TN Republicans want to pick Senate candidates for voters, circumventing the primary process

[mollywobbles867]

In every state, Senate elections follow a predictable pattern: candidates launch campaigns, the parties hold primaries, voters choose their candidates, and the winners face off in a general election.

As Charlie Cook explained this week, Tennessee is weighing a proposal to change the system a bit. It'd be similar, except voters in the Volunteer

Comments

[yesthatnagia]

So my s/o may be getting a job in Roanoke, VA. Whether or not I can find a job there, I think I might join him. I need the fuck out of this place. This and the anti-Muslim voucher islamophobia bullshit and the idea to tie welfare benefits to children's grades and the right-to-work nonsense...

We're not quite as horrible as Mississippi or North Carolina, but this place started in the shitter and it's only getting worse.

[aviv_b]

Wow! Tennessee is really trying hard to win that 'most asshat laws passed' title this year.

[tabaqui]

Another state in which I would never voluntarily set foot. Holy fuck.

[world_dancer]

I'd actually be in favor of going back to the old system of senatorial appointments. It was done that way so that senators would have different interests than representatives (and would not be overly reactive to the trend of the minute among voters). It was a check and balance that we've gotten rid of.

What Tennessee is suggesting, however, puts together both an appointment and an election, and that defeats the purposes of both.

[meadowphoenix]

That doesn't seem like an effective or reasonable check and balance with the current system of politics, especially with lobbying.

[empressith]

Again, the Right Wingers think that the people make bad decisions when you let them vote for themselves... they might elect a woman or a black guy or *gasp* a gay person. Put a stop to it and tell them it's for their own good!