Okay, so in this "diffuse representation system", who are these "diffuse representatives", and how, exactly, are they selected?
When I vote for someone to hold a local office, I expect I'm voting for the candidate I want in that office. When I cast a vote for a state office candidate, I figure I'm voting for that particular state official. And when it comes to the presidential primaries, I figure I'm voting for a particular presidential candidate.
But it sounds like some folks think a better system is that rather than actually voting for the presidential candidate, I'm really just voting for some lower level "grass roots" party official who may or may not support the guy for whom I thought I was casting my vote. And I have absolutely no clue who the "diffuse representatives" are that supposedly are representing my vote at the convention. Why should these "grassroots activists" be able to trump my vote by doing something different at the convention?
Personally, I'd be much happier with just direct vote tallies for primaries.
Originally, before passage of the 17th amendment, you voted for your members of the state legislature and they voted for your senators!
The original design is representative democracy.
Personally I have no problem understanding the term "Presidential Preference Primary" ~ and given the exigencies and contingencies of political life, you really don't want to tie a delegate to voting for a dead guy, or someone who quit the campaign either.
Your state is being represented at the National Convention by delegates you elect, or who you gave recommendations to.
If you want the other system you'd best hurry because there are very few states around anymore that lock in Democratic Centrism as a guiding principle!
The problem arises from states that split the delegates after the primary. Some of the lesser candidates, who refuse to withdraw from the primary after the winner has secured more than enough delegates to secure the nomination, are simply looking for a floor fight. That’s what we saw yesterday.
Ron Paul had been shopping around for enough delegates from one state to take this to the floor of the convention. There were battles in several states that received local coverage and should have received national coverage. Some of those states were WA, CO, Wisconsin and of course, Maine.
The goal was not to win anything, but to disrupt the convention, display disunity and hopefully to highlight the differences that the Libertarians have with the GOP, immigration, abortion, gay rights and foreign policy. Actually, the only thing that the Paulers have in common with the GOP is the economy and small government.