Primary Problems

In my last letter I mentioned having a warm spot in my heart for the legendary smoke filled rooms. After giving the matter some thought I’ve concluded that I could make a pretty strong case for them. Yes, I’d be saying that rather than the public or “the people” selecting a party’s candidates the choice would be made by politicians, some of whom have been known to seek the counsel of “job creators.” I’m not committing myself on the subject. But here’s sort of how my argument would go.

Take the last Republican presidential candidate. Please! (A little attempt at humor might be helpful.) Supporters of the wild and wooly types who fell by the wayside claim that their men would have run a better race than Romney. Nonsense! There is some limit to party loyalty even in traditionally red states. That’s why we now have Democratic Senators in Indiana and Missouri.

As a lifelong Democrat I must admit that Republican conflict warms the cockles of my heart. Their problem today is the need to pacify the warmongers whose vitriol discourages more moderate, and consequently more electable candidates. Jeb Bush and Chris Christie come to mind as well as John Huntsman who learned the lesson from experience.

Then there’s the tradition, not exclusive to Republicans, of primary voters choosing the next in line. In addition to Romney, Bob Dole and Walter Mondale come to mind. As a Democrat I found Al Gore’s nomination particularly upsetting. It’s my opinion that Bill Bradley would have wiped the floor with W. A swing of two or more percent in New Hampshire primary might well have changed history.

The selection of George McGovern as the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee represents the worst corruption of this system yet. Contrary to what some historians say, the Democratic Party did not move to the left. It was pushed there by CREEP, the committee to reelect Nixon. The “dirty tricks” by this group, well chronicled in the Senate Watergate hearings, sabotaged the candidacies of the more moderate and hence more electable Ed Muskie and Hubert Humphrey. It was also acknowledged that would be Nixon donors during the primary season were told to send their money to McGovern.

Examples can be found, for better or worse, for major political decisions made behind closed doors. One of them gave us Warren Harding. Another brought to the world stage an obscure Missouri Senator named Harry Truman. My feelings are more or less the antithesis of Johnny Mercer’s lyrics. I have trouble anticipating the positive and eliminating the negative, but no problem messing with Mister In Between.