establishment candidate from the right, opening the door to the Democrat in a
solidly red state of Kentucky.

A century ago, the progressives built the primary system so that more people like
them could get elected. Now the system that they built is working to keep
people like them from getting elected.

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