Posted on 06/27/2014 11:13:15 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Sarah Palin and right-wing Republicans are calling "shenanigans" over the Mississippi U.S. Senate race this week.
(Full disclosure: Whenever someone uses that hokey phrase, I chuckle and think of the "South Park" episode when third-graders denounced ripoffs at a local carnival).
Anyway, here's what happened in the Magnolia State, which isn't quite as funny.
Establishment GOP U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran bucked the odds and history after a narrow primary loss to Tea Party favorite Chris McDaniel.
On Tuesday, the six-term incumbent edged McDaniel in a runoff, buoyed by heavy turnout from African-Americans. The Cochran campaign openly courted these traditionally Democratic voters -- and it worked.
McDaniel and his supporters cried foul, arguing the "conservative movement took a backseat to liberal Democrats."
Sorry, but that's politics. Democrats and independents are able to vote in the Mississippi GOP primary. The state has an open primary, meaning anyone can vote in either the Democratic or Republican contests (you just can't vote in both).
McDaniel's supporters believe they have a vote-fraud case, citing an obscure law that you can't vote in a primary if you don't intend to vote for the party's nominee in the general. (Good luck proving voter intent in court).
The bottom line is if Dems had shown up to back McDaniel, you'd never hear a peep out of him.
Interestingly, let's just go back in time just a couple weeks ago, when then-U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) lost to little-known Tea Partier David Brat.
In that scenario, supporters of Cantor -- the establishment's choice -- bemoaned that Democrats sabotaged the election by voting for the more extreme candidate.
Now the numbers don't bear that out, as Brat won in heavily GOP areas. But Democrats helping Brat would make more sense than boosting Cochran.
Why? The more extreme a candidate is, the less appeal s/he tends to have in a general election.
That's why some Democrats rallied behind Rick Santorum over Mitt Romney in the Michigan 2012 GOP presidential primary.
They viewed Santorum (who compared homosexuality to "man on child, man on dog" sex), as easier to beat in November -- even though they found his politics abhorrent.
So it would be a strategic move for Dems to cross over for Brat (although winning the seat in November remains a long-shot). But why vote for Cochran, whisking any hope of stealing the seat away?
For one thing, it's Mississippi -- one of the reddest states in the country. Democrats haven't had much of a chance there since the civil rights movement.
But Cochran also succeeded by making the old-school promise to bring home the bacon -- something keenly important for folks in a state that has the highest poverty rate in the nation.
What both elections have done is renewed calls for closed primaries. Let Republicans decide Republican primaries, so the argument goes.
That's good for party bosses, who want to keep the two-party system entrenched.
That's good for groups more conservative than the rest of the electorate, like Tea Partiers, or those more liberal, like unions.
Why wouldn't they want to dominate primaries, which often have turnout rates under 20 percent? Districts often are so lopsided that whoever wins the Democratic or GOP primary is the surefire winner in the general.
Closed primaries are a great way for extremists and party honchos to solidify their power.
But they're bad for democracy, which should be about giving voters real choices.
They're bad for those of us who are open-minded and vote for the person, not the party. We don't want to have to choose a party.
In Michigan, we don't have to. Let's keep it that way.
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Susan J. Demas is Publisher and Editor of Inside Michigan Politics, a nationally acclaimed, biweekly political newsletter. She can be reached at susan@sjdemas.com
That’s right.
It would be better to have no parties and open elections (you vote on the candidate you think is best) rather than open primaries.
It’s not like the GOPe is doing adding any value to the election process
Then buy a small plot of land.
What a bimbo.
“Then buy a small plot of land.”
A small plot of land. Still a peasant.
Life is rough. Ben Franklin went from being a set-upon apprentice for his older brother to the richest man in North America.
Yet neither country is actually a democracy, is it? Our founders abhorred democracy as mob rule.
The point is that if you are not a parasitic class with upper class income and/or abundant property, you do not have any stake or say in this republic. Parasites (anyone subsidized by gubmint) don’t have special rights, beside the right to life, liberty, persuit of happiness, along with what the bill of rights document.
Primaries are intended for political parties to proffer their candidate in the general election. They should never be open to anyone outside the party.
What actually happened, is that Thad Cochran paid money to democrat Party operators to bring out the Black vote for Cochran, by use false charges of racism of voter suppression, etc. So, lying, cheating, character assassination, smears are OK. Alls fair in love, war and politics, right? Except that thousands of these voters cast illegal votes. You could only vote in the Runoff, if you had NOT voted in the Democrat Primary.
This evil moron of an author totally ignores the illegality of Cochran voters and his "election win". The law doesn't matter, as long as the Tea Party, who are fellow Americans after all, get damaged. Yeah, and this is supposed to support the basis of a democratic State, using government power to discriminate, assault and hurt some Americans, who other Americans disagree with.
There is no future in such a country. These liberal morons thinks they can continuing violate the law, weaponize the bureaucracy to destroy other Americans and that the sunset is going to be full of flowers, rainbows and music. Actually, if you practice 3rd world politics, you end up with a 3rd world country and that's what the liberals want, even though, their people are going to be the ones most hurt, just as they are the ones most hurt already under Obama.
Evil done by evil people.
Yes, correct. A constitutional monarchy I suppose would be the best way to name Canada’s system. Not democracy.
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