Wow. Americans love democracy. Please, correct me if I’m wrong, because the following is based on a not-so-recently read “Intro to American Government” textbook. This is what I understand: Americans go to the polls all the time. There are presidential elections every four years, the House of Representatives is elected every two years, and Senators are re-elected every six years, though they do one-third at a time so that again, there are elections every two years.
They do this all over again on a state-level.
Before any of the presidential elections happen, of course, there are presidential primaries for the parties in need of a candidate. I followed the Republican Primary debates pretty closely, partly for entertainment value (Rick Perry!), and partly out of genuine interest in Republican platforms (Ron Paul!). Primaries are where Americans, in my opinion, take democracy to the extreme. Registered voters in each state vote for for their candidate of choice. Those choices are then reflected in delegates who go to the National Convention to cast their vote for the leader of their party. Is this process necessary? I’m not sure. If there’s anyone in the class who has a better understanding of American government, and why there is a three-step process in which we basically elect delegates, to elect candidates, who then run in a general election – I would love to be enlightened.
It certainly makes for interesting politics, though. This GOP race seems to change so quickly with every state primary. With a close race in Iowa between Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul, it seemed at that point to be anyone’s game. However, when Romney won by a huge margin in New Hampshire, he headed into South Carolina with a lot of momentum. Yesterday’s win for Newt Gingrich in New Hampshire, however, once again changes the game entirely. In this handy chart tracking the results of the primaries, it’s clear that Romney and Gingrich are neck and neck in projected delegates, and Gingrich has a significant lead in pledged delegates. If things stay this close it’ll be an exciting run.
I find it interesting that Rick Perry dropped out of the race and decided to recommend Newt Gingrich.