Primaries

One of the things that really really annoys me about American politics is the winner-take-all bit of the electoral college when electing the president.It annoys me because I don't get a say. When I lived in Ohio we would get presidential ads all the time leading up to the November general election. We got that because Ohio was a very purple state.Washington, on the other hand, is a very blue state. Whoever is on the ticket under "D" will pick up all of our delegates regardless of who they are. Similarly, Texas will elect an "R" as their choice. Having no say like that really takes our voice away from the presidential race level. (As an aside, making the electors be awarded proportionally instead of winner-take-all would go a hella long way to solve the problem)Which brings me to the subject at hand. The primaries and caucuses that are going on now are really our only chance to have a voice in the matter of the presidential election for many of us. While it's not as sexy as the general election, in many ways this is actually more important. This is the moment we get to pick who is going to represent us -- this is (for many of us anyway) the only time we get a chance to participate in the national dialog.Again, I'm caucusing for Bernie and I'd be happy to have a friendly debate for him if you want, but regardless of who you're voting for, it's important for you to participate in the primaries and caucuses as they come up wherever you happen to live.