‘The system for nomination presidential candidates is in need of reform’ – Discuss:
Paragraph 1 - Too long
Reasons for:
Frontloading,
Need to gain more money to be competitive - start fundraising earlier
Too much media power - they try to fill the gaps with trivia and a narrow focus on personalities
Increase in intra-party debates → increase Republican candidates 2016 - need to accomodate for large
amount.
Bernie Sanders plan to increase number of debates (long) but possibly make them bi-partisan -
increasing exposure + getting practice before debates (good)
Why is this bad?
Voter apathy → become bored of it if it goes on too long = low voter turnout, candidates are less
legitimate and don’t tend to focus on the needs of the average voter
Because the media fill gaps with trivia, it leads to a narrower focus on personality, speculation and gaffes
made during intra-party debates
EX: Rick Perry was ridiculed for being forgetting the name of a governmengt agency
However, this does not allude from the issue that the nomination process is largely based on superficial
skills, i.e. campaigning, slogans and appearance.
Is it really that bad?
It allows for intense vetting of candidates such as Herman Cain - withdrew from Rep. contest in 2012
after sexual harassment allegations → leaves the most appropriate candidates → Dirt gets brought out
in primary rather than general elections which are more controversial
Long nomination process- develops a candidates campaigning skills, giving them practise for the
general elections
However, republicans have decided to compress their primaries and introduce stricter penalties for front
loading → rep. primariy is becoming shorter.
EX: Obama performed so poorly in his first debate with romney in october 2012 was because he had not
had a competitive primary in contrast with romney who had participated in 19 televised intra-party
debates between june 2011 and february 2012.
Paragraph 2 - Ideologically Driven Nature
The primaries are dominated by more committed (and thus more ideologically driven and generally
more radical)
EX: Mike Huckabee and rick santorum were both evangelical christians on the far right of the republican
party and won the Republican caucus in Iowa
Why is it bad:
Low turnout = unrepresentative view → those who vote tend to be ideologically driven = more extreme
candidates chosen → many moderate ordinary voters feel disillusioned
EX: Iowa caucuses only had 20% turnout yet was its largest ever - only ideological voters
Candidates have to appeal to extreme voters for support to win the nomination → then have to appeal
more moderately to the general public for the presidential election
EX: Mitt Romney flip flopped from primary to election, going from “under no circumstance would i allow
abortion” then, in presidential election said he would allow for rape and incest.
Flair - Made worse by Obama’s incumbency as he did not have to appeal to the ideological voters →
Called Romney as having ‘Romnesia’
However:
In republican primaries, the establishment candidate usually wins the nomination despite opposition
from the party’s right wing
EX: John McCain (2008) and Mitt Romney (2012).
Even though there are issues, the nomination process has come a long way, since the establishment of
the McGovern Fraser Commision, where before candidates were decided in smoke filled rooms.
Paragraph 1 - Too long
Reasons for:
Frontloading,
Need to gain more money to be competitive - start fundraising earlier
Too much media power - they try to fill the gaps with trivia and a narrow focus on personalities
Increase in intra-party debates → increase Republican candidates 2016 - need to accomodate for large
amount.
Bernie Sanders plan to increase number of debates (long) but possibly make them bi-partisan -
increasing exposure + getting practice before debates (good)
Why is this bad?
Voter apathy → become bored of it if it goes on too long = low voter turnout, candidates are less
legitimate and don’t tend to focus on the needs of the average voter
Because the media fill gaps with trivia, it leads to a narrower focus on personality, speculation and gaffes
made during intra-party debates
EX: Rick Perry was ridiculed for being forgetting the name of a governmengt agency
However, this does not allude from the issue that the nomination process is largely based on superficial
skills, i.e. campaigning, slogans and appearance.
Is it really that bad?
It allows for intense vetting of candidates such as Herman Cain - withdrew from Rep. contest in 2012
after sexual harassment allegations → leaves the most appropriate candidates → Dirt gets brought out
in primary rather than general elections which are more controversial
Long nomination process- develops a candidates campaigning skills, giving them practise for the
general elections
However, republicans have decided to compress their primaries and introduce stricter penalties for front
loading → rep. primariy is becoming shorter.
EX: Obama performed so poorly in his first debate with romney in october 2012 was because he had not
had a competitive primary in contrast with romney who had participated in 19 televised intra-party
debates between june 2011 and february 2012.
Paragraph 2 - Ideologically Driven Nature
The primaries are dominated by more committed (and thus more ideologically driven and generally
more radical)
EX: Mike Huckabee and rick santorum were both evangelical christians on the far right of the republican
party and won the Republican caucus in Iowa
Why is it bad:
Low turnout = unrepresentative view → those who vote tend to be ideologically driven = more extreme
candidates chosen → many moderate ordinary voters feel disillusioned
EX: Iowa caucuses only had 20% turnout yet was its largest ever - only ideological voters
Candidates have to appeal to extreme voters for support to win the nomination → then have to appeal
more moderately to the general public for the presidential election
EX: Mitt Romney flip flopped from primary to election, going from “under no circumstance would i allow
abortion” then, in presidential election said he would allow for rape and incest.
Flair - Made worse by Obama’s incumbency as he did not have to appeal to the ideological voters →
Called Romney as having ‘Romnesia’
However:
In republican primaries, the establishment candidate usually wins the nomination despite opposition
from the party’s right wing
EX: John McCain (2008) and Mitt Romney (2012).
Even though there are issues, the nomination process has come a long way, since the establishment of
the McGovern Fraser Commision, where before candidates were decided in smoke filled rooms.
