I agree with that assessment with respect to the general election, but my comment is only for the primaries. I assume the Constitution does not authorize federal involvement in primary elections. As others noted, the state is involved with running and funding these primaries, so there is a public interest issue. Good point. So let's get the state out of the primary process and have them run general elections only. Regardless of how the (private) parties select their respective candidates, the voters can choose among them at the state-run general election. The more we involve government in the process, the more they can rig the system for their two-party oligopoly.
_____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Omar Khyam Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:31 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Libertarian] Where Primaries Do Not Count, Consent of the Governed is DENIED That is all fine and good, but the Electors are designated by the Legislatures, according to the Constitution. If a state legislature decides to start appointing Electors by the flip of a coin, they can do that too. The reason they do not do that is entirely due to the Progressive Movement of the early 20th century, but it is not part of the Constitution. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. -- Winston Churchill ----- Original Message ---- From: Bob Giramma <[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:evil_spock%40hotmail.com> com> To: Libertarian@ <mailto:Libertarian%40yahoogroups.com> yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 8:20:07 PM Subject: RE: [Libertarian] Where Primaries Do Not Count, Consent of the Governed is DENIED The DNC and RNC are private organizations, and so they should be free to make and enforce their own rules of membership. _____ From: Libertarian@ yahoogroups. com [mailto:Libertarian@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Omar Khyam Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:03 AM To: omarkhyam1951@ yahoo.com Subject: [Libertarian] Where Primaries Do Not Count, Consent of the Governed is DENIED Democratic National Committee members voted yesterday to strip Michigan of its delegates to next year's national convention, making it the second state to be punished so severely for holding a primary election earlier than the national party allows. http://www.washingt <http://www.washingt onpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/ article/2007/ 12/01/AR20071201 0 0722.html> onpost.com/wp- dyn/content/ article/2007/ 12/01/AR20071201 00722.html By Michael D. Shear Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, August 26, 2007; Page A01 The Democratic National Committee sought to seize control of its unraveling nominating process yesterday, rejecting pleas from state party leaders and cracking down on Florida for scheduling a Jan. 29 presidential primary. http://www.washingt <http://www.washingt onpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/ article/2007/ 08/25/AR20070825 0 0275.html> onpost.com/wp- dyn/content/ article/2007/ 08/25/AR20070825 00275.html RNC Makes Punishment of Early-Voting States Official The Republican National Committee has punished five states for scheduling their primaries earlier than allowed, reducing the number of delegates they can send to the 2008 convention by half. In letters that went out today, RNC Chairman Mike Duncan informed New Hampshire, Michigan, Florida, South Carolina and Wyoming to expect that only half of their delegates would be allowed to come to the convention. The action was widely expected in the wake of decisions by the states to move their primaries into early January. With a few exceptions, the RNC had insisted that all contests take place between Feb. 5 and July 28. Leaders in the five states have come to the conclusion that it's better for their state to be more relevant by holding their nominating contests earlier. Iowa and Nevada hold contests in January, but officially select their delegates later in the year, so they were not punished. Strategists for the presidential campaigns have been expecting the action and have factored the smaller-than- usual number of delegates from those states into their planning. There's always the chance that the organizers of the convention could reverse the punishments once the party's nominee is determined. But party officials have said that woudl be a highly complicated, unlikely scenario. http://blog. <http://blog. washingtonpost. com/the-trail/ 2007/10/22/ rnc_makes_ punishment_ of _earlyv.html> washingtonpost. com/the-trail/ 2007/10/22/ rnc_makes_ punishment_ of_earlyv. html The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. -- Winston Churchill ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools. <http://tools. search.yahoo. com/newsearch/ category. php?category= shopping> search.yahoo. com/newsearch/ category. php?category= shopping [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] __________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools. <http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping> search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
