Is it time for Utah to drop the delegate system?

Utah's political community is once again debating questions about the merits of Utah's unique caucus/convention party nominating system. Our views:

A recent Deseret News/KSL-TV/Dan Jones & Associates survey indicated state delegates are out of step with average party members and mainstream Utahns. Is this a real or contrived problem?

Pignanelli: "Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." — John W. Gardner

The Jones survey verifies the belief held by many experienced Utah politicos: The delegate system is a quaint but outdated relic of a bygone era (much like LaVarr) that does not represent mainstream Democrats or Republicans. The problem is beyond the fact that delegates maintain strident right-wing or left-wing positions. For example, most Republican and Democratic delegates are men — yet the majority of Utah voters are women. Almost 90 percent of GOP delegates are LDS, a substantially higher ratio than the general population. Supporters claim the system allows candidates with limited resources to compete. This ignores the fact that millions are spent to influence just 3,500 Utahns (i.e. the 2004 gubernatorial race, the current U.S. Senate contest). In a legislative contest, fewer than 100 delegates can determine the nomination. Therefore, special-interest groups stack the meetings to dominate the delegate selection proceedings. I can state from personal experience that elected officials often struggle between the necessary compromises of legislative process and the demands of delegates with narrow convictions.

Webb: Believe it or not, delegates aren't ax murderers or ogres. They're our neighbors. They're schoolteachers, bankers, lawyers, truck drivers, homemakers and carpenters, hailing from every neighborhood in Utah.

What sets them apart is they care about government and they want to participate. They took the time to join a political party, study the issues and the candidates, and to attend their neighborhood caucus and run to become a delegate.

Any adult in the state (that effectively excludes Frank) could have done the same, because this system is open to anyone who wants to get involved. So whom would you want to have the largest role in selecting party nominees? One of your neighbors who has engaged and learned about the issues and the candidates? Or someone who doesn't care much and hasn't paid attention, except watching a 30-second political TV spot during "Desperate Housewives" (Frank's favorite show)?