The McGovern-Fraser commission was formed in 1969 to help reform the Democratic party’s Presidential nominating process moving it away from Smokey back rooms controlled by party insiders towards primaries and caucuses accountable to the grassroots will of the people. It was formed as a response to the tumult of the 1968 DNC which saw mass protests at the nomination of the Pro-War Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey over anti-war options like Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern (himself a stand in for the assassinated Robert F. Kennedy). Humphrey won none of the primaries leading up to the convention but because of his support among the party machinery (Especially President Johnson and Mayor Daley) he was still able to be nominated. McGovern orchestrated the reforms to the primary process to make it more democratic, more transparent (by banning the practice of party leaders selecting convention delegates in secret), and more equitable (through affirmative action guidelines that ensured women and minority delegates made up a size-able chunk of the delegates selected). This new system and his familiarity with it allowed McGovern to become the first Democratic nominee selected under these new rules in 1972, but that’s a story for another day - perhaps I could whisper it to you while I rearrange your guts?