April 05, 2006

Conservatives Want Caucus, Not Primaries

Under nearly everyone's radar, conservative activists in a handful of mostly Western and Midwestern states are edging closer to providing their base voters with a much greater say in choosing presidential candidates.

Party rules give state central committees the duty to adopt delegate selection plans. And most of these conservatives inspired by legendary movement conservatives like Morton Blackwell, want caucuses, rather than primaries. Why? Caucuses favor organized interests. Primaries dilute them. (Soccer moms don't vote in caucuses. Either do investment bankers. Moral conservatives usually do.)

In WA, CA, OR and elsewhere, activists affiliated with the National Federation of Republican Assemblies have built up their numbers on these state committees.

The efforts in some states are receiving tacit encouragement from supporters of presidential candidates like Mitt Romney and Sam Brownback.

In California, pro-rules-change Calif. Republican Assembly members are closer to taking power. State party rules can reward failed candidates for office with a seat on the central committee. Conservatives figured out that they could run for as many offices as they wanted. So long as their candidate won the primary, which was easy to do with just a bit of organization in Dem districts, they'd get an extra seat on the state committee.

Bob Novak describes the goal: "So far, it has gone largely under the radar. CRAs hope they will increase their ranks to as many as 600 members on the 1,500 member committee from the current 400 or so. Although it would deny them an outright majority of members, this would give them a working majority on the committee, where several non-members are sympathetic to their positions."

The Republican assemblyists haven't been successful everywhere. Establishment WA GOPers rebbuffed the conservatives' efforts to get a majority there -- for now.

Michigan is worth watching. Social conservatives have been pushing the committee to look at options other than an open primary -- which they think favors Sen. John McCain. A state party task force agreed on several conservative-friendly guidelines, including that the process "must prevent non-Republican participation" and it must "encourage grassroots participation and organization."

But the committee itself is committed to the rough status quo. Michigan does not register voters by party. The only significant difference from recent primaries is that Democrats and Republicans will cast separate ballots. But prospective voters can choose whichever ballot they want on election day.

The MI GOP is also negotiating with state Dems to hold their primaries on the same day, which would make it easier for independents and Democrats to vote for John McCain, if they wanted to.

Conservatives, meanwhile, will continue their push for caucuses.

Says one conservative involved in the effort: "The conservative movement has had a 30-year strategy of rule changes that no one understands but [about] 5 people." [MARC AMBINDER]

Posted at 11:00 AM

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