So when Stevenson was the Dem nominee in 1952 (only 3 yrs before I was born) was he "dropped off at the top of the mountain" ? Primary voters in 12 of 15 primaries (barely 1/4 of states even had Primaries) chose Kefauver. Stevenson didn't even run. And yet Kefauver was unable to secure the majority of delegates needed for the nomination on 2 convention ballots. At that point Stevenson's name was thrown into the mix, and emerged as the party's nominee...
Notice how that's only 70 or so years ago, and how the primary process only involved a minority of actual voters? Here's another thing about primaries,the average voter doesn't participate.. When I went to the Elections board and offered my services they didn't know what camp to put me in because I hadn't ever voted in a primary. Me the person who many on this board consider a raging Dem had never voted in a Dem Primary even though I have identified as a Dem since Nixon/Watergate.
Now whether or not I chose to exercise my right to join the minority and vote in a primary, I always had the choice to vote for my party's nominee, or the other party or just not vote. After voting for Clinton twice I did not vote in 2000. Nothing against Gore, I wanted him to win. But I just didn't vote for whatever reason. I couldn't even tell you who participated in the Dem primary (without looking it up) because I just wasn't that interested in voting in Indiana. So any idiotic Dems that decide that KH is not the legitimate nominee have the ability to vote or not vote, or even to vote for Trump.
But to claim that somehow people were disenfranchised because (like every POTUS candidate before 1916) Harris didn't run in primaries, seems pretty ludicrous if you have a basic comprehension of US electoral history. The primary system originated with Progressives around 1916, so I guess the fact that I'm not enamored with the Primary system makes me anti-Progressive? I just don't get fired up about voting in the "dress rehearsal". And primaries, because they cater to the most radical elements of both parties, actually can cause more harm than good.
No offense, but whenever I see potential Trump voters raise this issue I envision someone who is trying to justify to their conscious their own willingness to vote for a convicted felon, twice impeached insurrectionist, adjudicated sexual abuser and serial fraudster. I have no doubt that as a whole the citizenry will reject that notion, and feel pretty confidant that will be true in the swing states as well. But we won't know till November...
