ravital
10-10-2007, 01:04 PM
Apparently, nobody knows. But this super-early primaries business is costing the parties something: Obama, Edwards, and Richardson have withdrawn from the Michigan primary.
Details (WSJ, subscription required (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119198314805054367.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news)):For months, states have been leapfrogging each other to move up their primary votes, seeking a bigger voice in the selection and more revenue from big-spending campaigns. But the race has caused confusion among candidates, who must make advertising and travel decisions, and irked some party officials, who want to bring order to the process of picking their nominees.
It also has cost some states. Yesterday, Democrats Barack Obama, John Edwards and Bill Richardson withdrew from Michigan's Democratic primary after the party threatened to take away the state's convention delegates if it follows through on plans to move its polling to Jan. 15 from Feb. 26. Hillary Clinton plans to stay in. But without convention delegates as a prize, the primary will amount to little more than a beauty contest.
Similarly, Florida is being punished by both parties for calling a Jan. 29 primary. It will lose all its delegates to next summer's Democratic convention and half its delegates to the Republican convention.
So now the parties are "punishing" states... And for what? Who initiated this mess?The calendar creep was set off when the parties independently attempted to impose a primary schedule on the states. Republicans set a Feb. 5 to July 2, 2008, primary calendar, allowing states to choose any date in between. Any state holding a vote outside those dates is supposed to lose half its convention votes.
The Democrats also agreed to a Feb. 5 start, but allowed four early-decision exceptions: Iowa, New Hampshire and two other states from among those that chose to apply. The calendar it subsequently set put the Nevada caucus after Iowa's, and South Carolina's primary after balloting in the Granite State.
Result? Currently, 20 states are scheduled to vote on Feb. 5 and an additional 16 will vote by March 12, locking up most delegates five months before the Democratic convention opens Aug. 25 and Republicans assemble on Sept. 1.
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Details (WSJ, subscription required (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119198314805054367.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news)):For months, states have been leapfrogging each other to move up their primary votes, seeking a bigger voice in the selection and more revenue from big-spending campaigns. But the race has caused confusion among candidates, who must make advertising and travel decisions, and irked some party officials, who want to bring order to the process of picking their nominees.
It also has cost some states. Yesterday, Democrats Barack Obama, John Edwards and Bill Richardson withdrew from Michigan's Democratic primary after the party threatened to take away the state's convention delegates if it follows through on plans to move its polling to Jan. 15 from Feb. 26. Hillary Clinton plans to stay in. But without convention delegates as a prize, the primary will amount to little more than a beauty contest.
Similarly, Florida is being punished by both parties for calling a Jan. 29 primary. It will lose all its delegates to next summer's Democratic convention and half its delegates to the Republican convention.
So now the parties are "punishing" states... And for what? Who initiated this mess?The calendar creep was set off when the parties independently attempted to impose a primary schedule on the states. Republicans set a Feb. 5 to July 2, 2008, primary calendar, allowing states to choose any date in between. Any state holding a vote outside those dates is supposed to lose half its convention votes.
The Democrats also agreed to a Feb. 5 start, but allowed four early-decision exceptions: Iowa, New Hampshire and two other states from among those that chose to apply. The calendar it subsequently set put the Nevada caucus after Iowa's, and South Carolina's primary after balloting in the Granite State.
Result? Currently, 20 states are scheduled to vote on Feb. 5 and an additional 16 will vote by March 12, locking up most delegates five months before the Democratic convention opens Aug. 25 and Republicans assemble on Sept. 1.
what
a
country