I’m a fourth-generation South Dakotan and lifelong conservative Republican. I support the principles of limited government, reduced taxation and individual liberty.
I love South Dakota. My great-grandfather was present at the state’s constitutional convention in 1889. But I hate our state’s system of closed, partisan primaries. That system isn’t in our constitution but instead was created over time by misguided politicians who wanted to control our state’s politics. We’ve learned the hard way that when you limit competition, limit participation and silo voters, you disconnect voters from their representatives and stifle innovation.
So when I read that the Texas GOP had filed a lawsuit to enact closed primaries in the Lone Star State, I wanted to scream, “Don’t do it!”
Let me offer a warning from experience: Closed systems weaken state government.
Opinion
Why sacrifice the growth, dynamism and freedom that is attracting people to Texas from all over the country by enacting a political system that will put a damper on all that makes Texas great?
No conservative, no Republican, should ever want a system that limits competition and participation.
In South Dakota, over 90% of the time the Republican primary is the only election that matters. Only registered Republicans can participate, yet all taxpayers — Republicans, Democrats and independents alike — pay for these elections. Half of South Dakotans are Republicans, but that group alone decides who governs everyone else. The result is predictable: complacency, stagnation and growing dysfunction.
Now, our Republican Party has imploded. It is run by a recently converted Obama Democrat. It shows little to no support for Republican members of our congressional delegation, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune. Supporters have stopped contributing to the party. The party fights among itself because of lack of competition.
Once you eliminate competition in politics, the same thing happens as happens in business: Monopolies take over. Quality declines. Innovation stops. The “winners” stop listening to their customers, which, in this case, are the voters.
That’s why it baffles me that Texas Republicans, who are a national beacon for pro-growth, free enterprise policies and solutions, want to eliminate competition in the political marketplace.
Closing primaries tells Texans that their voices are not welcome unless they pass some ideological purity test. It shrinks the tent rather than growing it. It is a system that has failed voters in other states, most especially liberal New York.
Texas is thriving. And the Republican Party should be confident enough to welcome all voters into the success story. Competition makes us better; it’s the principle our party is supposed to stand for. When we close primaries, we shut the door on the very spirit of democracy and free enterprise we claim to defend.
I urge Texas Republicans to reconsider. Don’t make the same mistake we did in South Dakota. Keep your primaries open, your elections competitive and your party strong.
Joe Kirby is a national spokesperson for Open Primaries.