One of the main events of the Dorchester Conference is a series of policy debates. Hot topics are chosen ahead of time, and conference members volunteer to give a pro- or con- speech on the topic. Note, the person giving the speech doesn't necessarily advocate his or her speech. They are all simply presenting the best arguments for or against in order to foster debate.
After each speaker has finished, the crowd works in small groups to discuss the issue amongst themselves for about 20 minutes. Then, the audience is given open microphones to address the Conference for one minute per speaker. Naturally, I grabbed a mic for each topic and put in my two cents.
The first issue of the day was a proposal to do away with partisan primary ballots and instead have an open primary where the top two vote getters move on to the general election.
The obvious flaw with such a system is that you could see an Oregon 2006 open primary in which Ted Kulongoki and John Kitzhaber spilt the liberal vote 2 ways, while Ron Saxton, Jason Atkinson, and Kevin Mannix split the conservative vote 3 ways, ending up with a general election choice of Ted Kulongoski vs. John Kitzhaber. That's hardly what I'd call a choice!
Even though the issue as defined applied to state elections, some of the speakers in favor of the idea liked to talk about 1992, where the Perot voters ruined it for everyone by helping Bill Clinton win with a bare 42% plurality. They argued that an open primary system would have encouraged Perot voters to vote in the primary, but in the general election, they would have had to choose between Clinton and Bush.
When I spoke, I put forth a better idea:
Keep the primaries the way they are. Republicans should be choosing their own Republican candidates. Democrats should choose theirs. People who want their own party can make their own party and choose their own candidates. Then allow all the party candidates to run in the general election, BUT:
If no candidate wins a clear 51% majority in the general election, then have run offs.
In 1992, Bill Clinton won only 42% of the vote. That means that 58% of the voters agreed "anyone but Bill Clinton." A run off election would have sent that hillbilly packing back to Arkansas.
In the end, the vote was 224-27 against the open primary. Common sense prevailed.
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