He struck a blow for democracy, he struck a blow for the integrity of the presidential selection process, and he gave both the Republican and Democratic parties a face-saving opportunity to walk away from the impossible and embarrassing mess they have made.
Unfortunately, early indications are that neither party is smart enough to figure that out. As all of us know, the Republicans and Democrats in this state can’t agree on something as elemental as balancing the state’s budget. But they marched cheek by jowl in an effort to create a primary which violated the rules of both parties.
One can understand wanting to give Michigan more influence over the nomination. But they were warned not to schedule a primary in January. When they did so anyway, the leading Democrats abandoned the race, and the party indicated it wouldn’t seat Michigan’s convention delegates.
The Republicans told Michigan the state would lose half its delegates. With Democrats abandoning the field, that opend up the possibility of their voters meddling in the Republican primary.
The thing was a train wreck.
Then yesterday, we learned that it was an unconstitutional train wreck. The parties had cooked up a deal where lists of voters who participated would be supplied to the political parties -- and only to the political parties. In other words, twelve million dollars of taxpayer money would be spent to create private political junk mail lists.
And the rest of us wouldn’t have access to that information. A bright high school civics student should have realized that would be unconstitutional. But our political leaders couldn’t see it. What they should do now is one of two things. Move the primary back to a legal date. I suggest Feb. 12. If the nominations aren’t settled by the huge mass of states voting the week before, Michigan will get more attention in the week before its primary than ever dreamed possible.
Failing that, just save the taxpayers money by letting each party pick its delegates in a caucus system, and go back to the drawing board for next time. But the first reactions to yesterday’s ruling indicated party leaders had learned nothing at all. Democratic power broker Debbie Dingell called for “extraordinary efforts” to salvage the primary in order to “blow up New Hampshire and Iowa.” Huh?
Saul Anuzis, the Republican chair, called the ruling a “hiccup” and said he didn’t think it would ruin the primary. As we used to say in the sixties, “Where are their heads at?“
We have met the problem, and they are us. Judge Collette, may it please the court have a favor to ask.
Keep an eye on these birds, will you? For all of our sakes.
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