The ongoing discussion about primaries, political party conventions and what is “fair,” has driven me to the point of distraction.  So….  Here are some cold hard facts. 

1) Primary votes/caucuses are not provided for in the US Constitution.  Each state and party makes up its own rules. 

2) Each political party has leaders that are emplaced specifically to protect the best interests of the party.  Those leaders are not beholden to anyone but the good will of the party. 

3) Political parties themselves are not provided for in the US Constitution.  They are a construct that was born of the argument between the first generations of elected officials about how much power the Federal Government should have – or not have. 

4) Both parties of the time were strongly against “democracy” in the sense that you use the word today. 

5) The US Constitution established a representative REPUBLIC – NOT a democracy. 

6) The Electoral College (not the primaries) is part of the process to “elect” a President – and each state has its own laws on how those electors are selected. 

7) While the primaries closely resemble the Electoral College process – they are not a Constitutional function and the rules set by the parties can be changed without input by any lawmaking body. 

8) The first convention-centric election was not until 1832 – and even then, it was not what you see now.  Before that, the CONGRESS picked nominees….  think about that for a second…

9) Until the early 20th Century the public had virtually no say in who was nominated as the delegates were mostly committed in back room deals before the convention – and even then, there were brokered conventions. 

10) It was not until Florida led the nation in 1901 that there was any direct election of delegates to the convention. 

11) Both parties have had multiple conventions that nominated someone other than the front-runner – perhaps the most famous and impactful being Abraham Lincoln. 

All that being said, please research and temper your social media crusades about how someone is stealing delegates – the primary system is designed intentionally to heavily favor the chosen candidate by the party apparatchiks and has very little to do with how you feel. 

Further, the media (at large – not all journalists) is not only always going to be biased, but love the smell of blood in the water, and any ploy to get ratings or hits will push a story to the fore with misleading headlines, partial facts and distinct narratives.

Your only recourses are to blow off the whole primary process and vote for whom you wish (even via write in), or chose a party with which you agree with the majority their platform and vote along those lines.

Refusing to participate in the actual elections, or threatening to move to Canada because of party politics, maneuvering and machinations during the primaries (for either party) is childish and a guaranteed way to disenfranchise yourself from the small bit of say that you do have in this representative republic.