Posted by
David Smith on Tuesday, February 05, 2008 4:52:26 PM
Well, I thought that this Presidential election might go down without at least one dirty political strategy being a concern. But as we get deeper and deeper in this contest, it appears not only that I was wrong, but that those employing the strategy are actually Republicans and not Democrats.
Of course, that all depends on who you lump Arizona Senator John McCain in with. Many consider the moderate a 'RINO'-Republican--Republican In Name Only--due to his stances on many issues contrary to the conservative base of the Party.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee was the surprise winner in West Virginia's State GOP Convention, the first of "Super Tuesday's" States to award delegates to the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota this fall. But it was not due to Huckabee's preferred status among Republicans! No, in fact, Huckabee was third in the first round of balloting at the West Virginia Convention!! So how did he win?
As is commonplace in such conventions, including the major party national conventions, delegates decide the candidate--or in this case, who the delegates will be for--in balloting. If the first ballot is not decisive, a second is taken with the low vote-getting candidate removed on the second ballot. That was Texas Rep. Ron Paul!
There was no third ballot. In the second ballot, Sen. McCain's supporters switched their votes all over to Huckabee in order to deny former Massachussetts Governor Mitt Romney victory, and the 18 national delegates that went along with the win.
Now, I suppose that this is simply politics at its finest and I am equally sure that worse has happened previously. There have been, after all, some hotly contested Presidential elections over the years! Kennedy-Nixon in 1960 springs instantly to mind! Truman-Dewey is another.
Also, Democrats in recent years have sought to employ an identical tactic that allows some Democratic voters to vote in their States' Republican Primary, casting their ballots for less-desirable candidates (from a Democratic perspective) in order to seek to eliminate a more formidable candidate from the eventual general election ballot. Such a practice is dirty, underhanded politics at its worst, deprives the electoral process from working as intended...
...and is now being employed by REPUBLICANS!!! For crying out loud...wasn't 2006 bad enough? Now we have to literally put up with Republicans acting like Democrats at the polls?
This is a practice that should be done away with. The result will be immense if this practice is duplicated either in other States or at the Republican Convention. If Sen. McCain is not the best candidate, then voters--and delegates!!--should simply vote their conscience, let the chips fall where they may, and accept that another candidate was the choice of the majority.
Can you imagine the President being elected in this manner??? I mean, that would make 2000 look like 1984! Not to mention that there would be riots in the streets.
Vote. Vote once. Vote for your candidate, and if he is eliminated, then vote for someone else. And if your candidate is not the guy (or lady!) who wins the race in the end, get used to it!! Because no matter what end of the spectrum we are each on, everyone had to put up with either Bill Clinton or George Bush, depending on your preferences.
And we all seem to have done alright in the end! Cut the crap and the games. Let's have an election where we can all fall in behind our President and go forward as Americans...
...no matter who that may be!!!