DeclinetoState
12-16-2005, 09:42 PM
Here come Iowa and New Hampshire.
It should surprise almost no one who pays attention to such things to learn that the two states that prize their status as the first in the nation every four years in the presidential sweepstakes last week beat back the most recent challenge to their reign and will dominate once again in 2008. Meeting in Washington last Sunday, a Democratic commission rejected last-minute efforts to force Iowa and New Hampshire to delay their contests, or to allow other states to move earlier, in favor of a far more modest proposal that will essentially change nothing.
Iowa still has the first caucus. New Hampshire still has the first primary. Both will happen in January 2008, just like four years ago, one week apart. The only difference is that one or two states may be able to have a caucus in the week after Iowa, and one or two in the week after New Hampshire -- if any can get it together to move, and if anybody pays attention.
But for all intents and purposes, the process can be expected to play out very much like last time. The impetus for the commission -- to take on the power of the two small states that dominate -- failed to come to much.
"We're proposing an incremental solution that is neither radical nor trivial," said Rep. David Price, a co-chairman with Alexis Herman of the commission and a longtime veteran of these rules wars. It was 20 years ago that Chuck Manatt, a former Democratic chairman, tried to take on Iowa and New Hampshire -- without success. More by Susan at http://www.creators.com/opinion_show.cfm?columnsName=ses
It should surprise almost no one who pays attention to such things to learn that the two states that prize their status as the first in the nation every four years in the presidential sweepstakes last week beat back the most recent challenge to their reign and will dominate once again in 2008. Meeting in Washington last Sunday, a Democratic commission rejected last-minute efforts to force Iowa and New Hampshire to delay their contests, or to allow other states to move earlier, in favor of a far more modest proposal that will essentially change nothing.
Iowa still has the first caucus. New Hampshire still has the first primary. Both will happen in January 2008, just like four years ago, one week apart. The only difference is that one or two states may be able to have a caucus in the week after Iowa, and one or two in the week after New Hampshire -- if any can get it together to move, and if anybody pays attention.
But for all intents and purposes, the process can be expected to play out very much like last time. The impetus for the commission -- to take on the power of the two small states that dominate -- failed to come to much.
"We're proposing an incremental solution that is neither radical nor trivial," said Rep. David Price, a co-chairman with Alexis Herman of the commission and a longtime veteran of these rules wars. It was 20 years ago that Chuck Manatt, a former Democratic chairman, tried to take on Iowa and New Hampshire -- without success. More by Susan at http://www.creators.com/opinion_show.cfm?columnsName=ses