California Proposition 14: Rights of People vs. Rights of Parties
We just might be witnessing the Second American Revolution. The fight for process is gaining some traction. And wasn’t process a founding value for us?
IndependentVoting.org attorney Harry Kresky’s piece today on HuffPo Words Matter: Voters to Get Fair Wording of California Open Primary Initiative is a gem.
The assertion of such a right by the parties raises a fundamental question about the nature of our democracy. Does it rest on the rights of voters or on the rights of parties? On one level the answer is simple. The Constitution makes no mention of political parties. The Bill of Rights speaks of the “rights of the people,” not of the parties. After all, it is the people who organize the parties, so how could the rights of the parties they organize trump theirs?
We face a very serious challenge in this country every day. We can move forward, or we can stay stuck. And “stuck” in this 21st Century global post-modern world means going backwards.
In the very early days of our American revolution, soon after the independent forces won, George Washington warned us about the “baneful effects of party”.
We need a second American Revolution that frees us from the yoke of partisanship.
-NH
The Hankster
3 Responses to “California Proposition 14: Rights of People vs. Rights of Parties”
What are the elections about?
If these are party primaries, the parties should have a say.
The real solution to the excesses of the Duopoly is to go to 4-6+ parties and proportional representation.
The purpose of the Prop 14 is to eliminate the last few Republicans in California and make California a one party state. The long term result is that the primary will become the real election and that the general election will be a pointless waste of money to affirm whoever the Democrats supported in the primary.
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