A little over two years ago, we introduced Critical Primary Theory and pointed out the fact that “primaries” were invented by the Progressive Party in the early 1900’s…
As we discussed then, the Democratic Party re-introduced presidential primaries upon the recommendation of the McGovern-Fraser Commission in 1972.
In doing so, the Democrats seem to have coincidentally invented “The Circular Firing Squad.”
From The Free Dictionary: “CIRCULAR FIRING SQUAD”:
“A group, usually a political party, that is allied against a common enemy or opponent but whose internal disagreements and attacks end up doing more damage to each other than to their target. The lead up to the presidential nomination saw the party devolve into a circular firing squad, as each candidate's vociferous bid to unseat the incumbent president ended up creating huge divisions and disarray within the party itself.”
The following excerpt from 1972 refers to an early use of the phrase in the presidential nomination process.
The idea, though not quite the exact term, appeared in Time magazine in 1972, as quoted in an Alabama newspaper:
After the calamity at the 1968 convention in Chicago, with street fighting upstaging floor fighting, the party decided on a reform movement that would bring more people into the nominating process.
The many primaries with a full platoon of candidates was one result of this reformation, with results best described by a one-liner in Time magazine:
'When reform-minded Democrats are told make up a firing squad they form a circle.'
-- "As O'Brien Sees It." Montgomery Advertiser, April 9, 1972, p4
Today, the occupiers of the Republican National Committee, in collaboration with Fox News, will try to improve on this creation of the Progressive and Democratic Parties with the first Republican Party version of the 2024 CIRCULAR FIRING SQUAD.