Crazy Caucus

Why does the Democratic party have more complicated state primary/caucus rules than the Republican party? It seems backwards: choosing representatives that then channel their support to a candidate is far more along the lines of a Republic (like our national electoral system). But the Republican party is the one using populate vote. Bizarre.

Since this is the first primary I care to participate in, I've tried to familiarize myself with the process. In Iowa, the Democrats definitely go down a more complicated, statistically manipulative path. MyDD has some interesting insights on the subject:
http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/12/14/13159/459

In New Jersey, the difference between the two party primaries is pretty obvious.

The Republicans have it fairly simple:

Tuesday, February 5 2008: All of New Jersey's 52 delegates to the Republican National Convention are allocated to the presidential contender receiving the greatest number of votes in the primary statewide.

Party leaders (the National Committeeman, the National Committeewoman, and the chairman of New Jersey's Republican Party) will attend the convention pledged to the winner of the primary.

Then you look at the Democrats:

Tuesday, February 5 2008: 107 of 127 delegates to the Democratic National Convention are allocated to presidential contenders based on the results of voting in New Jersey's Presidential Primary. A mandatory 15 percent threshold is required for a presidential contender to be allocated delegates at either the congressional district or statewide level.

70 district delegates are allocated proportionally to presidential contenders based on the primary results in each of 20 special "delegate districts" that are not the same as congressional voting districts. Each of these "delegate districts" will consist of two Legislative Districts paired together.

In addition, 37 delegates are allocated to presidential contenders based on the primary vote statewide:
* 23 At-Large National Convention delegates
* 14 Pledged Party Leaders and Elected Officials delegates

Thursday, April 17 2008: The NJ Democratic State Committee chooses 20 delegates that will go to the Democratic National Convention officially "Unpledged." These delegates consist of:
* 8 Democratic National Committee members
* 9 Members of Congress (2 Senators and 7 Representatives)
* 1 Governor
* 2 "add-ons" (elected by a vote, consisting of a quorum of 40% of the Members of the NJ Democratic State Committee)

What the fuck? Is it so hard to just say "Hey, Person X, you got the most votes, so the state's delegates will support you." What's with the "Unpledged" and "At-Large" and "Add Ons" and dicking around with districts? What are they trying to hide?

Ah, politics. It's going to be an interesting year.

Sources:
http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/NJ-D.phtml
http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/NJ-R.phtml
http://www.nj.gov/oag/elections/2008results/08primary-election/2008-Delegate-Slection-Plan.pdf
http://www.njgop.org/images/nj/Rules_for_Selection_of_Delegates_v1.pdf