Have Yourself a Merry Little Primary

The Democratic election season tilt-a-whirl may wind up on an unprecedented December 11 New Hampshire primary, according to a WashingtonPost.com article. NH Secretary of State Bill Gardner gets to make the call, but he's not sayin'. Yet.

New Hampshire was spurred by a jumble of primary moves. According to another WashingtonPost.com article, the Michigan Democratic Party moved its primary to January 15, the latest in a melee of Democratic Primary leapfrogging. The move has the Democratic National Committee threatening not to seat any of the delegates chosen in the Michigan and Florida primaries, and puts Democratic candidates under the gun to decide, by this Tuesday, whether to remain on the ballot.

It's very tempting to affect a detached amusement at all of this, especially with Democratic Senator Carl Levin letting loose this howler of a quote: "The Democratic candidates are too smart not to find a way to campaign in Michigan and Florida, and they're not that self-destructive."

It is also tempting to glibly note that it's nice to see Democrats display some testicular fortitude for a change, even if it is against each other. To the outside observer, this seems like the bickering of so many children, covering their ears with mittens and screaming, "Me First!", but it's actually an example of what's great about the Democratic Party.

Traditionally, Iowa and New Hampshire are the first to weigh in with their selections for the Democratic nominee. The logic, such as it is, seems to be that without this status, these less populous states might be ignored by presidential candidates. States with early primaries have a tremendous influence and ability to build momentum for a candidate.

Conversely, states with later primaries have little influence on who the nominee is, but do get the chance to endear themselves to the frontrunner, and vote with the winner. The problem is, the early primaries have gained a disproportionate amount of influence.

The fight over early primary spots is a way of levelling the playing field, so that the candidates who gain early momentum are chosen by a representative sample of our populations. In case you hadn't noticed, Iowa and New Hampshire aren't exactly hubs of diversity. By moving their primaries up, Florida and Michigan have somewhat mitigated the effects of "According to Jim"'s fan base on our electoral process, which , to me, is a good thing.

I find it somewhat amusing, too, that it is New Hampshire State Law that their primary be held at least one week before anyone else's. It reminds me of when I would argue with my brother, Dave, and we'd trump each other by saying, "times infinity!"

"Oh yeah? Times infinity plus 1!"

Now, I said before that this was an example of what makes the Democraticc Party great, and here's what I meant. As a minority party in opposition to a Republican regime that acts as a single closed fist, the Democrats' unwillingness to walk in lockstep has not worked out so well. As a governing majority, it ensures that, hopefully, they will listen to many voices, consider many ideas, and choose wisely. I support Michigan's effort to expand the number of voices heard in early primaries.

Beyond that, I hope that the Democrats turn their attention to other flaws in our electoral process, like private funding of elections and the security of our voting machines. Compared to these things, the Primary calendar is something of a tempest in a teacup.