Opinion Old Gold & Black Thursday, March 8, 2007 A5 PrimaryMatt Brumit party’s primary. voting Some of these For the sake part of a good primaryof is borderline political absurd. off than if they were to votestrategy free to vote how you want. In Old Gold & Black columnist states allow Independents to explanation, let us pretend for Of course, that doesn’t mean in the Democratic primary, my opinion, every state should choose which party’s ballot a moment that Texas has closed that people don’t do it. which is almost certain to be have open primaries. I feel I’m from Texas. Lucky for they wish to vote with come primaries. My point is they’d be better meaningless anyway. like anything less is political me, Texas has open primaries. election day while some do Regardless of my political off voting in the Republican Now, I am by no means subjugation. But if your state This means that my voter not. views, I primary so their bashing the Democratic is going to limit your voting registration card is non- The states that allow would register votes would Party here. In a state such as options, beat the system. partisan and does not show Independents to choose which Republican actually have an Massachusetts, the opposite You might even take this political affiliation. party they vote for are said to because Texas The point is, if you live impact on the would be true, and it would whole idea a step further When primary elections have semi-closed primaries. If is a largely in a state where one political system. benefit Republicans to vote in and become whole-heartedly are held, I can walk into you live in a state which makes Republican party is overwhelm- They could the Democratic primaries for involved in the party most the courthouse and tell use of the semi-closed primary, state, and quite engage in raiding the same reasons I listed. disparate from you, thereby ingly stronger than the them which ballot I want I would encourage you to frankly (for (intentionally The point is, if you live in becoming a liberal force in – Republican or Democrat. If a register as an Independent, most counties other and you want voting for a state where one party is the Republican Party or a run-off election is required for thereby essentially allowing in the state) the your vote to count, the weakest overwhelmingly stronger than conservative force in the yourself to vote in an open Democratic Party Republican the other and you want your Democratic Party, whichever one of the parties, I can only you’d better vote in vote in it if I voted using that primary. is hardly viable. candidate in an vote to count, you’d better vote the case may be. party’s ballot in the primary However, if you live in a I remember the stronger party’s effort to get him in the stronger party’s primary Change the party you don’t election. All of this is to say state which conducts truly looking at the primary election. into the general election. like from the inside out. If that the rest of this column closed primary elections election results election so the You wouldn’t be betraying enough people engaged in does not really apply to me at (where unaffiliated voters are in 2006 for all Democratic your party or engaging in some activities like this, we could all because I have the luxury not allowed to vote in any of the counties candidate can sort of political treason; you truly create a more moderate of not being tied down by my primary), I would strongly in my area, and as I recall, have a better chance), or they would simply be voting wisely. political system. voter registration. encourage you to not only only one had even a single could vote for the Republican It might sound underhanded, Politics is a game. Learn to But, there are many states choose a political party with Democrat win an election. candidate who they best but what part of politics isn’t play it. (28) that have closed primaries, which to register, but also to For Democrats in almost any identify with and who most underhanded? allowing only voters registered choose which party you register county in the state of Texas, agrees with their views. Either Besides, our votes are secret Matt Brumit is a freshman from with the party to vote in said with very wisely. to vote in the Democratic way, they would be better for a reason – so you can be Denison, Texas. Iran situation not fun and games At this point, I have to commend the President and his advisors. His strategy is absolutely brilliant. If we were playing a board game that is. You don’t want player A to get to point three? Very easy, you kick player A off the board by landing on his or her spot. Before you do that, it might Monica Petrescu be to your advantage to move to a Guest columnist spot near player A, say where player B was before. It makes sense. Even a ush’s Wars: Patents for a 3-year-old could do it. Different Board Game. The only difference is, the 3-year-old Vice President Dick Cheney’s is actually playing with tokens, while Binflammatory remarks about Iran Bush is playing with human lives. created doubt in many minds about Unfortunately, that seems to be quite the United States’ intentions with easy to forget. regards to the Middle East. While It’s not only the lives of the people the President’s words and actions directly killed or injured by the war, contradict to the end he is seeking which are already painful to count, in Iraq, his wingman is out making but it’s also the lives of generations comments that give most Americans after, the generation that will nightmares. have to suffer through chaos and Yet the only thing that surprises me reconstruction, that will have no is the surprise of people in general. jobs, no food and no hope. While we Was it not blatantly obvious that may lose 3,000 soldiers, Iraq is home Iraq was merely the springboard for to 30 million lost people. These are the spread of US domination in the the generations that we successfully Middle East? Under Saddam Hussein’s created in Iraq by forgetting that regime, the country under those tokens was not particularly are the lives of Vote for a Democrat for progress dangerous, War with Iran would not only millions of people. Democratic candidates I’m sure many of you have begun In six years, Republicans oversaw and despite the be unjustifiable, but also in- War with Iran to think that six years of this success a Washington that was filled with weapons of mass would not only have a track record of was overseen by a Republican-run corruption, where the policies served destruction that it credibly arrogant. It would be be unjustifiable, Legislative Branch, voted into power to widen the gap between rich and turned out not to a second failure to realize that but also incredibly improving the country in 1994. Good point. poor, dismantle environmental even have, it was bombs only destroy, and do arrogant. It would However, if protections and never a real threat be a second not resolve, and that there still Randy Paris Republicans really ignore the 46 to US security. failure to realize had much to do million Americans Nevertheless, Iraq is something left after the dust that bombs only Guest columnist Republicans had six years with America’s without healthcare was a much easier settles. destroy, and do success at the end controlling all three branch- coverage. Not to target than Iran not resolve, and fter 12 years of a Republican- of the 20th century, es of government. They were mention Iraq. – at least as far that there still is run executive branch, then why did it not given a pen and a pad of pa- Writing an article as conquest goes. something left after Americans gave a Democrat continue into the consisting entirely What the Bush administration failed the dust settles. Aa shot in 1992. And boy was that 21st century? per by the American people, of Republican’s to forecast was the war they would Iraq is proof that war is not a simple a good decision. Bill Clinton Republicans and they were told to write failures in engage in after the President declared cure-all solution that helps us get rid improved the lives of almost every kept their control the future. Unfortunately, Washington would war to be over – a war with terrorist of unwanted unpleasantness. American for eight years in a row. of Congress and take far too much forces that, ironically, the so-called It’s proof that the intricacies of they have not written the fu- Bill Clinton engineered the largest the Senate, and time for me to freeing of Iraq allowed to emerge, humanity are much deeper than drop in the poverty rate in 30 years. gained power of the ture America had hoped for. write, or for you to and cause incredible chaos, leaving a planning board. It’s proof that African-American, Latino and female executive branch read, so I’ll get on the country in shambles. It is easy beyond any government there are poverty rates all saw record lows. (with help from with my point. from this point to go into a point people, millions of them, living and Unemployment dropped from 7.5 the Republican- Democrats did a by-point criticism of Bush’s Iraq breathing, creating the wonderful percent to 4 percent.