Workingmen and Reformers

Five Things You Need to Read Today

1. Fighting the Last Election

The Republican Party just got through a difficult party primary day in which there were several local candidates who seemed like they might win by adopting a Trumpian style, but who had severe weaknesses as general election candidates. The chief of these was West Virginia's Don Blankenship, a coal company CEO--not a bad credential when running for office in West Virginia--who has unfortunately was still on parole after being convicted for his role in a mining disaster back in 2010.

All of this caused Jay Cost to wonder about the wisdom of using primaries to select candidates, as opposed to party conventions, which was the normal method before the 20th Century.

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