Tag: Iowa

Presidential Primaries – A Primer

Presidential Primaries – A Primer

A President Cruz and a Vice President Clinton?

Air Dates: January 23 & 24, 2016 | Greg Leo

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With so many candidates running in the Republican primary there have been discussions within the media that there won’t be one candidate who wins enough electoral votes for a clear majority, which would trigger a “brokered convention.”  Right away supporters of various candidates, and some candidates themselves, were saying this was a set up and that their candidate would be disenfranchised from a fair selection if the process was turned over to “political insiders” or the “establishment” to make the final choice.  But what’s the reality?

And if you think politics is messy now, you won’t believe how they used to do it.

Caucus vs. Primary: Process and Differences

Also, we’re less than 10 days away from the Iowa Caucus, the true, official launch of the presidential primary. This week, we take a deeper look at the entire process of electing a president, the historical context, how the process has evolved, and we’ll examine the shadier side of political conventions in terms of what has happened and what could happen.

On this Week’s Show, You’ll Learn About:

  • How our Founding Fathers originally conceived presidential election, and the uniqueness of our American system
  • Why parties were created
  • Why and when conventions and primaries began
  • How the primary system works and how it has changed over the years
  • The modern-day elements of a caucus versus a primary vote and whether a “ground game” is as important as pundits claim
  • What exactly is a “brokered convention” and the chances of one happening in 2016

And if you don’t think your vote doesn’t matter just remember the highest turn out in a general election, ever, was just 63% of the voting age population.  Even more alarming the average voter turnout for a primary has recently averaged about 22%.

Find out how to make your vote count — and why it could matter, even if your candidate doesn’t win.

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