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That's the point, isn't it?

Most people assume that their vote is the final say on the matter, and for the most part, it has been. As I said, the rules weren't a factor in selecting Romney, McCain, Bush, or Dole, so why would any average primary voter today even know about them, let alone participate in any post-voting processes?

Let me answer your specific question from my personal experience:

First, I spent the last 30 years living in California where we have no "rules." The parties do not select the delegates, the candidates do. Delegate candidates do not percolate up from precinct conventions to county conventions to state conventions to the national convention. A delegate candidate submits an application to the state party, and the party vets the application before passing names onto the candidates.

Second, in California there are 4.7 million registered Republicans, but only 341 delegates go to the national convention. Not good odds for someone who wants to participate as a delegate.

Third, county party meetings are party business meetings when they have them at all; they are not delegate selection meetings where the "rules" would become evident to one who is engaged in the process.

So, in California at least, the suggestion that one must "have ever been to a meeting in their local area" in order to discuss the flaws in this year's primary delegate selection process doesn't have meaning.

Now onto Texas, my new home state...

This is my first election cycle here. My precinct was in an area of new development. The precinct was so overwhelmed by turnout, that I arrived to vote after work one hour before the polls closed, but stood in line for close to 3 hours before getting to vote 2 hours after the polls technically closed.

Unlike California, Texas does have a precinct convention that selects delegates to a county convention that selects delegates to a state convention that selects delegates to the national convention. My precinct convention was held immediately after the polls closed. In fact, there was an organizer walking through the halls of the elementary school asking people to come to the precinct convention. Unfortunately, we were all stuck in line waiting to vote and had no hope of participating in the precinct convention.

The Texas Republican Party "About" page is vague about the role of the voter vs. the role of the delegate. In the section labeled "Primary Process" it says:

Republican Primary voters elect the Republican candidates who will appear on the general election ballot, their precinct chairmen, and their county chairmen. Thus, primary voters have a greater influence on the final outcome of the general election than those who only vote in the general election.

However, in the next section labeled "Political Party Conventions" it says:

In Texas, parties hold their own conventions in election years. In even-numbered years, Texas Republicans hold precinct conventions, county or senatorial district conventions, a state convention, and in presidential years, a national convention.
The purposes of the conventions are to:

Choose delegates and alternates to the next higher convention level, when applicable; and
Consider resolutions or statements on policy issues to send to the next higher convention and/or for eventual inclusion in the state or national Party platform.

So, in Texas, is it the voter who selects the candidate or the delegate who does it? I voted, but my first level convention conflicted so I was out of the rest of the process if I wanted to be a part. This raises an interesting side point: no notes were counted yet when the precinct convention was held, so it would be at the county or state level where delegate swapping would take place.

Anyway, to conclude, I'd be careful about tossing out any generalities about how many people actually participated in "rules" governed meetings as a way to suggest lack of credibility on the matter. As demonstrated, only a minute portion of the population has the ability to participate past the first level, and some states don't even operate that way at all, making it a moot charge.

-PJ