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Editorials
Thursday, February 24, 2000Primary election
system needs reformJohn McCain's victory in the Michigan Republican primary deflated George W. Bush's momentum reacquired in the South Carolina primary last Saturday, and made the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination a real contest. But the fact that Bush lost in Michigan while winning two-thirds of the Republican vote is a startling commentary on the state of American politics, particularly the open primary.The issue: John McCain won the Michigan Republican primary although George W. Bush took two-thirds of the Republican vote.
Primaries were conceived as an escape from the proverbial smoke-filled rooms in which the party bosses picked the candidates. They were supposed to bring the party rank and file into the process.
That was all well and good. But that has developed into the so-called open primary, in which anybody can vote. You don't have to be a registered member of the party, in this case Republican. You can be an independent or a Democrat.
The results of such a primary amount to a mini-general election, except that there is no guarantee -- or even strong assurance -- that the participants will vote for that party's candidate in the general election.
The system is more fun than a closed primary, but it makes much less sense.
This is particularly true in the Bush-McCain contest, because Bush clearly appeals more to Republicans, McCain to independents and Democrats. More than 50 percent of the voters in the Michigan primary were Democrats and independents -- which was the crucial factor in McCain's victory. Contributing to his support was the absence of a Democratic primary.
McCain is relishing his Michigan victory, as he should. But the road ahead could be a rocky one. In several important primaries to come, only registered Republicans can vote, or, in California, only Republican votes will count in awarding delegates. Every state has its own rules.
Out of this hodgepodge of primaries, the parties somehow select their nominees. If McCain prevails -- which at this point still seems a fairly long shot -- it will be with a huge dose of independent and Democratic primary votes and at best lukewarm support from Republicans.
McCain's supporters are arguing that this is a plus because it shows he can appeal more to non-Republican voters than Bush and is therefore the stronger candidate. That may be true, but there is always the possibility that his supporters will vote Democratic in the general election.
In Michigan, Democrats were urged by some party leaders to vote for McCain as a way of embarrassing Gov. John Engler, a staunch Bush supporter. Some of those McCain votes will go to the Democratic candidate in November.
Regardless of who wins the presidential nominations of both major parties, the current campaign confirms that the process is a mess. The nation sorely needs a rational system of primaries. Unfortunately there is no consensus on such a system or the will to create one.
Kosovo violence
PEACEKEEPING forces under NATO command have received a severe test in a Kosovo town bitterly divided between ethnic Albanians and Serbs.
The more the town is polarized, the less likely it will be that stability can be attained. The NATO-led troops are challenged to find a way of integrating the city, no small task but one that is necessary in creating a lasting peace throughout Kosovo.
Violence has continued between Serbs and Albanians since NATO air attacks forced the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from Kosovo last summer. Most of the 200,000 Serbs fled to escape retaliation from Albanians.
About 9,000 Serbs control the northern district of Mitrovica, a mining town of 90,000 divided by a river. Most of the town's ethnic Albanians live on the south bank. The tension between the two populations snapped on Feb. 2, when a rocket attack on a bus killed two Serbs and injured 15. The next night, Serbs rampaged through the streets of their district, firing guns and throwing grenades. Seven Albanians were killed and at least nine wounded.
Since then, more than 1,000 Albanians, nearly half of those living on the north bank, have fled to the south.
American and German troops who were deployed to bring order to the area retreated after being stoned, punched and kicked by angry Serbs. Thousands of Albanians from throughout Kosovo marched on Mitrovica and pushed against the lines of British, Canadian and French troops. The NATO command suspended weapons searches in an attempt to defuse tension.
When a British commander told a crowd of Albanians that NATO favored a united town, he was cheered.
However, when the Albanians talk of "liberating" the north bank, they mean forcing the Serbs to leave, while the city's Serbs are determined to defend a safe area for them to live.
Whether the two ethnic groups can be peacefully integrated any time soon is doubtful. In the days ahead, a curfew and numerous checkpoints should end the immediate violence and allow NATO to develop a strategy over a longer term. But it may be years before it will be safe for the peacekeepers to leave.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
