K&R if you feel President Obama Richly Deserves to Be Re-elected!!!

[Old and In the Way]

76. True, correlation isn't causation.

But I didn't say primarying Carter caused his defeat...I was agreeing with the poster's observation that there is evidence of 3rd Parties damaging election results (see 2010 Maine Governor's race where a teabagger wins the election because 62% of the voters split between the Independent and Democrat) and expanded on his observation to include primarying a sitting President, using Carter-Kennedy as the most recent example. Surely, you don't believe a bruising primary fight in 1980 helped Carter's re-election campaign?

I would think you'd agree that having a primary election means raising and spending a lot of money that could be better used in the GE. It also generates animosity between Democrats and likely results in suppressing the turnout of Democrats for the Party in the GE. A primary election provides the Republicans with lots of video opportunities to use the words and ads of the primary candidate to help sell the idea that the incumbent is so bad, his own Party wants to get rid of him. Using primaries as a means to pressure the incumbent to modify his policies and agenda is akin to using a 10lb sledgehammer to nail brads into a piece of fine furniture. You might get the job done, but the final results will most likely create a worthless product.