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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

DOTC: Dominant Idaho Repubs Seek New Advantage

Dan of the County: I read the article where the Republican Party decided to close our primary election system. Frankly, I can't think of any strategy or action that the D's could employ that would be half as effective for the growth of the Democrat Party as having the Republicans close the primaries. But obviously, they think it will help their election efforts because they are “down” to -- what about a 6 or 7 to one advantage? -- or they wouldn't be igniting the "nuclear" option.

DFO: Idaho Republicans are lucky they have the 6 or 7 to 1 advantage. They are attempting to take something precious away from Independent and third-party voters -- the privilege to cast ballots in primary elections in which only Republicans are running in a winner-take-all competition. A closed primary also means that far-right ideologues will have a better chance to win primary races and get elected because there's no moderating influence from middle-of-the-road voters.



Huckleberries Online

D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.