The shot was heard across the bow in an escalating war of words between the so-called student government/Republican coalition and the College Democrats, and I was caught in the line of fire.
Brandon Bogard, president of the College Democrats, in his letter to the editor last week stated, “Edward Sanders, as well as other College Republicans, feel that restricting the Democratic Primary to Democrats is somehow disenfranchising voters.”
He proceeded to quote from my blog, edwardsanders.blogspot.com, in which I stated, “Nowhere in the state Constitution does it give you a right to exclude any voter from exercising their rights.”
My quote was in response to former College Democrats president Daniel Melder’s assertion that plans “are already on the way for the MSU College Republicans and the Student Association to flood our primaries.” It was written from a primary point of view that the College Democrats were being reactionary and paranoid. To listen to some of their fringe-like theories, you would have thought Karl Rove cooked it up.
My second point was a criticism of the closed primary process in general, which I believe disenfranchises a large segment of Americans who don’t identify with one party all the time.
I have supported open primaries since I was young, campaigning in the very primary they so ardently seek to keep closed. As I have previously written, it is unfair to make people, especially in Mississippi, choose between voting in a primary for, for example, their Republican friend running for mayor or for their Democratic friend running for alderman.
Party loyalists will say that this leads to opposing primary voters raiding primaries. That’s true, but how many citizens care enough about partisan primaries enough to join in some nefarious plot to nominate weak candidates?
We should have one uniform ballot with every party listed and the top two vote getters in their respective parties should face off against each other in the general election.
As far as party loyalty, I would say that there isn’t much in a local election.
When it comes to party affiliated campus organizations, the College Republicans should officially support the Republican candidates and the College Democrats should do the same for the Democratic candidates.
Individual Democrats and Republicans should vote in whatever primary they wish to in accordance with their conscious.
This is all a diversion orchestrated by some College Democrats to keep people from discussing the real reason they that don’t want students voting in this election.
It’s not that college students are raiding “their” primaries; the problem lies with their choice candidate. Who might that person be? Dan Camp.
Contrary to what they might say, if the students were supporting Frank Davis, we wouldn’t hear all this complaining from the College Democrats.
The naked truth is that the hierarchy of the College Democrats would like to see Davis win over Camp. That desire is OK with me because Davis is a good public servant, but at least be honest.
Instead, a few College Democrats have declared war on the students and any Republican who dares to vote in the Democratic primary.
That’s the heart of this irrelevant bickering, nothing more.
Edward Sanders is a junior political science major. He can be reached at [email protected].