July 12, 2016

Will the National Conventions Change the Delegate Selection Rules — Again?

When the Republican and Democratic national conventions gather in successive weeks in Cleveland and Philadelphia, respectively, one item on their plates will be reconsideration of their parties’ nominating rules. Just about everyone agrees that they are unsatisfactory in some way or another, and many itch to do something about it. But what? Perhaps I can give some advice as one who was present at the creation. I was in Chicago’s International Amphitheatre at the 1968 Democratic National Convention on the one roll call when the delegates voted down the convention managers. It was a resolution, sponsored by Geoffrey Cowan, now head of the Annenberg Foundation Trust, requiring creation of a commission to recommend changes in the delegate selection process.

When the Republican and Democratic national conventions gather in successive weeks in Cleveland and Philadelphia, respectively, one item on their plates will be reconsideration of their parties’ nominating rules. Just about everyone agrees that they are unsatisfactory in some way or another, and many itch to do something about it.

But what? Perhaps I can give some advice as one who was present at the creation. I was in Chicago’s International Amphitheatre at the 1968 Democratic National Convention on the one roll call when the delegates voted down the convention managers. It was a resolution, sponsored by Geoffrey Cowan, now head of the Annenberg Foundation Trust, requiring creation of a commission to recommend changes in the delegate selection process.

This was the McGovern-Fraser Commission, which effectively changed the system from having most delegates selected by party officials and caucuses to one in which most are chosen in primary elections, as they were in 1972 and have been ever since.

Some people argue for going back to the pre-1972 system, but, as the Chicago convention and the ensuing campaign showed, it was already dysfunctional — at least for the Democratic Party, which in those days controlled most state legislatures and therefore tended to set the rules.

The three main forces dominating Democratic conventions, as described by Theodore White in his “The Making of the President, 1960,” were the big city bosses, the leaders of big labor unions and conservative Southern governors.

But as people moved to the suburbs, the bosses lost clout; the industrial labor union membership rolls started falling and the number of conservative Democratic Southern governors declined. These leaders represented dwindling constituencies and weren’t able to deliver votes on Election Day. Something new — multiple primaries — filled the vacuum they left.

Since 1972 both parties have been tinkering with their rules and their primary and caucus schedules, with not entirely satisfying results. A Democratic commission led by four-term North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt gave superdelegates — elected and party officials — automatic convention votes. Republicans give each state’s party chairmen and national committeemen votes as well.

The purpose is to give knowledgeable professionals some voice, to balance delegates usually chosen by candidates’ campaign managers. There’s a serious argument for that, though not one accepted by Bernie Sanders backers this year.

Party rules also guarantee that Iowa and New Hampshire hold the first caucuses and primaries, as if it were required by the Constitution. This is untouchable, since no politician with any dream of running for president dares to alienate voters there.

The scramble of other states to vote early lengthened the schedule, to the point that in 2008 Iowa voted on Jan. 3, the ninth day of Christmas, after a two-week period in which few voters are paying attention. Republicans, controlling most legislatures now, kicked back with rule changes that set the first contests in February and blocked winner-take-all primaries before March 15.

The parties differ on delegate allocation rules, based on their differing historic character. Republicans, with a large core constituency, have had more winner-take-all contests. Democrats, a coalition of disparate minority groups, tend to favor proportional representation.

This year those rules worked against candidates favored by party leaders. Winner-take-all allocation helped Donald Trump clinch the nomination May 3 with 42 percent of popular votes, while proportional representation might have stopped him. Bernie Sanders, with 42 percent of votes, is still in the race thanks to proportional representation; winner-take-all contests would have given Hillary Clinton a 2-1 delegate lead months ago.

Inevitably there are proposals for change. But there’s no prospect for a single national primary, nor will 50 states ever agree on whether to hold primaries or caucuses, or to have party registration or open primaries. A proposal to have four primary dates, with the smallest states voting first, died aborning.

Michigan Republican Saul Anuzis wants voters to indicate second, third and fourth choices, to penalize a candidate who, like Donald Trump, is beloved of some but unacceptable to most or very many others.

One lesson of earlier reforms is that solving one year’s perceived problems creates new, unanticipated problems in the future. Reasonable arguments can be made both for and against every procedure mentioned above and others as well.

This year’s reformed and re-reformed process produced the two most unpopular nominees in recent history. But unfortunately, there simply is no single satisfactory way to choose nominees for the world’s most important elective office — the only part of our electoral system not referenced by the framers of the Constitution.

COPYRIGHT 2016 CREATORS.COM

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.