They don't call them the "evil party" (D) and the "stupid party" (R) for nothing.
Until 1988, in the state of Washington, both major parties chose delegates to their national conventions (where presidential nominees are chosen) through the caucus system. The pro-death Republican Party Establishment didn't like the outcome that year (our state voted for Pat Robertson), so they changed the rules. Since then, there is virtually a debate before every presidential election year and a shifting in the rules. You can read the history and some of the most recent debate from the perspective of the Establishment here. You might even find some of their arguments compelling, clever as they are.
Last summer, the Washington Republican State Committee voted to shift the rules again for this presidential election year, choosing 51% of the national delegates based on a complicated formula from the results of the primary, and 49% on the "results" of the caucus/convention process. The Democrats will choose theirs based solely on their caucus/convention process. The primary ballot invites the voter to choose between both parties, check a box that declairs their "party affiliation" and then choose from that party's list of candidates. But guess what! Only the Republican primary ballot counts. So there is no incentive for a Democrat to vote on the Democrat side, when they can influence both parties' nomination by voting Republican in the primary, and attending their Democrat caucus. Brilliant!
The caucuses for both parties are held on the same day, at the same time, so if we were smart, we'd stick to the caucus system and be able to avoid party crossover. And of course, I don't mind when Democrats and Independents "cross over" when they really want to switch parties (due to principles the party stands for), and ultimately it would be great if they'd do so in the general in order to support a conservative Republican.
Of course, I tried to warn my party and tried passing a resolution in my district to have it sent up to the state committee, and I couldn't believe how naive my fellow Republicans were. "Oh, they're not going to be voting in our primary. They don't care who our nominee is."
Wrong. A very public Democrat figure, Pete Jackson, son of Scoop Jackson openly admits that he is an Obama supporter, but he chose to vote in the Republican primary. Who was his favorite Republican? In case you haven't guessed, the Democrat's favorite candidate is also the favorite candidate of Republicans for Choice: John McCain.
Pete Jackson, son of the late, longtime Democratic U.S. Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson of Everett, is supporting Obama, but voted for McCain in the primary.
"It was my protest that the Democratic primary didn't count for anything, so I might as well vote for the best Republican," he said.
Of course, now he's backtracking on the comments at Sound Politics. He claims that he forgot to check the required box that he is a Republican, so his vote will be thrown out anyway. Perhaps. But it sure does make you wonder how many Democrats are trying to have it both ways in this presidential race. Conservatives everywhere are baffled at McCain's frontrunner status. How many other states have a Republican primary that can easily be rigged by the Democrats?