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They’re definitely for the billionaire people.
Aren't there primaries for the Dems?
Sort of, sometimes. They can and will heavily disadvantage candidates they dont like. Like when they gave Hillary the questions for debates beforehand but not to Bernie, and let hillary control the funding of races, including her own. And like when they cut new hampshire out of the primary results this year because the New Hampshire dems wouldnt move the date for the primary to when the dnc wanted. So sure you could vote in that primary, but nothing was done with the results. Straight to the garbage can with those ballots.
Russia says they have a democracy too, with votes and everything. Not saying we're the same, but proving we have "democracy" by the fact that voting happens is not that firm of a thing. Its easily corrupted.
Voter turnout in primaries is pathetic. In 30 states, you have to be registered with the party - i.e.: give them your name and address for fund-raising purposes - to vote. This all works to bias primaries to 'establishment' candidates, or at least people well known among party apparatchiks. They are, theoretically, the best way to get progressives or populists into office, but practically, those progressives are fighting demographics and the general apathy of voters under 40.
The same phenomena that let MAGA take over the GOP keep the moderates in charge of the Dems. At least, until someone figures out how to motivate all the young internet revolutionaries to actually go and vote instead of memeing about how useless voting is.
You're blaming the DNC for something that is controlled by each individual state.
Not really. I'm saying that the system discourages change. If there's blame for the DNC, it's that their message has constantly been something along the lines of "be reasonable & empathetic; improve the world through measured change" which tends to demoralize people who think the system is seriously fucked. That empowers the career politicians. GOP propaganda, at least for the last 50-or-so years, has been "More guns! More babies! No brown people!" which tends to attract passionate radicals.
Okay, but the states decide if there are open primaries or not. The State is to blame for that, but it can be changed if made a state ballot measure.
That's not really up for debate. It's literally state law and dependent on the state. The DNC and GOP don't decide that.
Is that not the second sentence in my original comment?
It was, but the rest of your statement went on to say this is for the purpose of blah blah and putting on your tin foil hat to somehow blame the establishment, any establishment.
It's decided by the people. If there was a state ballot measure to remove closed primaries and make them open, it would then be up to the people to decide.
There are also multiple types. Blue and red states all do different things and there is no trend.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_primaries_in_the_United_States
Are you suggesting that the primary structures came into existence without the support of the parties? Or that the people can somehow rise up and rewrite election rules over the objection of party incumbents? I thought we were having a serious discussion.
US primaries aren't like France's two round election system, even in open primary states. California, Washington and Nebraska have a single-ballot "jungle" primary system that's kind of close (although Nebraska is kind of special because it's only for non-partisan state legislature races), but most open primaries still list only the candidates of one party - you can't vote for a (D) in one race and an (R) in another. US primaries are supposed to let the parties - which are essentially semi-private clubs - reach consensus on who they run against the other clubs. Having the states run those primaries was supposed to be democratizing and let more people have a voice in their representation, and maybe it even worked that way a hundred years ago. It's the nature of people to organize themselves into cliques to consolidate and maintain power, and they'll figure out ways to manipulate any system to do that. The fact that no one votes in primaries - regardless of their structure - makes them an easy lever of manipulation.
DNC: I am here for the working people-- from billionaires, all the way to millionaires.
From the business owners to the CEOs, the Democrats are here to hear you. All the people, white or tan, brown people of light complexion as long as they have a 401k and 10 million in assets they will LISTEN