There seems to be some pandemic confusion about the difference between the party primaries and the general election, so let's make sense of things.
Keep this in mind, folks. We are not at the general election yet. Presidential primaries are nothing more than opinion polls intended to give the parties an estimate of support so that they can best determine which candidate has the best chance of beating the other party's candidate in November. The results of these straw polls are not binding. Primaries are simply Presidential Preference Polls, and "votes" in these polls are not legally binding. Party policy is really determined at the local and state conventions.
For example: John McCain wins 90% of the popular vote in a state's presidential preference primary. Ron Paul takes down 10% of the popular vote. Of those who actually attend the precinct meetings and participate in the county conventions, 51% are people who voted for Ron Paul, and all of them become delegates to the State convention.
Which nominee won that state? Ron Paul did. It does not matter how many people turn out to vote in the primary for a particular candidate; if those same people fail to participate in the party process that candidate has won nothing but popular opinion. In this case, Paul's supporters will be shaping party policy for that State and ultimately deciding to whom their support will go at the national convention in September. Theoretically, Paulites could introduce a resolution to unbind all delegates who were previously bound to the winner of that State's primary. This very thing has already been introduced, in Missouri; and it can happen elsewhere.
Ignore what the party elite is trying to tell you. There is nothing ill-spirited or illegitimate about these measures. The GOP is not being "invaded" by Paul supporters. They are simply participating in the process as the party's own rules allow them to do. The fact is those who show up and participate are the ones who are going to make an impact, and McCain's people haven't been showing.
#1 The U.S. Constitution makes no provision for the role of political parties.
#2 Political parties are private entities. They do not operate de jure; various party provisos and rules are not handed down by the force of law, and they are not binding in any legal sense.
#3 No citizen of the United States has a right to vote in a party primary. It is simply a privilege allowed by, again, a private entity.
#2 Political parties are private entities. They do not operate de jure; various party provisos and rules are not handed down by the force of law, and they are not binding in any legal sense.
#3 No citizen of the United States has a right to vote in a party primary. It is simply a privilege allowed by, again, a private entity.
Keep this in mind, folks. We are not at the general election yet. Presidential primaries are nothing more than opinion polls intended to give the parties an estimate of support so that they can best determine which candidate has the best chance of beating the other party's candidate in November. The results of these straw polls are not binding. Primaries are simply Presidential Preference Polls, and "votes" in these polls are not legally binding. Party policy is really determined at the local and state conventions.
For example: John McCain wins 90% of the popular vote in a state's presidential preference primary. Ron Paul takes down 10% of the popular vote. Of those who actually attend the precinct meetings and participate in the county conventions, 51% are people who voted for Ron Paul, and all of them become delegates to the State convention.
Which nominee won that state? Ron Paul did. It does not matter how many people turn out to vote in the primary for a particular candidate; if those same people fail to participate in the party process that candidate has won nothing but popular opinion. In this case, Paul's supporters will be shaping party policy for that State and ultimately deciding to whom their support will go at the national convention in September. Theoretically, Paulites could introduce a resolution to unbind all delegates who were previously bound to the winner of that State's primary. This very thing has already been introduced, in Missouri; and it can happen elsewhere.
Ignore what the party elite is trying to tell you. There is nothing ill-spirited or illegitimate about these measures. The GOP is not being "invaded" by Paul supporters. They are simply participating in the process as the party's own rules allow them to do. The fact is those who show up and participate are the ones who are going to make an impact, and McCain's people haven't been showing.
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