[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 147 (Tuesday, October 26, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13169-S13170]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GORTON (for himself and Mr. Lieberman):
  S. 1789. A bill to provide a rotating schedule for regional selection 
of delegates to a national Presidential nominating convention, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Rules and Administration.


            the regional presidential selection act of 1999

  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, the 2000 presidential election has already 
captured the interest of the national media, and once again the media 
struggles to make sense of one of this nation's most complex and 
confusing practices--the presidential nomination system. It is a tenet 
in this country, the greatest democracy in the world, that all citizens 
have an equal voice in choosing who will be the nominees for the final 
race for President of the United States. If there is one thing that has 
remained constant in the American system, it is democratic 
participation in our electoral process--a basic creed that has guided 
us toward wider participation and more direct election of our leaders. 
Ironically, however, every four years we are witnesses to the fact that 
the current system by which this country chooses its presidential 
nominees is not only arbitrary, but in many ways incompatible with the 
notion of equal participation in the nominating process.
  One of the most memorable political cartoons I have had the pleasure 
of reading was drawn during the 1996 election by the cartoonist for a 
local paper in my home state of Washington. This cartoon illustrates 
just how bizarre the current presidential primary process really is. 
The cartoon features Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander 
Hamilton brainstorming at the Constitutional Convention. Ben Franklin 
turns to his colleagues in jest and rattles off an idea for the 
presidential election system. He reads from his sheet of paper,

       The President shall be chosen from among those persons who 
     can hone complex ideas into simplistic sound bites, defame 
     the character of their opponents, hide their own blemishes 
     from an intrusive swarming press corps and--get this--win the 
     most votes from a tiny number of citizens in a remote corner 
     of New England!

To which Alexander Hamilton replies,

       Very droll Franklin, you're quite the comedian.

  Mr. President, I agree with the cartoonist that what our Founding 
Fathers would have regarded as a ridiculous way to choose a president 
is now reality. It is no joke--this IS how our Presidential nominating 
system works.
  For some time Members of Congress, party activists, the states, and 
academics have all advocated reform of the Presidential nominating 
system in this country. The flaws in our current system are obvious. 
The system is unstructured, confusing, and it gives small states that 
hold early primaries or caucuses a disproportionate amount of influence 
on the final outcome. The lack of uniformity and clear guidelines in 
the system creates a system whereby states compete for an early 
position in the nominating process in order to attract candidates and 
to have some kind of influence in the nominating process. Small to 
middle-sized states that select delegates later in the game risk being 
shut out of the process all together and face having a limited role in 
choosing the Presidential nominee. While the 2000 primary schedule has 
not yet been solidified, the first primary will be held at the earliest 
date in history, and an alarming number of states have moved or are 
considering moving their primary earlier in the year with the hope of 
influencing the nomination process.
  Clearly, the system does not allow for equal participation by all the 
states. It undermines the ideal of equal participation in the electoral 
process by giving certain states, year after year, far more leverage 
than others. This unequal balance of power, if you will, compromises 
the integrity of the nominating process.
  At this time, while this country's Presidential nominating system 
again begins to receive national attention, I believe it is fundamental 
that the American people and this Congress begin discussing methods to 
improve the current system and introduce reforms to encourage wider 
participation and more direct nomination of Presidential candidates.
  I am introducing, today, a bill to provide for a rotating regional 
selection system for the nomination of candidates for Presidential 
elections. This bill will establish four regions comprised of 12-13 
states from the same geographic area in the country. All states in a 
region will hold primaries or caucuses on the same date either the 
first Tuesday in March, April, May, or June and no region will vote in 
the same month. The order in which each region votes will rotate with 
each presidential election cycle, allowing each region to have the 
opportunity to be the first, second, third, and last region in the 
country to vote.
  This bill introduces much needed uniformity and structure to a system 
that lacks real composition. It will eliminate the drive by the States 
to gain ``first-in-the-nation'' status and the ability for one or two 
small states to influence the entire nomination process. Under this 
plan each state will have equal opportunity to participate and 
influence the nomination process. This bill will also establish greater 
uniformity and structure by instituting much needed guidelines for 
states, delegate selection, and the role of Federal Election 
Commission.
  Obviously, since we are well into the presidential nomination process 
for the 2000 Presidential race this bill, if enacted, will apply to 
2004 and election years thereafter.
  In summary, Mr. President, I look forward to discussing this proposal 
with my colleagues in the coming weeks and months. I believe it is 
imperative that we do everything we can

[[Page S13170]]

to improve the practice by which we nominate our country's leader.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President. I am happy to join Senator Gorton in 
introducing a bill that we hope will restore some common sense to the 
way the country chooses party nominees for president. As Senator Gorton 
already has explained well, anyone taking a objective look at the 
current primary and caucus system could reach only one conclusion: it 
makes very little sense.
  Our primary system was meant to serve a very important purpose: to 
determine the two--or perhaps three--individuals who will have the 
opportunity to compete for the most powerful office in our nation, and 
perhaps in the world. Given the importance of the process, it is 
critical that it be a fair one, one that tests the mettle and the ideas 
of all of the candidates, one that allows the voters to hear and weigh 
the views of those seeking their parties' nominations, and one that 
gives the primary electorate--the whole, national primary electorate--a 
chance to choose the person they think will best represent them and 
their views in the ultimate contest to determine who will become 
President of the United States.
  But that just isn't happening now. Instead of a system that tests a 
candidate's character and his ability to offer reasoned opinions over 
the long haul, we have an increasingly compressed schedule, one in 
which States whose primaries once were spread out over months now 
compete to see who can hold their contests the earliest, and candidates 
compete to see who can raise more money than everyone else before the 
first primary voters ever step foot into the election booth. That 
``money primary'' has already eliminated four of the Republican 
candidates for President.
  This is no way for the world's greatest democracy to choose its 
leader. As Senator Gorton already has explained, the bill we are 
proposing today offers an alternative system, one that can restore the 
primary season to what it should be: a contest of candidates discussing 
their ideas for America's future. By creating a series of regional 
primaries, we will make it more likely that all areas of the country 
have input into the nominee selection process, and that the candidates 
and their treasuries will not be stretched so thin by primaries all 
over the country on the same day. By spreading out the primaries over a 
four-month period, we have a chance to return to the days when the 
electorate had an opportunity to evaluate the candidates over time, and 
where voters--not just financial contributors--had decided who the 
parties' nominees will be.
  Anyone looking at the current system knows it has to change. I hope 
that we can make that happen before the 2004 campaign begins.
                                 ______