The Insidious Mechanisms of Closed Primaries: A Threat to Grassroots Democracy
The central theme of this podcast episode revolves around the detrimental impact of closed primaries without runoffs on grassroots candidates within the political landscape. I elucidate how the current electoral framework, particularly as exemplified by the Ohio Republican Party, is systematically engineered to favor insider candidates, thereby stifling the viability of outsider, grassroots movements. By delineating the mechanics of a closed primary—wherein only registered party members may vote—I underscore how such a structure effectively disenfranchises independent and unaffiliated voters, further entrenching the status quo. Additionally, I highlight the absence of runoff elections, which exacerbates the challenge for grassroots candidates by allowing nominations to be secured with a mere plurality of votes, rather than a majority mandate. Ultimately, I assert that genuine reform necessitates not merely the elevation of candidates, but a comprehensive overhaul of the electoral system itself, advocating for the introduction of runoff provisions to ensure equitable representation and democratic integrity.
Takeaways:
- The current political landscape often favors established insiders over grassroots candidates, making it difficult for new voices to emerge.
- Closed primaries, particularly those without runoffs, significantly disadvantage independent and grassroots candidates seeking to gain traction.
- The absence of runoff elections allows candidates to win with minority support, circumventing the true will of the voters.
- A system that imposes closed primaries without runoffs is inherently undemocratic and detrimental to meaningful political participation.
- Grassroots movements require systemic reform, particularly the introduction of runoff elections to enhance democratic representation.
- It is vital for citizens to recognize and challenge structures that prioritize party loyalty over voter choice in primary elections.
Transcript
The following is an episode of the Grassroots Freedom Initiative Podcast. This episode is the audio from videos released on our YouTube and Rumble channels. There may be times in this episode when we refer to information displayed on the screen that is impossible to provide in podcast format. However, links to the video version of this episode, as well as links to sources mentioned in this episode, can be found in this episode's Show Notes.
Now the Grassroots Freedom Initiative Podcast.
Do you ever wonder why so many energizing, bold, grassroots candidates seem to disappear after the primary?
It feels like no matter how hard they campaign, how much people cheer at rallies, or how viral their videos go online, they just can't get past the primary.
That's because everything in the major party structure and ecosystem, especially the Ohio Republican Party, or ORP, is manipulated and rigged in favor of the hand-picked insider, time-in-grade, status quo, manipulable, controllable, candidates. Campaign funding, slate cards, endorsements, already skew the playing field against outsider, disruptive, grassroots candidates. And now ORP insiders are working on something extremely nefarious to make it even harder for citizen candidates to win a primary.
They want to close Ohio's primaries without a runoff.
First. What's a closed primary? Simple.
It's a primary where only people who are officially registered with a political party can vote in that party's primary election. So, no independents, no unaffiliated voters, no crossing over. It's a party club and you're either in or you're out. Now add this little twist.
No runoff. That means whoever gets the most votes in a primary wins, even if they only get 25% of the vote in a crowded field.
That's not a majority. That's not a mandate. That's just a political math trick. And it's a trick the party insiders love. Think about it.
Say you've got five candidates running. One of them is the anointed one. The party backed, well-funded, well connected type. The other four grassroots, scrappy, outsiders. People you'd want to grab a coffee or beer with. Those four split the anti-establishment vote. Maybe each one gets 18% to 20%. The insider just needs to hang on to 25% or so of loyal party line voters and boom. They win the nomination.
fact, it happened in Ohio in: he vote for reelection in the:And without a runoff, there's no safety net, no way to consolidate support behind a candidate the people want once the smoke clears. That's why this setup crushes grassroots candidates.
Not because they're not good enough, but because the system is rigged to make sure they never get a fair fight. Now imagine a system with runoffs in that same five person race. Nobody hits 50%. So now the top two face off in a second round. That's a real showdown.
That's when grassroots movements can organize, mobilize, rally, and win. But without that, the gate stays closed, the club stays exclusive, and the people?
We're left with the same old career politicians wondering why we're so cynical.
So, if we want change, real change, we can't just focus on candidates. We must fix the system they're running in.
And that either means leaving things as they are or closing primaries and demanding runoffs. Refusing to accept a process designed to shut out the people. And don't just believe me, believe AI - artificial intelligence.
I did the research on this topic using AI. There will be a link in the Show Notes to the AI prompt, or query, analyzing closed primaries with and without runoffs.
The graphic on the screen is a summary. The bottom line is closed primaries without runoffs are awful for grassroots candidates.
uded links to analysis of the:Nine states have primary runoffs.
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas. Not a single one would be considered a Democrat state, although North Carolina may be viewed as trending more Democrat from Republican.
Ten states have closed primaries without runoffs.
Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.
The majority, with the exception of Florida and Wyoming, are staunch Democrat or dark purple states.
Don't let party insiders deceive you and tell you what I'm calling for is ranked choice voting. That would be a lie.
And I'm not suggesting any changes to the general election, just the primary. Anyone fighting a runoff in a closed primary who says they are a grassroots conservative is either uninformed or lying to you.
And for heaven's sakes, don't buy the incremental approach as in, "Let's get what we can now and close the primary. We'll add a runoff later!" ... because later never comes.
I want to make you this promise.
I will happily and gladly debate anybody on this topic in public anytime, anywhere, if it can be recorded or restreamed on video. This is important to me, and it should be to you. I am willing to go face to face with any anybody on this matter. It's that important.
But I'm guessing those who support closed primaries without a runoff will be too cowardly to bring this issue in front of the people and the media. They'll want to slip it through the legislature in the darkness of night.
If this commentary resonates with you, please share it with someone else who's sick of getting stuck with crumbs while the insiders eat cake. And remember, democracy doesn't protect itself. That's up to us.
This episode is brought to you by the Grassroots Freedom Initiative, or GFI for short.
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