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Bob Bolerjack,
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Carol MacPherson,
Editorial Writer
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heraldnet.com


Allen Funk,
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Kim Heltne,
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Send letters to the editor by e-mail to letters@heraldnet.com, by fax to 425-339-3458 or mail to The Herald - Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.

 
WEEK IN REVIEW
Friday
Armed man shot by deputies in Arlington
Police ID make of vehicle in fatal hit-and-run
Boeing's 6-month tally: 1 net order
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One fire rips through $2 million home, another ...
Swine flu claims 2nd victim in Snohomish County
Jetty Island firefight continues; hot weather ...
Wednesday


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Snohomish County population rising fast since 2...
Honey's owners indicted by feds
Tuesday


Mobile home tenants along Snohomish River told ...
Lincoln to leave Everett in 2013
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Monday


Disabled people will be left without a ride
You'll soon have 4,500 reasons to trade in that...
Pay hike deserved, Monroe chief says
Sunday


1,670 local students in county are without homes
Monroe's business gets done in secret
$9 million to be sought for U.S. 2 in federal t...
Saturday


Use of local parks spikes
Gay-friendly shift at 2 churches
Racist graffiti scrawled on cars in Everett nei...
 

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Published: Sunday, February 17, 2008

Party processes need an extreme makeover

When it comes to picking the nation's president, the nominating process in Washington is a model of confusion and frustration. It's no surprise that voters are angry about it, and that they want change.

We suspect plenty of anger resides inside the parties themselves, among rank and file Democrats and Republicans who have seen their parties become more autocratic and exclusionary. Reasonable people need to rise from inside the state parties to give Washingtonians the kind of process they demand and deserve, one that's inclusive and understandable.

Washington is the only state to have caucuses and primaries for both parties -- a chief source of voter confusion. Party honchos opposed having a primary at all; voters and legislators forced it on them in 1988. The parties want to control the nominating process as much as possible, and use it to build a more dedicated core membership that will walk in lockstep. Caucuses, which are gatherings of relatively small numbers of party activists, help them do that. Primaries, where vastly more voters participate, dilute the party leadership's influence.

So the state Democratic Party, as it always has, will ignore the results of the Feb. 19 primary. State Republicans will use it to apportion about half of their delegates to the national convention. All of the Democrats' delegates (minus a handful of superdelegates) will come from the caucus process, in which no more than 9 percent of registered voters participated, according to Secretary of State Sam Reed.

Caucuses are designed to keep the presidential nominating process in the hands of a relative few. They only last an hour or two, and leave out most folks who have to work, are homebound, are out of town that day, or simply don't want to state their preference in public.

Instead, the parties should be seeking ways to draw more people in. They would do that by embracing the primary, like parties in so many other states do. Far more voters would be involved in the delegate selection process, the most important party activity. They'd identify with a party, if only for that day. That can't be considered a bad thing for either party.

The parties' stubborn reliance on caucuses, and the heavy-handed "oath" each is requiring voters to check in this year's primary, have left them looking arrogant and undemocratic. Legally, they have the right to keep it that way. If the rank and file want to see change, they'll need to rise up and demand it. If they succeed, voters across the state, and the parties themselves, will be well served.

1. Snohomish County man dies of swine flu
2. Lynnwood bank reprimanded by government
3. Police ID make of vehicle in fatal hit-and-run
4. Armed man shot by deputies in Arlington
5. IRS joins puppy mill investigation
6. Jetty Island ready for sand castles
7. Boeing's 6-month tally: 1 net order
8. Warriors & Patriots: Many American Indians served before getting full citizenship rights
9. Movin' out
10. Marshals seize swindler's home
Enterprise Newspaper Snohomish County Business Journal
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Jackson looks for another title
Decorated veteran continues to serve as active volunteer
City Council reviewing sign regulations
Wildcats get a peek at newcomers
Lynnwood still in rebuilding mode
Shoreline feels a kindergarten growth spurt
Leave the patriotic pyrotechnics to professionals, cities urge
The Enterprise Online Newspaper

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