At long last, the differences between a primary and a caucus explained, and how both are involved in deciding the Republican and Democratic nominees for president of the United States:
A question I sometimes get from friends from outside the United States when they look at the convoluted mess of American electoral politics is, “Why is the American government set up that way?” To clarify for those on the outside looking in: the way Republicans and Democrats choose their nominees has nothing to do with the United States Constitution, which doesn’t say anything one way or the other about political parties. Political parties here are free to choose candidates any way they want. If you want to form a new political party, you could choose a nominee by having candidates bob for apples for all the Constitution cares.
As for how and why our present day political parties have evolved into what they are today?… That’s a much bigger and broader question than I can tackle.
If you found C.G.P. Grey’s explanation of the political process a little cut and dry, here’s a slightly less factual but much more accurate one courtesy of SMBC Theater:
