Daniel, excellent historical overview of primaries as well as astute observations of their negative impact on our political system. I favor the top two concept but it does not completely fix a poor system.

It is true that Congressional candidates spend most of their time campaigning to win primaries and then don’t do their job when they’re elected. Primaries are popularity contests that often result in the most extreme candidates being chosen by the fewest voters.

At the presidential level it is made even more absurd by relying on the Electoral College instead of the popular vote. It is not surprising Americans are disenchanted with a government that doesn’t do a good job of representing the people’s interests.