Robert Ariail for April 17, 2016

You know, the same principles and anger could be applied to the general voting process. No more gerrymandering and lose the electoral college.

The rules and organization of either party are not enshrined in the constitution. They are free to run things however they want. Apparently those who declare themselves Democrat or Republican don’t seem to mind much.

In real life they’d both be elephants.

It’s their party and they can run it as crooked as they wish.Hopefully the American voter will wake up and see how crooked the GOP really is.

Also known as “segregation”.

Actually, the problem is more fundamental. The issue is that the two parties have tacitly agreed to ensure that no other party has a chance. They have whole systems in place that make it easier for the two main parties, and tough for anyone else trying to run. They are private clubs, and they can run them howeverthehell they like, but keeping anyone else from starting a club is the real antidemocratic issue.

what’s it like in your universe – is everything rose colored?

The parties are private organizations, the Democrats moved to super delegates after the 1968 convention that almost tore the party apart. Now the delegates stabilize the party so a Trump would not make it through the Democrat nomination process. The Democrats give delegates in a percentage based system and Republicans are winner take all. They get to pick their rules, if you don’t like it. Well, you’d have to start your own party or get them to change their own rules. Maybe after this Trump fiasco the Republicans will change, maybe they won’t. I think the Democrats are happy with what they are doing.

Gerrymandering in the United States has been practiced since the founding of the country to strengthen the power of particular political interests within legislative bodies. Partisan gerrymandering is commonly used to increase the power of a political party. In some instances, political parties collude to protect incumbents by engaging in bipartisan gerrymandering. After racial minorities were enfranchised, some jurisdictions engaged in racial gerrymandering to weaken the political power of racial minority voters, while others engaged in racial gerrymandering to strengthen the power of minority voters..https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering_in_the_United_States..https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/05/15/americas-most-gerrymandered-congressional-districts/.Gerrymandering has been blamed for the increasingly partisan political environment in the United States. In 2008, Californians decided to take the redistricting process away from politicians by creating a citizen-based redistricting commission and it works..In 2008, Californians voted in favor of proposition 11 — the “Voter First Act” — which transferred the control of the redistricting process from the Legislatures to an independent commission comprised of citizens. California State University professor Raphael Sonenshein, author of a recently released report analyzing the success of the commission, believes independent commissions are the most efficient method to limit the influence of partisanship in the redistricting process..http://ivn.us/2013/06/17/in-california-citizens-control-the-gerrymandering-and-it-works/

Name me one civilization from the beginning of civilizations on in which the smart a$$es haven’t lived like kings while the dumb a$$es (us) haven’t grovelled in the mud!

Since about 1962 I thought the electoral college ought to be abolished.

Wouldn’t it be great if it’s Hillary vs Trump in the general — and millions of us write in Bernie Sanders and he wins? Would that fix our two party quagmire?

@Darsan54…I fail to see what the electoral college has to do with the political party MO of selecting a nominee in the primary process. Enlighten me, please.-I think the Constitution protects the US citizens’ rights to vote in the general elections, as well as the primary votes or participation in caucuses. -Even if the voters in America do not like the party processes, and I have griped for years about how they seem to usually have their nominee by the time my state votes the primary,the party is not “cheating” or “being crooked” IMO.-@motivemagus…as much as we complain about the R and D choices for nominees on the general election ballots, I would not like to have a system such as the UK, etc., where multiple parties exist and run candidates! IMO that is total Confusion.-@ahab IMO the franchise is the protected RIGHT to vote, which is not denied to any US citizen in a general election or the states that hold primary votes. Gerrymandering was supposed to be an adjustment for population numbers in districts, in order to send elected representatives to Congress who have similar populations in their districts.

Where are the hats? Grand Poobahs are famous for always wearing silly hats!

The Party Preference Primaries ARE NOT Constitutionally Mandated; even if the taxpayers are, and have been, suckered into paying for them!