What happens now is unscripted. The Democratic party presidential nominating process is completely off-road nothing is going to happen as it has before because none of this has ever happened before.

The best thing the Democrats can do at this stage is keep the process open and transparent. A conventional, traditional nominating process is out of the question, there just isn’t enough time left.

Ideally there would be a a process of vying and testing of the candidates prior to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago which starts on 19 August 24.

The extent to which democratic principles will shape what happens next in the Democratic presidential nominating process will depend on to what extent the delegates demand it. The more vetting the more inclusiveness the delegates demand the more they are likely to get. Too much chaos could be dangerous, but so could too much scripting and behind the scenes maneuvering.

The Democratic Party often overlooks the importance of the Democratic rank and file voters. There is often a presumption that the party knows what’s best for the voters. Democratic Party power players often do not assign enough significance to what energizes the people who vote them. Engaged voters are energized voters. Engage the rank and file Democratic voters in the Democratic Party nominating process. It will be essential in November.

Marc Ash is the founder and former Executive Director of Truthout, and is now founder and Editor of Reader Supported News.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.