Choosing Our Choices Debating the Presidential Nominating Process

by Davis, James W.; Diclerico, Robert E.

• ISBN13: 9780847694471
• ISBN10: 084769447X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-05-10
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Probably no feature of the American political system has been subject to more sustained criticism over the last twenty-five years than the process by which we choose our presidents. In Choosing Our Choices, Robert E. DiClerico and James W. Davis debate the question: should we retain the present, primary centered direct democracy method in selecting presidential candidates or should we return to a representative decision-making process to nominate our candidates? This timely and thought-provoking text offers the reader a concise yet comprehensive analysis of the presidential nominating system, arguments for and against the current system, and supplemental documents and essays for further reading. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Marc Landy
Part One: Debating the Presidential Nominating Process
Evolution of the Presidential Nominating Process	3	(24)
Robert E. DiClerico
The Case against the Current Primary-Centered System	27	(24)
James W. Davis
In Defense of the Presidential Nominating Process	51	(52)
Robert E. DiClerico
Select Bibliography	79	(6)
Part Two: Documents
McGovern--Fraser Commission: The Guidelines for Delegate Selection	85	(18)
Part Three: Readings
A Proposal for a National Primary	103	(10)
The Case for a National Pre-primary Convention Plan	113	(10)
Thomas Cronin
Robert Loevy
Approval Voting: A Practical Reform for Multicandidate Elections	123	(6)
Stephen J. Brams
Proposal for a Regional Primary System	129	(4)
Index	133	(4)
About the Authors	137