A Running Commentary

The high drama of the 2008 Presidential primaries, especially for the Democrats, has lead many to question the logic of the American nominating system. From the prominence of certain states like Iowa and New Hampshire, to the role of political parties and their delegates, people, politicians, and pollsters alike have questioned the structure’s logic […]

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Despite the tone of many a political speech, the United States is not a direct democracy. By design the American system is instead a representative one, placing a level of removal between the will of the people and governmental action. Where a pure democracy grants citizens direct control through vote or proxy, elected […]

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In one of the many great episodes of The West Wing, Josh and Donna have a debate about taxes. Donna, the naïve idealist, wants to know why the government takes so much of her income to pay for things on her behalf. Shouldn’t she be able to make those decisions herself? “I […]

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It is ironic that the word “federal” immediately brings to mind the national government, when in fact it indicates a collective of sovereign states. Following the Revolutionary War, Americans were painfully afraid that a powerful national government would repeat the English tyranny they’d just escaped. So the Founding Fathers initially formed The Articles […]

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I have been asked frequently to explain the nature and purpose of the American primary system. Unlike any election in recent memory, the 2008 Presidential has placed a withering spot light on the arcane and often counterintuitive primary systems of both Democrats and Republicans. Assumptions by many voters on the workings of the […]

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