Comments on: Maine Secretary of State Proposes Ending State-Financed Primaries

By: David Gaines

David Gaines — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 15:20:42 +0000

I’ve never understood why primaries are publically financed anyway. Political parties should finance their own candidate nomination activities, whether they take the form of primaries, conventions, or caucuses, instead of sticking the public with the bill.

By: proletariat

proletariat — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:09:57 +0000

I like the idea too, but it must go hand and hand with an IRV based system.

By: D. Frank Robinson

D. Frank Robinson — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 06:02:56 +0000

A good step away from a century long effort to turn political parties into an administrative arm of the State. No State-sponsored manipulation of the citizen – radical great! No State campaign finance regulation for candidates, no ballot access regulation for parties to select their candidates, private elections run by private individuals or accounting firms. Looks like an opportunity for open source politics to me.

Hmmm. Not without a fight. Look for this idea to get slammed by the entrenched politicians. The first thing they’ll do is dredge up the archaic vision of “ward bosses” and machine politics. Ironic, but national machine politics with “bosses” is what we’ve had for a century.

Today is a much different social environment – information cannot be monopolized by the few for long. Mr. Dunlap’s idea is just too realistic and practical and returns too much power to the people (populism) to go unsmeared. I can almost hear the drumbeats of kneejerkers in academe. Let’s hope Mr. Dunlap does not backpedal under pressure.

By: Stine

Stine — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 03:10:41 +0000

Agreed.

Either this or have the state send a bill to each qualified party that holds a primary.

By: Darryl W. Perry

Darryl W. Perry — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 02:03:10 +0000

I LOVE this idea!