This last cycle there was a clear difference between the types of candidates that won primaries and they type that won caucuses.
Caucus winners were more conservative, and had a stronger appeal to the base/grass roots of the party. Primary winners were more moderate and had a more centerist (RINO) appeal.
I haven't gone back in time, but I expect I would find the same thing. I also expect you will find this same phenomenon at other levels as well. Senators (congressmen, govenors, etc...) that go through a primary lean more RINO than those that go through a caucus.
What this tells me is that one of the keys to moving the Republican party back to the right is eliminating primaries and going to a complete caucus system for nominating candidates.
And who did you want to be the nominee in 2008?
If we don’t elect RINOs to begin with...they won’t rise to the top....DON’T vote RINO EVER...Let the ‘Rat win if you must. Tell the RINOs to take a hike.
some one has to run. We cannot force people to run if they don’t want to.
all things considered we would have been better with Hitlerly. Might have even been able to beat Hitlery in the general...
caucuses are anti-individual. It goes against conservatism and the rugged individualism that built this country.
It would also help to limit voters in primaries to be Republicans.
BUT, WE VOTED AFTER THEY ALREADY ANNOUNCED THAT McCAIN HAD WON IT! Texas I voted for Ron Paul even though I KNEW that McCAIN had been CHOSEN.
Republican Primary Results: John McCain 51%, Mike Huckabee 38%, Ron Paul 5%
1. they are all held on the same day; and
2. states eliminate cross-over primaries.
Given the full party slate in each state, and voting on the same day, I think we would arrive at the strongest candidate.
The caucus system is what allowed Obama to win, through the use of out-of-state thugs coming in to intimidate people and swarming the caucuses at the last minute.
It would probably be difficult to eliminate primaries, but Republicans should at least change the rules on all those early primaries that are totally open to Independents. R’s only! It’s our party, let us choose.
A candidate does not need to be well known before the presidential election to be a household name within a week or two.
For example, Sarah Palin was a very strong candidate. Most Americans (thank the MSM promoting RINOs) (many FReepers where promoting her 6 months before McCain picked her) didn't know of the America's most popular Governor before McCain picked her.
We have to overcome the corrupt MSM both in the primaries and in the general election. This hurdle was huge this year when positive stories for Obama outnumbered those for McCain 8 to 1 or 9 to 1. This happens in primaries as well. Conservatives who have a real chance of winning are poo-poo’ed by the corrupt MSM.
The problem is less primaries than it is open primaries. Even if the party has to spend it’s own money rather than letting some Secretary of States office fund the process, we should not allow non-GOP voters to have a hand in the nomination process.
Shooting, stripping, dressing out and packaging the meat from a Democrat who crossed over in a primary would have the same effect and would disturb all of us much less.
DNC's got it's hands full with this one.
You don’t need to eliminate primaries, you just need for all primary states to restrict voting to registered in state Republicans. (I put in state as a requirement because incredible as it sounds New Hampshire allows out of staters to vote in primaries)
The problem is not primaries, it’s the manner and timing in which they are held that pretty much eliminates newer, less well known players getting into the game.
Instead we should divide it up into 5 primary dates comprised of roughly 10 regionally contiguous states which allows for candidates 1 month to campaign in those 10 states
Feb-June and choose the order of dates/regions by lot.
Part of the problem is the Boomer generation, once control of the GOP is wrested away from their cold dead fingers. But as long as the Rino/Entitlement generation outvotes the rest of us........ we’re stuck.
No, the problem is eliminating OPEN nominating processes. The early primaries were “Open” primaries, allowing non-Republicans to vote in them.
The RNC needs to put forth a rule: The Republican Nominating Process is a contest of Republicans, for Republicans. You must be a registered Republican in order to participate.
1. Close the primaries
2. Start the primaries in states in order of degree of McCain’s win to the worst loss.
E.g., start in Kentucky, Texas, etc.
Iowa can go f—k itself.
And why the Republicans scheduled primaries on different days than the Democratic primaries—I don’t get it. Why allow a perfect opportunity for the Dems to pick our person? We don’t cross over as much as they do—we’re too honorable to vote in a primary not our own. We are so dumb.