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The Michigan Republican Party is trying to decide: Caucus, Convention, or Closed Primary?
7/12/11 | jenk

Posted on 07/12/2011 8:52:32 AM PDT by jenk

There is discussion as to what Michigan should do:

1)Close the primary and there are numerous suggestions as to how to qualify voters. Registration as R's, allowing only R's to vote for the Republican Pres. nominee--down to calling our open primary a closed primary by simply asking to have either a Dem or R ballot (which is what we do now.)

2)Hold a convention

3)Caucus

The arguments against all are numerous.

The caucus argument seems to be losing steam because of the difficulty to organize it in very small and very big counties.

The convention argument is gaining steam, but personally, I think it is unfair, considering that if I come from a small county, but have a lot of Republicans who may be against the establishment, that they would not be able to vote, since we can only send 4 or 6 delegates to a convention, and a large county could vote with numerous delegates for the establishment.

I believe we should close the primary, so that only registered Republicans can vote for the Republican, and the grassroots works to register R's, making the arguments on the street level.

What say you?


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: michigan; primary; republicans
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To: jenk
Oakland county has upwards of 80 delegates, and they are always pro-Romney, pro-RINO.

Brooks Patterson comes to mind. He's done good things but he's also done really bad things. Joe Schwarz is another guy who I wouldn't trust to pick a candidate for me.
21 posted on 07/12/2011 9:17:47 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: jenk

Shirley Jackson-style lottery.


22 posted on 07/12/2011 9:18:19 AM PDT by RichInOC (No! BAD Rich! (What'd I say?))
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To: Cyber Liberty

Well, I write Romney because he is a favored son of MI. His father was once Governor, and our current Governor sits in the Romney Building in Lansing. That’s why the focus:)


23 posted on 07/12/2011 9:18:42 AM PDT by jenk (The old Republican Party has no idea what is going on. No idea.)
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To: RichInOC

LOL


24 posted on 07/12/2011 9:20:03 AM PDT by jenk (The old Republican Party has no idea what is going on. No idea.)
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To: jenk

Closed primary. We should pick our own candidate; it’s all we have left. The msm is against us anyway.


25 posted on 07/12/2011 9:20:25 AM PDT by Yaelle
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To: jenk
I have been a delegate at a convention to nominate candidates. For me, it is the best way to get a Republican candidate who will get the support of the active Reps who will do most of the work for and funding of a candidate. They also know the issues better than the general public.

Primaries, closed or not, take money to run and they are biased in favor of candidates who have the most money. And Reps engaged in a competitive primary must spend more money that could be used in the general election.

26 posted on 07/12/2011 9:27:47 AM PDT by kabar
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To: jenk
CLOSED PRIMARY!!!

I grew up in Michigan, graduated from MSU, moved out-of-state, and still hear from my very liberal college roommate regularly. She recently retired from her teaching job near Muskegon.

In 2008, she told me she voted for John McCain in the Michigan Primary - for the sole purpose of influencing who the Republican nominee would be.

Open primaries ensure that will happen again. Do we really want RINOs? Do we really want Democrats and/or the media choosing the Republican presidential nominee (again)?!

CLOSED PRIMARIES are the only way to ensure that only Republicans choose our candidate and that all Republicans across the state have equal opportunity to express their preferences in that process.

27 posted on 07/12/2011 9:31:07 AM PDT by Prov3456
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To: jenk; grellis

I’d love a closed primary, but won’t happen, Gov. Ricky knows he wouldn’t have had a chance if he ran in a closed primary.


28 posted on 07/12/2011 9:33:16 AM PDT by Springman (Rest In Peace YaYa123 and Bahbah.)
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To: jenk

Caucus —made in heaven for community organizers. Obama used it to steal a lot of votes from Hillary.


29 posted on 07/12/2011 9:34:41 AM PDT by lonestar (It takes a village of idiots to elect a village idiot.)
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To: lonestar

Here’s how the caucus system works in MN.

Precinct caucus: An opportunity to corral people to hand out literature. Non-binding straw poll taken and immediately forgotten. Elect delegates to country convention (anyone who wants to can go).

County Convention: An opportunity to corral people to hand out literature. Non-binding straw poll taken and immediately forgotten. Elect delegates to State convention (Only party elites get elected).

State Convention: All party business including endorsing candidates gets done by party insiders.


30 posted on 07/12/2011 9:49:34 AM PDT by DManA
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To: DManA
County Convention: An opportunity to corral people to hand out literature. Non-binding straw poll taken and immediately forgotten. Elect delegates to State convention (Only party elites get elected).

Take over the county conventions. A lot of the elites get elected because they show up.

31 posted on 07/12/2011 9:58:18 AM PDT by lonestar (It takes a village of idiots to elect a village idiot.)
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To: DManA

anyone that shows up? ahhhhhhhh!


32 posted on 07/12/2011 10:03:39 AM PDT by jenk (The old Republican Party has no idea what is going on. No idea.)
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To: lonestar

That is the only good argument for this system. Shouldn’t the people who really care and do the work make the decisions?

The down side is the grass roots become unattached to the party and cynical about the whole process.


33 posted on 07/12/2011 10:08:42 AM PDT by DManA
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To: cripplecreek

Concur. Here in VA, we have open primaries, which allows the usual mob mentality among the Left to simply screw up the Republican primary. I firmly believe in the freedom of association, which has the flip side of choosing to NOT associate with someone.


34 posted on 07/12/2011 10:10:52 AM PDT by Pecos (Constitutionalist. Liberty and Honor will not die on my watch.)
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To: jenk

I am not from Michigan, but I would like to see a closed primary there and in every other state. Make sure that someone has been a registered Republican for at least a year before allowing them to vote. Why? Because it precludes the Dems from crossing over to affect the Republican nominating process. Why bother to call it a “Republican” primary if people other than real Republicans can vote in it?

What happened last time in South Carolina was a fiasco - McStain won big thanks to SC Dems, and had the field to himself thereafter. He turned out to be the weakest candidate for the General Election, exactly as the Dems planned. We CANNOT allow that to happen again.


35 posted on 07/12/2011 10:18:04 AM PDT by Ancesthntr (Bibi to Odumbo: Its not going to happen.)
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THEY’RE NOT DONATING MONTHLY!


** help .. click **

36 posted on 07/12/2011 10:21:37 AM PDT by TheOldLady (FReepmail me to get ON or OFF the ZOT LIGHTNING ping list.)
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To: jenk

A closed primary would work as long as you have to be registered well in advance of the election - big push on to allow unregistered people to vote the day of the election...very bad. It’s all about squirreling up the vote. Without ACORN, it will be hard to “get out the vote” as we saw in 2010.


37 posted on 07/12/2011 10:53:53 AM PDT by Sioux-san
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To: Springman; sergeantdave; cyclotic; netmilsmom; RatsDawg; PGalt; FreedomHammer; queenkathy; ...
MICHIGAN PING LIST

Please freepmail me if you wish to be added or dropped from the mitten ping.

38 posted on 07/12/2011 10:58:05 AM PDT by grellis (I am Jill's overwhelming sense of disgust.)
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To: jenk

CLOSE the primary! Only allow Republicans to vote in the primary. If they register as a Republican for the primary, they also have to vote Republican in that election cycle.


39 posted on 07/12/2011 11:05:45 AM PDT by FrdmLvr
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To: jenk
Close the fricking primary!

How dumb is it to have democrats help choose our nominee?

40 posted on 07/12/2011 11:06:52 AM PDT by Lakeshark (Thank a member of the US armed forces for their sacrifice)
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