Democratic Primaries

AGeddy

(509 posts)

8. The primaries elect delegates to the convention

Thu Feb 27, 2020, 03:28 PM

Feb 2020

That's all they do.

The delegates to the convention select the nominee, based on rules that say there must be at least 50% of the delegates for a nominee to be chosen and that they keep revoting until someone gets there.

It forces coalition building. The nominee should be able to build coalitions to get themselves to 50% of the delegates.

Any nominee that can't build coalitions to get themselves to 50%, is by definition NOT a unifier.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden

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"The party decides its nominee. The public doesn't really decide the nominee." [View all] DanTex Feb 2020 OP

Welcome to representative democracy. TwilightZone Feb 2020 #1

'Mobs' were a common fear empedocles Feb 2020 #5

History. squirecam Feb 2020 #14

Huh? Superdelegates are representative democracy? DanTex Feb 2020 #19

You don't know what a representative democracy is. TwilightZone Feb 2020 #26

I think that he knows what it is. Malmsy Feb 2020 #37

That doesn't appear to be the case. ehrnst Feb 2020 #45

Of course I do. And it has utterly nothing to do with party insiders overriding the will DanTex Feb 2020 #38

"overriding the will View profile of the people in selecting a presidential nominee." ehrnst Feb 2020 #44

This message was self-deleted by its author Malmsy Feb 2020 #36

Re: representative democracy (really) Twilight Zone NoDakLinda Feb 2020 #42

This message was self-deleted by its author BlueTillIDie Feb 2020 #2

"They"? Just who are "they"? George II Feb 2020 #20

When the party picked Presidential timber, the quality of choices was higher. empedocles Feb 2020 #3

good point. probably not a popular one here, but ... stopdiggin Feb 2020 #12

Harding, Pierce, Buchanan, all in the era before primaries Spider Jerusalem Feb 2020 #24

Absolutely right through the lens of history. CincyDem Feb 2020 #34

the candidate does not get to make himself nominee unless he has a majority of delegates and that's msongs Feb 2020 #4

WOW!! Good to know. So all the money wasted on campaigns is just that? Wasted? blueinredohio Feb 2020 #6

The public doesn't even get to vote for the President of the United States. thesquanderer Feb 2020 #7

True that. n/t rzemanfl Feb 2020 #30

The primaries elect delegates to the convention AGeddy Feb 2020 #8

A representative democracy can be a real surprise to those who skipped 7th grade civics. LanternWaste Feb 2020 #9

Lol squirecam Feb 2020 #17

well put! quelle surprise! (nt) stopdiggin Feb 2020 #23

I know this is a joke and it IS funny, but how awful is it that Squinch Feb 2020 #29

We, the DEMOCRATIC PARTY, shouldn't pick our nominee? sweetloukillbot Feb 2020 #10

don't waste your breath. this wasn't intended to be stopdiggin Feb 2020 #22

Where do people get the idea that the party decides it's nominee? That's simply not true. George II Feb 2020 #11

When voters in Iowa and NH tell pollsters that X has best chance to beat Trump then vote for Y & Z Skya Rhen Feb 2020 #13

How did the Libertarian and Green Parties pick their nominee in 2016? AGeddy Feb 2020 #15

Bernie actually helped WRITE those rules. ahlnord Feb 2020 #18

Yes, the party gets to choose its nominee. ahlnord Feb 2020 #16

But the Democratic Party JustAnotherGen Feb 2020 #21

"Sorry to the young people who are our future but your opinions just don't matter" ripcord Feb 2020 #25

It's not a free for all. The Party is supposed to be choosing from among it's own members. PubliusEnigma Feb 2020 #27

Here we have all this angst because the Democratic party allowed an outsider in. Guess they should Autumn Feb 2020 #28

How does that old saying go again? awesomerwb1 Feb 2020 #31

70% of the party does not support sanders Gothmog Feb 2020 #32

Please stop with the pearl clutching... He's talking about the ehrnst Feb 2020 #33

Shaun King is a truly annoying source, IMO irisblue Feb 2020 #35

When he says "the party" he's referring to the Democratic establishment. Aaron Pereira Feb 2020 #39

"The public" includes Republicans, Greens etc. who should not select D nominees. Tactical Peek Feb 2020 #40

The Democratic Party is a PRIVATE ORGANIZATION Moderateguy Feb 2020 #41

They will lose the election. I guess they don't care about winning. Gravitycollapse Feb 2020 #43

Maybe, the point is they don't owe anyone anything Moderateguy Feb 2020 #46

They're a national party. They owe a lot of people something. Gravitycollapse Feb 2020 #47

Primary turnout is so low anyway frazzled Feb 2020 #48

Why should non party members decide a party's leader? tirebiter Feb 2020 #49