“The primary elections are the cornerstones of the plebiscitary presidency. They strip away the veneer of party unity and expose the individuality of each candidate. As contemporary selection procedures force party leaders to compete with one another in the open, they prompt them to differentiate themselves publicly and to boast of their independence of mind. Pitting potential party spokespersons against one another in public combat, these procedures undercut the credibility of the candidate's affiliation with anything other than him- or herself.” American PoliticsPartisan Politics1997Electoral PoliticsGeorge Hw BushPolitical AffiliationPrimary ElectionsUs Elections Book:The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to Bill Clinton Source: The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to Bill Clinton
“It’s not just tougher out there. It’s become a situation where the contest is how much you can destroy the system, rather than how much you can make it work. It makes no difference if you have a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ after your name. There’s no sense that this is about democracy, and after the election you have to work together, and knit the country together. The people in the game now just think to the first Tuesday in November, and not a day beyond it.” PoliticsCompetitionUnityElectionsRepublicansDemocratsU S PoliticsPresidential PoliticsBipartisanismPrimary Elections Author:Peter Hart