March 3, 2000

Perhaps I'm overly sensitive, but comments from the California Secretary of State have sounded a bit petulant of late. When reporting the skyrocketing numbers of voters who've registered as independents before this first open presidential primary, the office's spokesman sniffed that "it's going to be upsetting to them that their votes don't count."

He was, of course, referring to an amendment to the open primary law that most major party members--and the media--claim will disallow presidential convention delegates to be alloted by voters from outside a candidate's party. That law was signed by Governor Gray Davis to give political parties a possible loophole out of a blanket open primary.

But I suspect there's plenty of "upsetting" possibilities to go around, including enough to worry the partisan powers that be. Just maybe it will become so "upsetting" that we non-mainstream types will continue gathering momentum, arise, and force California's legislature to drop that amendment and let our presidential primary votes count regardless of party affiliation.

There's nothing in the Constitution that regulates the presidential nomination process--it's left up to each state, and the Big Two parties simply take advantage. Today's smug status quo was yesterday's smoke-filled room full of smug party bosses. This, too, can change, though you'd never think it when listening to those entrenched in the current system of power brokering.

You say you want a revolution, but how? Elementary, my dear private citizens: When one too many public "servants" lives behind the walls of gated communities out of which they drive their publically provided luxury vehicles to their sumptuous offices with their special perks, and one too many taxpayer-serfs gets sufficiently tired of keeping "servants" at the cost of ever-higher public budgets, it will happen.

That day shall come when the costs of increasingly narrow government services outweigh the benefits to the bill-paying masses. That day is closer than the obviously threatened establishment cares to acknowledge openly, which is why it keeps fighting openness in its beloved "process."

Truth is, while Governor Davis signed a law requiring the tabulation of ballots by both popular and party vote, the law only says parties COULD--not must--use the partisan totals to award their convention delegates. We can change the primary system with big enough numbers, so don't waste your vote on a compromise. We could make history.

© 2000 Cynthia Hahn