Comments on: Reince Priebus: How about a Republican convention in mid-June or July?

By: meci

meci — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:23:39 +0000

How about instead of letting each state select their own primary election day we reward success as in growth of their electorate. Take the 1960 electoral vote, the first with 50 state and the date of April 15th as a start point. If you have gained electoral votes, you move up one week per vote. If you lost electoral votes you move down one week per vote. Stayed the same then your election is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April.

By: acasilaco

acasilaco — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:15:25 +0000

Several of you are advocating for a closed primary. The problem with that is participation in primaries is set by state law, not by the parties, and some states (such as mine) don’t even register voters by party. (And we like it fine that way.) We do have a system, though, that in any given year forces each voter to choose one party’s primary or the other (for every office on the ballot, not just president), and I think the effect is similar to a closed primary. In order to meddle in the other party’s election by casting a vote for one of their presidential candidates, you have to forgo your ability to vote in your own party’s primary for any office that year.

By: Greyledge Gal

Greyledge Gal — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:07:50 +0000

JFKY on March 18, 2013 at 11:48 AM

I lived most of my life in Maryland. Traditionally, primaries were held in September. You just get used to being irrelevant in the Presidential Primary process.

By: JFKY

JFKY — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:48:28 +0000

Some states cannot afford TWO primaries….Ky. for example, has primaries in May, for ALL Offices, to include POTUS. Elections cost money, several million. So under some proposals, here, Ky. has to have two elections, POTUS Primary and then State Office Primaries. Not an option.

By: Greyledge Gal

Greyledge Gal — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:35:43 +0000

I will preface this by saying I was never for Ron Paul. I know by saying that no one but those that know me will believe me. :p

One of the fun parts of the conventions has always been the roll call of states. Never again should anyone who received votes, from Mickey Mouse to Jesus, be purposefully excluded from the roll call.

There is no sense in hostilely throwing away supporters by excluding any primary candidate’s name from the roll call of states.

By: BigGator5

BigGator5 — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:30:44 +0000

That... Sounds like a great idea! I knew there was a reason I liked this Reince Priebus fellow.

commodore on March 18, 2013 at 11:13 AM

This.

By: Greyledge Gal

Greyledge Gal — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:26:08 +0000

I have been telling my husband for the last 2 presidential cycles – When did they decide the conventions should be so late?

I was at the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit (wrap your brain around that). The Convention that nominated Ronald Reagan was held smack dab in the middle of JULY.

I took a gander and historically, the RNC was NEVER held before August until 1968. 1968, 1972, and 1976 were held in August. Then back to mid-July for 1980.

After 1980, the RNC went back to mainly August, the earliest being Jul 31st start in 2000 and the latest being 2008 which occurred completely in September (1-4).

Are there actually written rules that say the party in power gets to choose their dates first or is that just a nicety?

By: Caiwyn

Caiwyn — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:22:36 +0000

Howsabout you STOP AWARDING DELEGATES TO STATES THAT BREAK PRIMARY RULES?! Prevent a bunch of government-subsidized corn farmers from having such an outsized influence on the primary season and that’s half the battle right there.

By: commodore

commodore — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:20:17 +0000

- Iowa, 1st week in Jan.

- entire Midwest region, 3rd week in Jan

- NH, 1st week in Feb

- entire Northeast region, 3rd week in Feb

- SC, 1st week in March

- entire South region, 3rd week in March

- AZ, 1st week in April

- entire West region, 3rd week in April

- convention in late June/early July

By: CTSherman

CTSherman — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:17:13 +0000

1) June/July convention is a fantastic idea

2) closed primaries

3) no MSM moderated primary debates unless you want to spend the entire time discussing birth control

4)four or five rotating regional super primaries, with one state from each region voting a couple weeks prior to the rest of the region, so a little guy can gain some momentum

commodore on March 18, 2013 at 11:13 AM

This!