Primary Problem
February 1, 2004
by Mike Spinney

The presidential primary system is corrupt.

As a young man, politically active in Maine, I looked forward to the caucus. In 1988, I was a volunteer for Sen. Gary Hart and addressed the people of Auburn on Hart’s behalf. In 1992 I worked for the Clinton Campaign as chairman for my precinct in Portland.

Both experiences were memorable, if less than successful. Two days before Maine’s 1988 caucus, Hart announced he was getting out of the race after Super Tuesday. In ’92, Maine went heavily for Jerry Brown and Paul Tsongas – though I did manage to hold onto a distant third in my precinct in spite of a late run at our position by my wheeling and dealing counterpart from Tom Harkin’s campaign.

The caucus was exciting. It was real. And it didn’t come at the taxpayer expense.

Granted, state primaries don’t cost a lot of taxpayer dollars. Usually just a few million, but that’s a few million that could be used for other purposes. Better yet, that’s a few million that doesn’t have to be spent at all.

The Boston Globe recently reported that the State of Washington decided to save the $6.8 million it would have spent to hold its Democratic Primary on March 2. Instead, Washington’s Democrats will caucus on February 7. The December 6, 2003 article went on to say that Kansas will save $1.75 million by caucusing this year.

All told, eight states will caucus rather than hold a primary to choose delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

In each case, when asked why their primaries were being cancelled, officials involved cited budgetary constraints and questions about their state’s influence, based on timing.

I wonder how any state can justify spending one dollar of public money to hold a primary – a non-binding election by which political parties decide in what proportion candidates’ delegates will travel to the parties’ national conventions.

The process creates the illusion of legitimacy for, and perpetuates the stranglehold of power the Democrats and Republicans hold on the American political system. Symptomatic of the way the two largest parties have crafted a complexity of rules to ensure no “third party” can encroach upon the status quo, the primary season is little more than a publicly funded, three month long public relations campaign in support of two party rule.

At least in Utah parties are required to reimburse the state for costs incurred to hold a primary. For that I applaud the people of the Beehive State.

But when I scan the channels, flipping between CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, NECN, Comedy Central, C-SPAN and the rest, it frustrates me because I see no reports about who the Libertarians, Greens, or any of the other alternatives have chosen to carry the party banner into November.

Did I sleep in on the day the FCC repealed the “equal time” requirement, or am I simply naïve enough to believe that such a concept ought to apply to all parties? At least throw me a bone once in a while. I understand that, until a few alternative candidates manage to get elected to a major national office, those people in position to make such decisions will feel it is worth the effort to turn their cameras toward someone whose political affiliation isn’t identified by a D or R.

Both our Declaration of Independence and Constitution articulate the right and obligation of the People to express ideas freely, and both clearly state that no just government should have the power to prevent the expression of such freedoms. In spite of these near sacred traditions, there has evolved a tyranny against political legitimacy for any outside the established circles of power.

When I break a cardinal rule of social etiquette and talk with others about politics, there’s a near universal expression of exasperation over bureaucratic bloat, the culture of entitlement, and wasteful spending of public funds. And still, when asked why these same people will not even consider casting a ballot for a candidate whose political convictions are solidly against such things, there’s a near universal expression of “I don’t want to waste my vote.”

The lack of logic astounds me. But when I see how the rules have been written – rules that allow private political parties to spend public money to buy everything from legislative votes to the perpetuation of political legitimacy through the primary system, I can understand how such illogic exists.

The Declaration of Independence states that, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” More than 225 years later, we’ve somehow managed to reverse that order.

However, that Declaration goes on to say “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.”

I don’t think we should abolish our system of government. But I’m all for a little alteration.

(Mike Spinney is a volunteer staff writer for 2 Walls Webzine)