--- Jerry Monaco <monacojerry at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> As far as I can see primaries have made the
> Democratic Party _less of a
> Party_ and a party with less of a liberal program.
> The Dems since 1976 have
> become more of a party of personality and of
> Madison Avenue
> advertisements. I think both are a result of the
> marketing nature of the
> primary process. Less politics and more
> personality; less politics and more
> Mad Ave is what you get in the primary states. The
> caucus states actually
> have a tendency toward more actual organizing of
> people than the primary
> states.
>
> I think it would be a relief to us all if both the
> Dems and Republicans
> would just give up the pretense of democracy and
> abolish the primaries all
> together. It would certainly end the suffering of
> this constant round of
> campaigning for president that they put us through.
>
[WS:] Amen!
The US elections are children of the US consumer society, no doubt about that. It is interesting that advert-driven consumer preference aka the market is criticized on this list when it comes to culture (cf. Doug's case against TV) or social issues, but it becomes a virtue when it comes to politics.
Your point that backroom politics can produce more liberal candidates than current popularity contests is well taken. I would go even further and say that with the notable excpetion of the Scandinavian countries we would have never even heard of social democracy, let alone socialism if politics were left to popular preferences alone. The Russian or the Chinese Communists understood that quite well when they made a case for a vanguard party.
Wojtek
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