Every so often one of Papa’s pet peeves rise up to irritate. I was in a “no news” mode north of the border when I became aware that a new Prime Minister of Great Britain had been selected. Because the prior PM had resigned, a nation wide election was not needed. However, his political party did need to select a new leader. So, members of parliament from his party nominated and whittled down candidates. When two prospects remained, members of the party voted for a preference. Just the party members.

In a fashion that is similar to how our major political parties selected leaders in the past. (Mostly caucuses/conventions) When my personal interest in politics was heating up in 1960 I believe that less than half of the states conducted Presidential primaries. (Wisconsin and West Virgina’s results for JFK helped change that calculus.) Now, primaries dominate. Which is why a peeve has arisen during my residency away from home. In Wisconsin a person registers as a voter. Then you can vote in any party’s nominee selection process. Out west a person can’t do so without registering/affiliating as a party member. As a registered independent I am precluded from voting in a primary. To me it is a sham that 30 or 40 % of the voters here are claimed to be members of a political party simply because they are coerced into registering with a party..

If a person believes in the principles of a particular party, they shoiuld fill out an application, pay dues and be a “party” member. Go to meetings and help formulate party policies/agendas. Join up! (When I was young I went to both a local republican and democrat party meeting. Neither passed my “folks I’d like to have beers with” test.) Of course, party registration facilitates a lazy man’s route. Straight party ticket voting eliminates the bother of thought. Thinking too much can hurt one’s brain. Back home, common sense made it easier to vote closer to a 50/50 party split. Out west the local one party monopoly has mostly abandoned sense. It is no longer a question of who’d I’d like to have a beer with; it’s an entire herd of folks I’d never ever sip beer with. And, I like beer.