Why we need two viable parties in Utah

Bob Bernick's analysis of the Utah primary system is an interesting read in the DesNews.

Bob points out that the conventions (for both parties) tend to pick more extreme candidates than the general public. Yup.

Imagine this: Imagine that the Republican party feels sufficiently threatened by the Democratic party that at our State Nominating Convention we actually think about "well, will this person run well against the Democrat?" Currently, the delegates and the candidates sort of realize that winning at the Convention is roughly the same as winning the general election. That's certainly true in utah county races.

The exception this year, at the state level, may just be the upcoming Hatch/Ashdown race. Pete's a non-whiney moderate Democrat who's strong where Hatch isn't. It will be interesting to see if Pete's strong positions on digital copyright and the regulation of technology force Hatch to change his position.

The other solution to extreme candidates emerging from conventions is for more people to actcually show up at their neighborhood caucus. Guess what: delegates are elected by their neighbors. If only extremists show up at the caucus, then they all elect eachother.