-By Warner Todd Huston
There is a lot of valid angst about who will become the nominee for both the Republican and the Democrat Parties this year. We are in a day when the voters are clearly pulling in a multitude of ways and not giving any candidate an overwhelming nod. But there is also a lot of BS about how “the will of the voters” is being thwarted by the party system and much of this is misinformed.
I am not saying that none of this should make you mad. Just get the facts before you get mad. Don’t shy from getting mad, just be informed while you do it!
Let’s just get one fact out of the way at the outset: your vote in a primary is not and never was the only or even the final say on who the party picks for its nominee. The will of the voter does matter in a general election where the nation picks the president, but not as much in a primary when the parties are picking who they will offer up as a candidate for the forthcoming general election. The fact is, primaries are not “the election.”
It is the party that picks the nominee, not the voter. Yes, the votes in the primary are a key guide for the party and yes, if the vote is overwhelming for a particular candidate both parties generally chose that candidate. But, the fact is the parties — any party — can pick who ever the heck they want quite regardless of the vote totals.
After all, that is what a party is for, to control its destiny and policies.
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Let’s Clear Something Up About a ‘Contested’ GOP Convention, Voters DON’T Count and NEVER DID!”