Primaries and caucuses are a surprisingly undemocratic part of the democratic process, that’s why John Oliver discusses our convoluted system of choosing presidential nominees, and invites us all to do something about it on Groundhog’s Day. The day is appropriate, because like the movie by the same name, we’ll continue to wake up to this horrifying process each and every time we have a major election.
Most everyone agrees with Politifact on this; “The arcane party structures don’t reflect how most people assume presidential selection works.” In other words, one person, one vote is a lovely, sweet idea. Instead, we have primaries, caucuses, delegates and super delegates…Oh My! All of those Byzantine rules and labels are more difficult to remember than the rules of Pinochle; but unlike the card game, we really can’t do much about the process unless we put pressure on the party chairs – Debbie Wassermann Schultz and Reince Priebus in February, and insist on some meaningful change. Sure, some people will no longer be ‘Super’ anymore, and others will no longer hold major political events in their living rooms, but we’ll all feel empowered again!