I Beg to Differ, Captain Ed

I rarely have any disagreement with Captain Ed at Captain's Quarters, but he wrote something in his Michigan primary live blog and caught my attention:

6:20 - Republicans are blocking independents from voting in the California primaries, while the Democrats will allow them into theirs. I understand that the GOP wants to nominate conservatives, but is there any better way to further marginalize the GOP in the Golden State than thumbing their noses at independents? Seems pretty short-sighted to me.

Negatory there, Captain. Party primaries are not about inclusion, they're about allowing those who have chosen to self-identify and register with a party to choose that party's nominee. I'd be happy to have as many independents as possible vote for the GOP candidate in the Fall, but in the primary, pardon my French, but screw 'em. If they don't care enough about our candidates to join the party they shouldn't have a role in picking our nominee.

Open primaries are recipes for disaster. They allow all kinds of shenanigans to go on (such as this ) and we could end up allowing people with no intention whatsoever of voting for a Republican in November to affect the outcome. The GOP should fight against open primaries in every state.

That is all. As you were.