Closed Primaries should be paid for by the parties, NOT the public

[FrodosPet]

Poll workers, security, building expenses, etc. should be paid by any political party that does not allow elections open to every registered voter. No one should be forced to pay for an election that they cannot participate in.

[Shadowflash]

1. Hear hear.

[corkhead]

2. But all you have to do is join a political party

you no longer believe in.

[TeamPooka]

3. I don't have any kids so I shouldn't have to pay for public schools then right? nt

[LiberalAndProud]

4. If your kids could not attend public school after you paid for them

Last edited Fri May 6, 2016, 04:06 PM - Edit history (1)

you might have a point.

[NobodyHere]

9. I don't think I would ever pay for my kids to go to pubic school.

[LiberalAndProud]

15. Public school bashing on this board. Why am I not surprised?

[TeamPooka]

25. not bashing public schools, just making a point about paying for things not

every citizen uses.
I'm for both

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. Once again, you are comparing apples and rocks

[TeamPooka]

29. from the person who compares rocks and water. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. Public vs Private

that is what you are comparing

[TeamPooka]

33. It's all anti-party bullshit. Anything to tear down the Democratic party, their process and strength

Anything that weakens the party is good with too many here.
This is another GOP wet dream.
They can finance their elections just fine and want us to bear a greater burden.
Buy into their BS all you want.

[nadinbrzezinski]

35. You (and the Rs mind you) want to have it both ways

we want to have the right to freedom of association and are private organizations (the courts agree), but we want the tax payer to pay for a private party function? By the way, free clue, this is not the first time this has cooked The last time it reached a point where both parties did open a few primaries, The Rs less than the Ds. Partly because states did take the side of... you want it private, pay for it.

The Ds in Hawaii said fine. They pay for the whole thing... did i mention it is a caucus?

There are a few other state parties on both sides that pay for the full thing. And at that point if they want to use divination to select their candidate, by all means... for all I care they could use entrail reading as well. As a tax payer I do not want to pay for the Chargers stadium (private entity) why the fuck should I pay for the Republican primary? (closed primary, private entity) Or for that matter for the Greens as well.

[LanternWaste]

17. We take out of public schools no more than what we put into public schools.

We take out of public schools no more than what we put into public schools.


(BTW, little guy-- blame your typo on a 'pubic' school education rather than taking responsibility for it)

[Renew Deal]

31. Libertarian madness

Me me me

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Key word public

Parties keep telling us, and the courts agree, that elections are a private party function. So the logical corollary is that the party gets to pay for that private function.

Primaries, incidentally, are not in the Constitution. Neither are factions.

[Lizzie Poppet]

16. Free public school benefits everyone.

How, specifically, do closed primaries benefit everyone?

[virtualobserver]

34. correct analogy, should you have to pay for a school that your children are not allowed to attend?

[DURHAM D]

5. Everyone should be allowed to vote

without a need to register and there should be no age requirement, residence requirement or citizenship requirement.

[meow2u3]

18. I don't like the idea of open primaries

Repukes can--and often do--mess with Democratic primaries and can end up nominating someone who's unelectable, and vice versa.

I don't mind semi-open primaries, i.e., allowing independents to vote in one or the other primary.

[Kingofalldems]

19. Exactly. Probably why they were started in the first place.

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. That, like the guy voting twice is mostly an urban myth

it happens so rarely that you can discount it, even if emotionally it appeals to you

[SickOfTheOnePct]

24. No thanks n/t

[Fresh_Start]

6. Why stop there

why should non-voters pay?

[FrodosPet]

7. That is a very good point

It is time to quit stripping people's voting rights.

Now if someone is eligible to vote, but makes a decision not to, that is different.

[NobodyHere]

8. Why should the tax payers be required to pay for an open primary?

[FrodosPet]

11. Maybe they shouldn't

You make a good point.

[NobodyHere]

12. Thanks

[LaydeeBug]

13. ABSOLUTELY NOT

You wanna participate in a primary...PARTICIPATE IN YOUR PARTY. I want DEMOCRATS making decisions for the Democratic Party, not outiers.

The OP must see the writing on the wall....Best tell Obama that we're going home to Mama

[stopbush]

14. States run elections, including primaries and caucuses.

They decide whether the primaries will be open or closed. The political parties then decide if they want to run in each state's primaries. The parties pay the states a fee to participate in the primaries.

The political parties don't have to enter the primaries if they don't want to. Most third parties don't bother entering primaries. Their candidates are selected the old fashioned way, by small groups of elites deciding who will run. The Ds and Rs participate in all the primaries because they can afford to, and their reach is nationwide. They hope that people participating in a primary and voting for their slate of candidates will also show up in the fall and vote for their candidate. That's really the only reason the Rs and Ds participate in the primaries. It would be much easier to nominate a REAL Party type if the general public wasn't given any say in the process.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. You mean like the Democratic State of Hawaii, where the caucus is run by the PARTY with no imput

from the state? BTW, they do it the right way. You want it closed, pay for it.

[Nye Bevan]

22. If I started a political party I wouldn't expect taxpayer funding for helping choose our candidate.

I agree with you, I have no idea why taxpayers should be giving money to political parties to help pay for their internal processes to choose their presidential candidates.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

23. Or, an open national primary funded by the government.

Which would require trust in the people rather than in party bosses.

[WhiteTara]

27. Shoulda woulda coulda

but it takes work and determination. Join in. Get a job on the election commission and make new rules.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

28. is anyone making you not register for a party?

[Rex]

32. Political parties should not be private corporations that drive their own agenda.

IMO