Schumer: Two-party primary undercuts tea party
Source: AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Chuck Schumer, the No. 3 Senate Democrat, said Thursday that a two-party primary would undercut the tea party movement, ensuring the election of moderate Republicans and independents willing to work pragmatically for an effective government.
In excerpts of a speech, the New York lawmaker sought to highlight what he described as the divide between tea party elites, such as the David and Charles Koch, who cast government as the enemy, and grass-roots tea party members who genuinely favor individual government-run programs such as Medicare.
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"The way to lessen the grip of the tea party on the electoral process would be to do what a handful have done and have a primary where all voters, members of every party, can vote and the top two vote-getters then enter a runoff," Schumer said. "This would prevent a hard-right candidate from winning with 22 percent of the vote and force even the most extreme candidates to move further to the middle to pick up more moderate Republicans and independents in order to get into the top two."
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Schumer, who was delivering his speech at the Democratic-leaning Center for American Progress, argued that the wealthy Koch brothers, who have bankrolled organizations critical of Democrats, don't share the same outlook as tea party members.
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/schumer-two-party-primary-undercuts-tea-party
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I think I'm just being whiney because the old primary system annoys me. Best two go forward gives a better winnowing of the field, as long as it's open to anyone to run or vote.
