Green Arrow
11-14-2015, 07:04 PM
Most people seem rather ignorant of how the establishment games the system to get their candidates elected. I believe most people accurately acknowledge that voter fraud is not sufficient to win elections in America, not yet at least. So, how does the establishment get their candidates elected when most people don't want those very candidates? It's a complex system, but I will do my best to explain it as simply as possible. Keep in mind that this thread concerns the primary process, not the general election (since by that time, establishment candidates have already been nominated to represent both parties). I will mainly be using our current election cycle as an example.
First, let's address the way the primary schedule is set up. Have you ever asked yourself why all primaries don't occur on the same day, just like the general election? It's a simple answer, really. Look at most primaries in the modern age, since the death of the convention method in the 1960s. Generally, a candidate wins Iowa. They may lose New Hampshire. They win South Carolina. But then Florida comes around, and the whole contest changes. Why? Because of momentum. If a candidate wins Iowa or New Hampshire, even if they don't poll well anywhere else, they have momentum going into all subsequent primary states, momentum that nearly always nets them the nomination. Usually, once Florida's primary finds a victor, the nomination is pretty much over, and the rest of the states after Florida are just mopping up after the party. Anyone voting in a state primary after Florida is generally just casting a symbolic vote, because the nominee has been all but decided. The nomination convention after all the primaries are done is just a tradition, a formality, because the nominee has already been chosen by the voters in just four (sometimes five if it must go as far as Nevada) states.
What you have then is people start voting for candidates that they don't want, simply because they've been told that this candidate has so much momentum they will be the nominee regardless. I knew several people that voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 on Super Tuesday because he had pretty much locked up the nomination by then, and even though they detested Romney, they felt voting for anyone else would be pointless since Romney had basically already won. The air of inevitability has likewise followed Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Party nomination process since before it even started. Every Democrat I know doesn't want her to be the nominee, the vast majority of them want Bernie Sanders, but barring a change in momentum they will vote for Hillary come primary day simply because they feel she will be the nominee regardless of their choice.
Thus, the establishment of the two parties gets their candidate nominated, regardless of what the voters actually want.
First, let's address the way the primary schedule is set up. Have you ever asked yourself why all primaries don't occur on the same day, just like the general election? It's a simple answer, really. Look at most primaries in the modern age, since the death of the convention method in the 1960s. Generally, a candidate wins Iowa. They may lose New Hampshire. They win South Carolina. But then Florida comes around, and the whole contest changes. Why? Because of momentum. If a candidate wins Iowa or New Hampshire, even if they don't poll well anywhere else, they have momentum going into all subsequent primary states, momentum that nearly always nets them the nomination. Usually, once Florida's primary finds a victor, the nomination is pretty much over, and the rest of the states after Florida are just mopping up after the party. Anyone voting in a state primary after Florida is generally just casting a symbolic vote, because the nominee has been all but decided. The nomination convention after all the primaries are done is just a tradition, a formality, because the nominee has already been chosen by the voters in just four (sometimes five if it must go as far as Nevada) states.
What you have then is people start voting for candidates that they don't want, simply because they've been told that this candidate has so much momentum they will be the nominee regardless. I knew several people that voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 on Super Tuesday because he had pretty much locked up the nomination by then, and even though they detested Romney, they felt voting for anyone else would be pointless since Romney had basically already won. The air of inevitability has likewise followed Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Party nomination process since before it even started. Every Democrat I know doesn't want her to be the nominee, the vast majority of them want Bernie Sanders, but barring a change in momentum they will vote for Hillary come primary day simply because they feel she will be the nominee regardless of their choice.
Thus, the establishment of the two parties gets their candidate nominated, regardless of what the voters actually want.