America's presidential nominating process is inherently unfair and
exclusive, yielding undue weight and privilege to the states that
vote in the earliest rounds. More and more states are beating down
the door to vote earlier, trying to redress the inequity on a
state-by-state basis. In the ensuing free-for-all, the presidential
primary schedule has become so front-loaded that the anointed
"front-runner" with the biggest war chest in each of the major
parties is the de facto nominee. The primaries are becoming mere
noise and pageantry, as the national conventions have been for
several decades. From the Primaries to the Polls describes the
problem and proposes the solution. The American Plan is designed to
begin with contests in small-population states, where candidates do
not need millions of dollars to compete and a wide field of
presidential hopefuls can be competitive in the early going. A
"minor candidate's" surprise success in early rounds, based on
merit rather than money, tends to attract money from larger numbers
of small contributors for the campaign to spend in later rounds of
primaries. Keeping more candidates in the race longer to challenge
to the "front-runners" prevents a rush to judgment and permits more
voters across the country to select from a diverse field. As the
campaign proceeds over ten two-week intervals of primaries and
caucuses on a semi-randomized schedule, the aggregate value of
contested states becomes successively larger, requiring the
expenditure of larger amounts of money in order to campaign
effectively. A more gradual weeding-out process occurs, allowing a
clear winner to emerge only after the full spectrum of candidates
has been in play nationally.
General
Imprint: |
Praeger Publishers Inc
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
December 2007 |
First published: |
December 2007 |
Authors: |
Thomas Gangale
|
Dimensions: |
239 x 168 x 24mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Cloth over boards / With dust jacket
|
Pages: |
280 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-313-34835-8 |
Categories: |
Books >
Social sciences >
Politics & government >
Political parties >
General
|
LSN: |
0-313-34835-9 |
Barcode: |
9780313348358 |
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