If you think Democrats have a lock on Hawaii political power now, see what happens if the party succeeds in limiting who can run for office as a Democrat and who can vote in Democratic primaries.
After failing to prevent Democratic state Sen. Laura H. Thielen from running against a favorite of party leaders, Democrats are seeking legislative and legal remedy to tighten their control over who runs as a Democrat.
And the party is seeking more say over who votes as a Democrat with a lawsuit to overturn Hawaii’s open primaries, which allow voters to participate in party primaries without declaring party affiliation.
Most local voters don’t officially belong to any political party, and forcing them to declare would send Hawaii’s low voter turnout plummeting further.
For all practical purposes, Hawaii is a one-party state; Republicans, third-party candidates and independents are effectively irrelevant in statewide races and most legislative districts.
Even Republican Chairman David Chang concedes it’ll be 10 or 15 years before his party is reasonably competitive.
With most elections settled in the Democratic primary, if you can’t vote there you have no say in who holds our highest offices. Immense power would accrue to party bosses who make the rules on who can run and who can vote.
The lawsuit will claim that open primaries, mandated by the state Constitution, hijack the party’s internal nominating process and deny Democrats their right of free association guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
The litigation is supported by special-interest caucuses that write the party platform and increasingly demand 100 percent fidelity to it by Democratic officeholders — something never seriously expected in American politics before American politics became gridlocked.
Prominent lifelong Democrats such as Ben Cayetano, Mufi Hannemann, Ed Case, Gary Okino and Donovan Dela Cruz have had their Democratic bona fides questioned because they differed with the platform on labor, gay marriage or development issues.
The state Constitution gives the major parties privileged position and guaranteed spots in the general election.
A better solution than closed primaries would be to follow California’s newmodel and end party primaries and major-party privilege.
Simply have a single primary for each office in which all candidates run — Democrats, Republicans, independents and those from third parties.
The top two run off in the general election, even if they’re both from one party or both from neither major party.
Near term, both candidates reaching the general might be Democrats, but they’d be picked by the entire electorate and not party bosses.
Long term, it’ll help level the playing field for out parties and independents. In California more lackluster incumbents are being challenged by members of their own party.
Hawaii’s political process needs more participation and competition, not less. It needs opening, not closing.
———
Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.
