Democracy for Vancouver

Anyone who had to endure the multi-step presidential caucus system and it’s inherently anti-democratic (small “d”!) limitations (no absentee ballots, no overseas military, etc.), would agree that a real presidential primary that allocates all delegates is a better system. Recently, state Democratic party chair Dwight Pelz indicated that there was simply no way that a primary was going to happen, which was backed up by Rep. Sam Hunt’s bill to cancel the primary.

Thankfully, we seem to have some momentum towards a real presidential primary as and an about-face from Pelz as David Postman’s blog points out:

In the News Tribune Sean Cockerham reports that state Democrats are no longer trying to kill the 2008 presidential primary. He quotes state party Chairman Dwight Pelz saying there will be a primary.

But that doesn’t answer the question of whether Democrats will count any of the votes toward selecting delegates to the national convention next year.

There’s some further detail in Sean Cockerham’s report:

Olympia Democratic Rep. Sam Hunt, the main sponsor of the bill to cancel the 2008 presidential primary, wouldn’t go so far as to say his bill is dead. But he indicated Tuesday that it likely won’t move forward.

…

Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat, said she wishes Democrats also would heed the primary.

“Some number of delegates ought to be bound by the results of the primary,” she said. “So Washingtonians see the primary is real and that presidential candidates see it as real as well.”

But the Democratic National Committee won’t allow a split in which some delegates are allocated by caucus and some by primary, said Todd Nichols, chairman of the state party’s rules committee. So it’s all or nothing.

Is the caucus system that sacred that we can’t just allocate ALL of our delegates through the widest means possible? What’s the hold up? Anyone from the local Democratic party care to clue me in? Do local party folks really enjoy the amount of time and money that goes into setting up the caucus and paying for facilities rental?

Good for the Governor in coming out strongly in advocating a real presidential primary. Time to put the caucus out to the 19th century pasture in which it belongs.