You wonder why we bother? (Michigan 2012 Primary)

reproduced from: Rattle With Us – Michigan Tea Party (Denis Curran)

Well, they did it again. There is a well known saying that American politics is split between the Evil Party (Democrats) and the Stupid Party (Republicans). Last Saturday, on August 13, the Michigan Republican Party proved the truth of it in an emphatic way. The elected leadership got together in Lansing and voted 92-17 to hold a primary, open to the public, to nominate the next Republican candidate for President. This illuminating choice comes at a time when the Democrats are not going to hold a 2012 primary for their own candidate – Obama will be automatically re-nominated in a private caucus of Dem party officials. The Democrats are already using the ten million dollar cost of a 2012 spring primary for publicity to blame Republicans for wasting public tax dollars at a time when Michigan must sharply cut spending, while their own nomination will cost nothing.

In a recent happy-talk Republican party announcement, it was called a “closed primary”. Since the only requirement to vote is signing a piece of paper saying “Yes, I really, really, REALLY am a Republican, honest Injun”, in practice it will be a completely open one. There is no limitation on how one voted in the past or future. Be a Republican for a day, it’s fun and effective!

What normally happens in Michigan elections? For examples from the recent past, here are the turnout numbers in a couple of comparable Michigan primaries.

… (Rattle With Us) READ MORE: You wonder why we bother
(Rattle With Us) SEE MORE: BLOGS
(Rattle With Us) SEE MORE: FORUM