I support Graham Platner.

[mr715]

87. Primaries are good.

We are not a parliamentary system with a government and back benchers operating in the same body.

Voters decide who they want to represent them. Primaries get us people like Mamdani, who are not recognized by the upper echelons of the Democratic party. His raw talent and foot work put him on the map - and he won with votes, not the patronage of his party elders.

Primaries are an essential feature of modern American Democracy. They are good. They are healthy. They should be encouraged. They are effective. They disinfect and reveal the hidden. They show who really wants the job versus someone following the corsus honorem.

Mandatory voting? No. Make voting easy, incentivize it, and make it a holiday. But never take away from people the opportunity to say no.