brookings | Elaine C. Kamarck is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at Brookings and the director of the Center for Effective Public Management at Brookings.
She is a public sector scholar with wide experience in government,
academia and politics. Kamarck is an expert on government innovation
and reform in the United States, OECD countries and developing
countries. In addition, she also focuses her research on the
presidential nomination system and American politics and has worked in
many American presidential campaigns. Kamarck is the author of "Primary
Politics: Everything You Need to Know about How America Nominates Its
Presidential Candidates."
yahoo | What do you think of Trump’s complaint that the system is corrupt and unfair?Trump’s
out of his f***ing mind. Every single presidential candidate except for
him knows what this system is. It’s not corrupt. It’s the system by
which the parties pick their nominee. Parties are protected under the
First Amendment’s freedom of assembly. No American is forced to
participate.
Parties
are institutions. They have an interest in preserving their brand.
Coca-Cola doesn’t let Pepsi participate in their brand. Republicans
don’t let Democrats participate in their brand. This is a party
decision, and parties make these decisions based on their institutional
health. Meaning, if you put someone at the top of the ticket that is so
unpopular that you lose the House of Representatives, you’re not doing
the right thing for your party.
The
voters have been included to keep parties from getting really out of
touch. In 1968, Democrats did not understand the depths of the antiwar
sentiment in their party and cut [Vietnam War opponents] out of their
convention. This time, the Republican Party didn’t understand the anger
of voters for Trump. But the bottom line is, this is not a public
decision — it’s a party decision.
Do you want that on the record, that Trump is out of his f***ing mind?Yes. He’s out of his f***ing mind. He’s an a******. No other candidate has ever run for president so unprepared.
Do you think his arguments will influence the way we choose nominees?The
systems will only change if the parties themselves decide to change
them. My guess is the system will move in the other direction from where
Trump wants it to, with parties taking greater control of the
nominations to keep them from being captured by people who sully the
brand.
Trump is essentially arguing for direct democracy.Exactly.
He is arguing [for] direct democracy. The Congress has considered a
national primary many times. Political parties, however, will never be
for it. The current system is very open through the primaries and
caucuses and to letting new people participate. At the same time, it has
an insider piece to it. That’s why the system has persisted for 40-some
years.
The
general election is a different story because it’s a constitutionally
sanctioned thing. The parties are a different thing. Parties have the
right to say this person is not a Democrat or a Republican. They are
voluntary associations of citizens. They are semipublic organizations.
No democracy has ever managed to function without parties. They are
crucial for organizing the electorate and helping people govern.
