"Party Endorsement" of primary election canidates should be banned.

[Odin2005]

This just purpetuates the need for canidates to suck up to the party bigwigs instead of concentrating on support of average members of the party in the primaries and caucuses. The official party canidate should be the winner of the primary/caucus in a fair election with no favoratism towards one canidate or another, not the result of the party bigwigs supporting the canidate they like and that favored canidate gets the nomination because the bigwigs give him an advantage over other canidates.

[slackmaster]

1. Makes sense to me

The fact that a person is on the ballot in a party primary strongly implies that the party thinks he or she is worthy of their nomination.

[Orangepeel]

2. Who do you mean by the "party"?

do you think that individual elected officials should be banned from endorsing? How would you stop them?

:shrug:

I can't think of an instance where the DNC has endorsed in a primary, although state and local parties sometimes endorse their own.

[Odin2005]

3. am against the state or national party apparatus doing the endorsing

I know of several MN races where the party favored a primary canidate; that is wrong, parties should be ran as democracies not oligarchies, that is the purpose of primaries.

[ISUGRADIA]

5. Elected delegates from the caucuses do the endorsing of candidates

for the DFL in Minnesota, not the party big-wigs. Keith Ellison in CD 5 is obviously not the candidate of the party heirarchy but he had the DFL endorsement.

[Odin2005]

8. Ah, I got it.

[OzarkDem]

9. Parties are democracies

Registered Dems vote to elect precinct committee people and state executive committee members. The precinct committee people in turn elect ward leaders and county executive committee members.

When it comes time for primaries, at the local level ward leaders screen candidates and make recommendations. Then executive committee members vote for endorsements. For state level candidates, the state executive committee member that you voted for votes with the full state committee on endorsements.

In addition, your local ward club can also vote to endorse candidates on its own.

If you're a registered Dem, get involved, go to ward club meetings, learn how the system works and do your part.

[eyesroll]

4. In WI, it's only allowed under extrordinary circumstances (Dem party rule)

For instance, here in Milwaukee, we have an incumbent that defines DINO. He's a favorite of conservative talk radio, has spoken at right-wing events, written stuff for the WI conservative digest, and openly runs as a Democrat because he knows he can't win as a Republican.

The Milwaukee Dems have taken the unusual step of endorsing his primary opponent, actual Democrat Vince Bobot.

Note that this rule wouldn't allow a primary endorsement of Lamont over Lieberman -- think Zell Miller or worse.

I like this rule. But other than that, I agree with you.

[CTLawGuy]

6. competely agree

the nominee is for the base alone to endorse.

[ISUGRADIA]

7. Activists in the party are the base...

In Minnesota there is no party registration so Dems, Independents and Repubs (!) can all chose a Democratic ballot and vote in the primary if they so choose. So here the base is ot necessarily the ones who are choosing the candidate in the primary. Endorsements supplement the process.