Why not begin rotating regional Primaries - take turns going first?

Not for 2008, but for the NEXT election cycle.

The flap in Michigan and Florida is wasting precious energy. They Dem party in each respective state has told Howard Dean and the DNC to basically... take your Iowa/New Hampshire Primary Calender and shove it!

Now is not the time to challenge Howard Dean and the DNC. It looks no better then a bunch of kids fighting for first place in the school lunch line.

But I do see the merits of a system that rotates the order of the primaries on a regional basis, with different states getting to "go first" - it only seems fair to diversify a rather old guard structure and let other states have a bigger say. Why the hell does (relatively conservative) Iowa or New Hampshire get to always be first anyway? Imagine DUers how the landscape would change if California or New York went first? Of course, that would likely be coupled with a southern state in the mix for balance.

Another possibility - have a national primary day. Do it all at once!

The Primary order discussion/debate is well worth having --- AFTER the 2008 election!


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More on this crazy mess here:

http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2007/10/four_candidates_withdraw_from.html

This is bullshit, letting only a few states actually have a say. I don't like your idea of rotating the order quite as well but any change would be an improvement.

candidates' campaign schedules.

the primary should be nationalized

Right now we have two, tops three states deciding...

That doesn't mean we shouldn't have them.

and that is a fact

While I totally agree with Levin, et.al. I wish it hadn't come at a time when our country is in such a perilous state.

At the same time this Iowa and New Hampshire stranglehold has to stop. If this is what it takes to stop making 30 or so of the states "irrelevant" in the primary selection process so be it.

The fact is those other states do become irrelevant and it happens every presidental primary.

I really believed Howard Dean would make a great DNC chair, had all the faith in the world in him. What do we get? More of the same.

"Today's turn of events only further amplifies the fact that the Michigan primary is irrelevant," Buckley said in a statement. "Our secretary of state, Bill Gardner, now has more flexibility in his scheduling decision because the Michigan event is no longer a 'similar event' to the New Hampshire primary.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071009/ap_on_el_pr/michiga...

Unfortunately, it would require the cooperation of each State's party structure to sign on. This might be tricky.