This is the third piece in what I think the causes of the Donald J. Trump Shit Show have been. The first was that the GOP, in their idiocy, caused it. the second, I placed blame on the 30 years of talk Radio blow-hards. and this....well the system in which we vote, and how we have allowed it to be modified to current day primaries. I don't know if it will be the final, and I think there could be numerous reasons, but these three seem to have had a large part in it. Enjoy, and feel free to comment back.
All during the primary season, many in the Democratic party, (mostly Bernie Sanders supporters) were complaining about “Super” delegates; those delegates that are automatic due to being an elected official, party representative etc. I will refer to these as “Automatic” delegates, rather than “Superdelegates”, because there simply isn’t anything super about them. The have one vote, period. The argument against a system that has “Superdelegates” is that it does not allow for a democratic election for the party’s presidential candidate. Poppy-cock!
Consider the Primary election for the 2016 GOP candidate. There were a total of 17 candidates. 16 of those candidates were reasonable, viable, experienced and capable, some may even use the horrendous term, “establishment”candidates. Of the 55 million registered republicans, the majority of the votes, of reasonable minded, astute voters, were dispersed among those candidates. Where the outlier, Donald J. Trump, received the plurality...NOT the majority, of voters; mostly from those whom were radicalized, angry, and anti establishment.
Had there been fewer candidates, the reasonable vote would most likely have magneted towards the less radical outlier. Had there been an early endorsement of “Automatic” delegates of any one, two, or even three candidates, then it seems reasonable, that there would have also been a coalescence to those candidates of the voters as well.
What we need to ask ourselves, is how did our founding fathers plan for us to choose our candidates, and have we wandered too far from the ideas of those brilliant and insightful men, to the point that we now risk a despot desiring, demagogue running the executive branch of our country? Exactly what our founders had striven to avoid.
In the first days of our nation, the intention was to not have parties. However, that did not last long at all. The main goal though, was to ensure that a populist, a charlatan, or a demagogue did not reach the office of the Presidency. Hamilton expresses “...that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree, endowed with the requisite qualifications. Talents for….the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single state, but it will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union.”
The intent was, and should remain, for those of common sense, not swayed by “the little arts of popularity” to chose those that will represent the constituents for the nomination of the Presidency. Earlier in the Federalist Papers, 68, Hamilton stated that there should be, “..as little opportunity as possible to tumult and disorder.” So while the greater majority despise the idea of a smoke filled room with party bosses choosing those who should be the nominee, we must have a format which safeguards us from an ignorant mass of voters choosing a person based on populist rants. Mussolini, Hitler, and numerous other tyrants and demagogues came to power because the mass thought direct democracy was the proper format to chose a leader and were swayed by the swoon of a madman.
Here is a fact that will slap you in the face like a cold wash-cloth…….We. do.not. live. in. a. direct. democracy. PERIOD! Our founding fathers realized that to do so, would be the ruin of a Nation. Direct democracies have always failed throughout history. If you don’t believe this, then you need to go back and take more Civics classes, and brush up on your history.
To protect this Union, our system is set up with state and national representatives; those people we have deemed to be wiser than us, and whom have devoted their lives to study the issues, and make intelligent decisions based on the overwhelming information they have gathered. They devote their time, so we don’t have to. We cannot devote our time to making a living, putting food on the table, raising our children, contributing to our community and finding that leisure time to refresh the soul, AND be completely informed on all the issues without being a “professional” politician. It simply isn’t possible. Hell, I bet you have barely found the time to read this article, let alone digest far more informative pieces that bombast us in daily life.
Originally, it was those representatives that chose the candidates for the Presidency. There were no primaries at the time. Eventually our system morphed, bit by bit, until we now find ourselves in this state by state primary selection process, weeding out candidates.
Democrats still have “Automatic” delegates; people who are party representatives on the state and national level, long time party members with great influence, and other notable figures of the state. Bernie Sanders supporters protested the fact that there were Automatic Delegates, and proclaimed it, “Unfair!”, and “This isn’t democracy!” but right or wrong, those Automatic Delegates brought forth the candidate that they thought best represented the party as a whole, and the best chance to win.
You can argue until the sun goes down and comes back up again a thousand times, that Bernie Sanders was the better candidate, but the fact remains, he was unable to convince a large enough number of “Superdelegates”.
Republicans DO have Automatic Delegates, but just a few of them; 3 from each state. Had the republicans possessed a crucial stop-gap with Automatic Delegates, they would have been able to curtail the nomination of a person who is definitely NOT “endowed with the requisite qualifications”
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