The Left hasn't "surrendered", but HAS taken many "Beat Downs" from the Party Power Brokers.

[fleabiscuit]

26. +1 Absolutely correct.

Any chance I get to re-post this I do. I remember a recent candidate that campaigned for "change." IMHO we focus to much on a top down approach, change is going to start local.

Learning from California
RUSSELL SADLER
http://www.blueoregon.com/2006/09/learning_from_c/

“…The party primary was an Oregon innovation, passed by initiative in 1904, at a time when the two political parties were controlled by party “bosses” who determinedly ignored the problems of everyday life. The idea was to give rank and file voters in those parties the ability to nominate their own candidates. It worked as long as party candidates were attractive enough to win the crossover vote needed to win office.

That system has lost its utility as Republicans and Democrats represent smaller percentages of the whole electorate. The solution is not a third party. The election laws -- written by Republicans and Democrats -- are deliberately rigged against third parties and independents as Ben Westlund’s unsuccessful run demonstrates. The first step toward election reform is elimination of the primaries and one all-comers race in the fall where all voters have a real choice.”