Are you having trouble understanding the presidential nominating process? Have you counted or tried to count the delegates, but still don#x2019;t understand? The process is more complicated than it appears, but it can be grasped once you understand and accept a few basic principals.
Instructions
1. Understand the difference between a republic and a democracy. Our form of government is a republic. To really understand the presidential nominating process you must first grasp this concept. A true democracy is effectively majority rule. The framers of our constitution were smart man, and they didn#x2019;t want to set up a mob rule style government. A republic is a representative government that functions with some democratic principals. We don#x2019;t vote on everything to see what the country will and won#x2019;t do. We vote for representatives to make the best decisions. A majority of the people decide who will fill this role at local and national levels.
2. Look at how the presidential nomination process worked in the past. Because of the lack of mass communication and the ability of the average person to understand all the complicated issues, the representatives would decided who is best suited to run. These representatives truly had a better idea of what was going on than the average person. This is really still true today, but not as much as it once was. Over time, however, because of the advances in technology and media, the process was updated to the current primary and caucus system, where the voters of each state help pick out the nominees for their party.
3. Follow the media coverage. This is a big part of the process. The media presents the candidates in the forms of debates, commercials and news coverage. How they are represented can largely determine who will win the primary elections. If candidates don#x2019;t get enough votes in the primaries, they will be pressured to withdraw from the race.
4. Understand that this is a political process. The framers of our constitution knew that people were not perfect, and that people would at times fail and that some would be corrupted. The framers wrote a lot of things into the constitution to try to limit these kinds of problems. But in the end they were not perfect and could not prevent all possible problems. So, realize that choosing the president is a very political process, and that it encompasses a lot of the problems of politics. Yes, some people have more of a say than others, and deals are sometimes made to get power. Even the candidates with the best intentions will have a hard time getting through the process without friends in the party or government and without a lot of money.
5. Imagine everything that you would have to go through to run for president. Don#x2019;t just think of your ideals, but try to imagine the details. This will really help you understand the process.
6. Understand that we effectively have a 2-party system, and that for better or worse each party has an overall agenda. With that agenda, each party does its best to put forth the candidate that will most work toward that agenda. Remember that the parties are largely in control, not a single person. This is a difficult concept to remember, but it#x2019;s important to keep this in mind.
Tips Warnings
Review basic American history and civics.
Don't become cynical!
Tags: understand, presidential, nomination, process, average person, each party, framers constitution, government republic, nominating process, person This, political process
