Citizen Tom

I posted 6000 Thousand Steps; A Chinese Love Story in March.  The post hardly got any hits at all.  Now it sometimes gets over a hundred hits a day.  The post links to a good story, but I am puzzled by the sudden popularity.  Anybody know the reason for the increase in interest?

Katherine and I are debating school choice here.

Introduction

Loudoun Insider of Too Conservative wrote a post, Conventions Suck, that I think deserves a rebuttal.  Since the comments section on Too Conservative went well off subject, I decided it best to respond here.

Mr. Insider argues that a primary election is preferable to a convention.  I disagree.  Mr. Insider chief complaint is conventions require too much effort; he prefers the ease of primaries.  He ignores the purpose served by conventions.  In fact I doubt Mr. Insider understands the purpose served by political parties. 

Mr. Insider sadly lacks a good civics education.  I suspect his parents, like most, entrusted his education too much to politicians.  To entrust the education of children to politicians is foolishness of the first class.  Hopefully, by participating in forums such as political blogs we all can begin to understand the magnitude of this problem and repair the damage.   To repair the damage, we must first review some fundamental ideas.  In this case, if we are going to understand why we need conventions, then we must first understand why we need political parties.  Then, perhaps, the role conventions play may become obvious.  Here is my contribution.

Constitutional Issues

Consider the First Amendment to the Constitution. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (from here)

Note the portion I have highlighted in bold.  How does one peaceably assemble and petition the government?   How does this right to have any real effect?  Is this right just about giving your congressman a petition?  I don’t think so.  I think this right ultimately is about a group of people getting together and running their own candidate for public office.  And that is what political parties do.  

Consider this definition.

A political party is a political organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. Parties often espouse a certain ideology and vision, but may also represent a coalition among disparate interests.   (from here)

Political parties are run by the People.  Because of the First Amendment, Congress does not even have the power to regulate such assemblies.   Can state governments regulate political parties?  Here, because the First Amendment only restricts Congress, the role of government become hazy.    What does the Constitution say?  Two amendments address the issue indirectly. 

The Ninth Amendment is not very specific.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

However, Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment forces state governments to recognizes the rights of the People.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.  (from here)

Do state governments have the right to force political parties to run primaries?  Should state goverenments run political primaries?  What does the Virginia Constitution say?

Section 12. Freedom of speech and of the press; right peaceably to assemble, and to petition.

That the freedoms of speech and of the press are among the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained except by despotic governments; that any citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; that the General Assembly shall not pass any law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, nor the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for the redress of grievances.   (from Article 1, Bill of Rights, here)

So in Virginia, at least, the Fourteenth Amendment is not needed.  What we need to consider is whether or not primary elections interfere with the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for the redress of grievances.

Historical Background

Why do we have primary elections?  Let consider a brief history.

The first direct primary was held in Crawford county, Pa., by the Democrats in 1842. The first state laws relating to primary elections were passed in California and New York in 1866, but until the end of the century, all primary laws passed by the states were either optional or covered only limited geographic areas. Late in the century two developments led to a mandatory statewide primary. The first was the introduction of the Australian, or secret, ballot, beginning in Massachusetts in 1888. The secret ballot meant that a voter could cast a really free, uninhibited vote in choosing party nominees. The second development was a wave of revulsion against the convention system under which—even when it was regulated by state law—political bosses and vested interests intent on personal gain used every unsavory tactic imaginable. Progressives considered the direct primary an immediate cure for these abuses. In an 1899 law, perfected in 1901, Minnesota instituted the first mandatory statewide primary system, placing the primary on the same plane as a general election and making it applicable throughout the state. By 1917 all but four states had some form of direct primary.  (from here)

Keep in mind that any political system is imperfect, and in spite of the the alleged abuses of conventions, state governments rapidly implemented a system of primary elections.  If the convention system was so corrupt, how come party bosses were unable to slow the transition to a primary election system?

Perhaps the degree of corruption was overstated, and perhaps incumbent politicians realized that primary elections would help to ensure their reelection.

From the perspective of an incumbent politician, political parties are a mixed blessing.  The political party’s label can be helpful.  It is, for example, much easier to win election as a Republican or a Democrat than as an independent.  However,  rank and file party members, particularly those willing to take the time and accept the cost and the difficulty required to attend a convention, have certain definite expectations.  Such people will quite willingly withhold their party’s nomination from an incumbent if they perceived that that incumbent has compromised their party’s cause. 

In this era, many Republicans and a few Democrats bear the label of their party in name only.  Perhaps that explains the push for open primaries.

Twenty states employ a version of the “open primary” system. Half of these require a public filing, or declaration, of party affiliation; the other half permit private declaration. Washington state went a step further with its unique “jungle” primary, in which the voter, regardless of party affiliation, could go back and forth between the major party columns to select one nominee for each office. In 2003, however, a U.S. federal court struck down the system as a violation of the rights of political parties to choose candidates for office. (from here)

Conclusion

The fact that primary elections, particularly open primaries, compromise the right of the people peaceably to assemble should be self-evident.  Everyone knows, for example, why Governor Jim Gilmore wanted a convention and why Congressmen Tom Davis wanted a primary election.  That being the case, one has to wonder why we allow the government to interfere with political parties.  My personal belief is that we are allowing ourselves to be fooled.  The fact primary elections do not include such obvious horrors as the ”smoke-filled rooms” we associate with conventions does not mean that political bosses are not abusing the rights of the People. 

Just as there are problems when government regulates religious institutions, there are also problems when government regulates political parties.  The entire point of a political party is for people of like mind to select and run the candidate of THEIR choice.  Primary elections take the decision out of the hands of the assembled People.  Primary voters are not necessarily even interested in the same cause.  A primary election simply turns the general election into runoff between the two government sanctified major party candidates.

The issue of corrupt conventions that served to provided the impedus for the primary election system is in fact little more than a red herring.  If a political party cannot run the process it uses to select its candidate in a fair and open manner, it can be punished at the polls during the general election.   

Deo Vindice has an excellent post on the race between John Hager and Jeff Frederick for RPV Chairman.

At the culmination of my three weeks as a politician running for Congress last Fall, Jeff was there opposing me tooth and nail. Yet, a few months later when he asked for my support for his candidacy, I didn’t hesitate a second to say, “Yes, how can I help?” My unqualified, enthusiastic, confident support for Jeff is focused on the future. Jeff Frederick understands what it will take for Republicans to win today and tomorrow across Virginia. Jeff is the Conservative to trust – to invest in.   (from here)

On Saturday, the Republican Party will convene the Eleventh Congressional District of Virginia Republican Committee.   Amongst other things, this group will elect its representation to the State Central Committee, the group that decides policy for the Republican Party of Virginia.  Wiith respect to that subject, I just received an email from Denny Daughtery, a respected member of the Prince William Republican Committee.  He has good advice for those attending the 11th district meeting.

A wise man once said, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
 
We in the 11th district have been greatly blessed to have been represented the last several years on the state central committee by Rick Hendrix, Patsy Drain and David Ray.  Rick, of course, has been an active member of our Prince William Co. GOP committee and its parliamentarian.  Although they live in Fairfax County, Patsy and David have also regularly attended our PWC GOP meetings and have been very responsive to our needs.
 
These stalwarts face very formidable opposition at this Saturday’s convention because of their support for nominating our U.S. Senate candidate by convention, rather than primary.  They did so to insure that our nominee is selected by Republicans and not by non-Republicans. 
 
That did not endear them to our powerful congressman, Tom Davis, who badly wanted a primary in which to run for this seat.  When the convention method of nomination was chosen, he pulled out of the race.  Now he is backing an alternate slate at this Saturday’s convention. 
 
I want state central committee members who think for themselves and do not take orders from elected officials.  We need state central committee members who will put first the needs of the party as a whole and the desires of the rank and file members, and who will stand up to candidates or public officials when their personal agendas conflict with the party’s best interests. 
 
This is going down to the wire.  Please make sure to attend.  And when you do, cast your votes for those who have faithfully represented the conservative majority of the party’s grassroots workforce–Rick Hendrix, Patsy Drain and David Ray. 
 
Denny Daugherty

Do we want the Republican Party to be a political party that serves its members?  Conventions allow the party’s rank and file to select candidates who will stand for the ideals that party members support.  Primaries dilute the vote of the party’s rank and file.  That allows the party’s label to be highjacked by candidates who can at best be counted upon to pay lip service to the party’s ideals.   Thus the choice is clear.  Vote for Rick Hendrix, Patsy Drain and David Ray.

Some of you may have noticed that my blog looked a messy.  At least it did not look so good when viewed with Internet Explorer.  I ordinarily use Firefox, and with Firefox, it looked just fine to me. Unfortunately, I did not check how it looked with Internet Explorer.

Firefox has some features that make editing easier; it is also a bit sneaky.  Firefox played a trick on me when I put some URLs in a few text widgets. I used these text widgets to displayed some older posts on the sidebar.  These URLs displayed nicely in Firefox, but they looked a little strange in Internet Explorer. What I think happened is that Firefox automatically abbreviated the URLs (using relative addressing).  Unfortunately, Internet Explorer did not quite know what to do with these abbreviated addresses. So it got messy.

John McCain proposes to give us all a $5000 tax credit. Consider the cost of that, not cheap. Nonetheless, what McCain says is true. What the Democrats propose would cost far more.

My Friends,

Today, there are 47 million uninsured individuals in the U.S., and nearly a quarter of them are children. High costs and limited access are the underlying, fundamental problems in our healthcare system.

As you know, both Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are touting outrageously expensive and unrealistic universal health care plans - a government monopoly over health care.

Unlike my opponents, I do not believe that all of our nation’s problems can be solved by turning control over to our government, with all the tax increases, new mandates and government regulation that come with that idea.

Today, our campaign began running a television ad focused on health care - that you can view by following this link - to ensure all Americans hear the truth about how I plan to tackle the challenges facing our nation’s health care system. To ensure this important ad is aired in as many markets as possible, I’m asking for your immediate financial assistance.

I believe the key to real reform is to restore control over our health care system to the patients themselves. Americans need new choices beyond those offered in employment-based coverage.

That’s why, as president, I will seek to encourage and expand the benefits of Health Savings Accounts, tax-preferred accounts that are used to pay insurance premiums and other health costs. These accounts put the family in charge of what they pay for.

In addition, I will reform the tax code to provide every family the option of receiving a direct, refundable tax deposit - effectively $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 cash for families to offset the cost of insurance.

The reality is that both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama, in their haste to garner support for their so-called “solutions,” are promising more than they can deliver. And, once again, they are simply out-of-touch with the real problems facing our health care system and how to solve them.

Here are the facts: Under the Democrats’ plan, we will have all the problems, and more, of the current health care system - rigid rules, long waits and lack of choices - and we risk degrading the system’s great strengths and advantages, including the innovation and life-saving technology that make American medicine the most advanced in the world.

My friends, this is not my definition of real reform. I hope you will join me in my fight to tackle the real problems facing our nation’s health care system by making a contribution of $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000, or $2,300 to help fund this important ad.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

John McCain

P.S. While my Democratic opponents continue to believe that our government can solve all of our problems, I am prepared to offer practical, common sense solutions to the problem of rapidly rising health care costs and access in America. I urge you to join with me today and help me take our message to the American people. Please consider making a generous contribution of $50, $100, $500, $1,000, or $2,300 today to fund my campaign’s latest health care television ad. Thank you.

P.S.S. - Reminder: Tune into JohnMcCain.com tomorrow at 2pm EDT to watch a live health care town hall.

Unauthorized and paid for by nobody.

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John McCain may not be the Republican candidate we hoped for, but if we elect him, the Republican bill will be smaller. If you want to help guarantee that bill is smaller, support Bob Marshall too.

Commenting at American Civilization. Jim Bowden has some interesting posts. So I am adding my two cents here and here.

Also visiting Teri’s Tyrades. She is valiantly defending Hillary Clinton. Commenting here.