I had the privilege to attend the Iowa Secular Summit on June 22, 2024. Three of the four speakers were excellent.
Dr. Emily Boven presented information about the challenges being faced by reproductive health providers and patients. We live in the 21st centruy but roadblocks to health care are being thrown up by those who want to live in a delusional fantasy land called religion.
Ryan Dudley, from Freedom From Religion Foundation, presented us with information about the dangerous ideas being put forward by the Republican Party if they win the election in November. Their plan is called Project 2025 and is a blueprint for dismantling the government of the United States. They want to fire all, or most, civil servant and replace them with party loyalists who have no understanding of the agencies of which they will be in charge. All one needs to do is recall the chaos caused by a government shut down to know how dangerous the implementation of Project 2025 would be.
Brooklyn Evan Walker presented an interesting talk about Christian Nationlism based on political science data.
An hour, or the better part of it was consumed by David Goin from an organization called Ranked Choice Voting for Iowa. The idea being proposed by Goin’s organization is that primary elections should be open to all candidates. The voter, who would not need to declare a party affiliation, would rank each candidate in order of choice. The top two candidates for each office, regardless of party, would stand for election in the general election.
In my opinion this is a terrible idea.
Frankly, I’m not even comfortable with primary elections. If I had my druthers, all candidates, and platform planks, would be chosen at party conventions. Neighbors would gather for precinct meetings and elected delegates to a county convention, &c, &c. At each conventions candidates would either be nominated or delegates elected to the next level. Who better to decide which candidate best represents the positions of the party than the leaders of that party. Why should the general public, even those who have registered as members, have a say in the internal workings of the party? After the party decides what they want to accomplish, and who will best accomplish it, then the general public can cast a ballot on Election Day for the candidate of the party that reflects each voters interest. Although more than one party may be in the race (in 1948 there were four viable parties) either the Democrat or the Republican will win (the Democrat won in 1948).
My druthers notwithstanding, the parties have elected to choose the candidates in primary elections. Candidates of the same party campaign among their members and in the primary election the party members choose the candidate who they feel is best able to represent what the party stand for. To vote in a primary election, therefore, the voter should demonstrate affiliation with the party. It’s not difficult to— simply indicate on the voter registration you are a member of a particular party. Why would people who are not party members choose the candidate? If people are not satisfied with the candidates who run in the general election, they should ask themselves what they did to choose the candidate whose name is on the ballot. It’s time people in the greatest democracy in history grow up and accept some responsibility for the government of, by and for the people of the United States. The cliché that “I’m not interested in politics is obsolete. Politics is the full time job of every citizen. People are lined up at our borders to be citizens (they should be welcomed in, just as our governor did after the Vietnam war). People have given their lives for our country.
Just as in 1863 when it was four score and seven years since the beginning of the American Revolution, that Revolution continues today. We still have a democracy — will we keep it? As we get ready to celebrate this Independence Day, let’s resolve, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, to “mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”