Your next 2020 Democratic presidential primary thread: Now we're serious

just clarifying that the Sanders campaign does not consider superdelegates

a scheme that would exist entirely to ensure Sanders isn't the nominee

so Biden goes from a 4 point lead to a 24 point lead in 2 days? how reliable are these polls really?

Man, that guy lives rent free in a few of y'all's heads huh

Every campaign needs an asshole, Sirota happens to be a bigger one.

I don't have much patience for Bernie folks yelling about the other candidates not wanting to let the people decide. As Warren said in her town hall last night, the DNC adopted rules. These are the rules that we currently have. That's not to say they are wholly defensible, but it seems crazy to just ignore them.

Given that the candidates are running for a particular political party's nomination, it seems reasonable to allow that party to have *some* control over the process. That said, I think it also is in the party's best interest to listen to and respect the will of the people, and they'd be equally crazy to deny Bernie the nomination if he's ahead. But what's the point of having a party at all if these decisions aren't actually up to them?

it's the Surprise Party

i never remember who this Sirota guy is

I only ever see him mentioned in these threads

But what's the point of having a party at all

fair question! I think the bigger q is why are there only two parties, and why is it only possible to elect a president out of these two parties

if there's no room for a party to shift at any pace other than glacially or via strong strategic takeover (see: Gingrich in the 90s, unfortunately) then we really need more viable parties or at the very least, more diverse coalitions within the party

We don’t really have political parties. I’ve been a dues-paying member of the IWW, the UAW (I think that was what Kroger’s Union was organized) and the SPUSA, but there’s no mechanism for me to join the Democratic Party and have any say over its platform or rules.

someone in the office here recently panicked that the Republicans canceling some of their state primaries was "fascism," apparently unaware that parties can legally change their processes however they like

but there’s no mechanism for me to join the Democratic Party and have any say over its platform or rules.

this is demonstrably untrue.

it's called winning an election as a Democrat, or being nominated (or hired) to a position within the party apparatus.

such a bizarre statement to say we don't have parties!

not to mention there are locally held elections to serve as delegates to state party conferences, you can nominate yourself and try to get people to vote for you.

here's a link about how to become a delegate for the California Democratic Party, for example: https://www.cadem.org/our-party/adem

I think the bigger q is why are there only two parties

this isn't that big a question - it's a natural outgrowth of the winner-take-all rules in the Constitution

the state of basic civics education in this country is pretty depressing

you want more than one party, you need a system that incorporates proportional representation - which leads to multiple parties and coalitions. You want two parties - a majority and a minority party - you set up a winner-take-all system.

Miraculously, while various Founding Fathers bemoaned political parties in general, they didn't figure this out or anticipate it.

er you want more than TWO parties

that should say

But what's the point of having a party at all if these decisions aren't actually up to them?

but the party does make the decision--by allowing the members of the party to vote in primaries

the day Buttigeig and Klobuchar finally fuck the fuck off

So not gonna happen until Bernie has it wrapped up with a bow, which ofc may or may not happen before the convention.

even Kascich gave up the ghost eventually

Omg he's dead?

“Become an elected official and then you can have a say in the party” = we don’t have parties in any meaningful sense.

I, a normal person, have no actual say in the Democratic platform or legislative agenda.

jfc read the link I posted

all you have to do is be a registered Democrat in your District and run in an internal party election.

milo is is saying fuck the noise about running for office, i think

here let me c+p it for you

AD Delegates to the Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC) are responsible for planning and attending informational meetings throughout the region and working with other DSCC delegates throughout California to represent their community.

AD Delegates are elected by voters (to participate in the ADEM you MUST be a registered Democrat in that Assembly District).

AD Delegates vote on behalf of the community they represent at CDP Regional Meetings, the California Democratic Party Convention, and those who are also elected to serve as an Executive Board member are responsible for voting and representing their community at the semi-annual E-Board meetings.

like omg a political party expects you to have the support of members of your party in order to have a say in how the party is run

it's almost as if there's some wilful ignorance going on here

yeah but i think what you're missing is that you can't post an angry tweet fb status or ilx post and thereby change the party platform

the democratic party has about 45 million registered members and every few year they get to vote on things. Sometimes their votes end up choosing the people who are in the room when the platform is drawn up. Don't see what extra power you'd expect as a "normal person"

fwiw anyone can write up a proposal to be voted on and taken to the state convention at the Iowa caucuses. on an election year like this one, you'd probably cultivate the enmity of the mass of people getting impatient, though

Do you guys not have friends who attend your party's state convention, vote for the state Dem party chair, etc.? It is not hard to do and people do it. You don't have to get elected to anything. In Wisconsin you have to pay $25, less if you're a student or elderly.

Yes, covered the ‘elected officials part. Multiple obfuscating layers ensurie that normal people have no direct influence and thus participation is limited primarily to voting every 2-4 years for most people.

This is all in response to the idea that “we have a party, them’s the rules” - how many people here voted for the superdelegate rules?

every state has a Democratic Party, and representatives (delegates, as noted above) from those state parties participate in national conventions, elections, party platforms, the DNC etc. Every state Democratic Party has rules, structures, internal elections, platforms, and resources that are open and available to any registered Democrat in that state.

to suggest otherwise is factually inaccurate and ahistorical. this is not fucking rocket science.

Do you guys not have friends who attend your party's state convention, vote for the state Dem party chair, etc.? It is not hard to do and people do it.

I do have friends/coworkers active in the party at this level. I tried to vote in our last assembly district delegate election because there was a big progressive candidate push but I couldn't even get in the door (the line to the voting hall was around the block, it was raining and I had my kids with me)

xps

Multiple obfuscating layers ensurie that normal people

here let me google that for you

(should probably just be automatically appended to all your dumbshit posts on this topic)

normal people have no direct influence and thus participation is limited primarily to voting every 2-4 years for most people.

based on their observable behavior, most normal people wouldn't want it any other way, but they do like to bitch and moan about politics on the internet. a lot.

I am largely OK with other people having more decision-making power than I do because they do the work and I don't.

jeez, turn the kindness meter up a few notches y'all

Shakey sold his

It really is easy to get involved with Dem politics, you just have to (physically) show up and start volunteering for things. There's usually more work to be done then there are people to do it, and you're likely to have "power" pressed upon you pretty quickly whether you like it or not.

Like, the reason why state and local D parties are dominated by old folks, for example, is that they're the only ones who show up.

that's true!

I know a handful of people who do show up who are in their 30s-40s, regularly attend city council meetings or watch them online, and regularly contact their local representatives

the image of elected representatives only doing what their donors/party want has a bit of truth but for most, they act on issues that are brought to them by concerned parties. sometimes that's a couple persistent letter writers instead of the local union or corporation

you can have direct influence by getting coffee with your city council member if you're in a smaller city!

sorry, I get pretty angry with people that complain about the system and then refuse to do the bare minimum to learn how it works.

Bernie's message of grassroots political revolution must really be resonating with his online proponents lol

your standard is higher than Pelosi's "that's like, five people" i guess

Writing longer versions of what I said isn't really blowing my mind, Shakes. Yes, you can theoretically vote for the guy who votes for the guy who votes for the guy who votes for the guy who votes for the guy who eventually votes for Tom Perez who then nominates a half dozen oil lobbyists to the DNC Executive Committee. Hence 'obfuscating layers.' I know how 'it works.'

so you want, what, direct elections for every Democratic Party decision and office? get ready to vote a lot.

one man's obfuscating layers are another man's delegated responsibility