Primary Date !

[Look My Way]

The Democratic and Republican Primaries should be held on the first Tuesday in May. All 50 states. It is idiotic holding primaries in January and February. Why in the hell should we have two little states like Iowa and New Hampshire have such a large impact on the selection of our presidential candidates. And now everyone is trying to get in on the act. What the hell are we going to do with the long lapse from February till November. This stupidity almost makes me wish for a return to the "Smoke Filled Rooms" of the Convention for picking our nominees.

[emilyg]

1. Feb. to Nov. I'm going to have a nervous breakdown.

[JeffR]

2. Welcome to DU

and bravo!

:kick:

[Look My Way]

4. Thanks !

How can those state governors be so dumb. Well, after 8 years of Bush, it shows. He was a Governor!

[sandnsea]

3. Super Tuesday is what's idiotic

If they're all on one day, then all it takes is money and advertising to win. That's what has happened by shoving so many primaries onto Super Tuesday, and earlier. If they were spread out for 6 months, like they used to be, then they wouldn't have started so early and wouldn't end until closer to the convention the way it used to.

[Look My Way]

5. I'll agree when it was just Iowa and New Hampshire it was better.

And when it was just New Hampshire it was better yet. But to be honest about it, why not rotate the state. Let them all have the early influence once? The truth of the matter is Public Financing of Elections only, and all States on the first Tuesday in May. Let's kick this one around and come up with the best answer.

[razzleberry]

6. better ... only for them .n/t.

[sandnsea]

7. It might work with public financing

If they all were limited to the same amount. I suppose ten different candidates would all play to their strengths, so who knows what we'd end up with as far as states in play. Maybe somebody would even come to Oregon once in a while. :)

[Look My Way]

8. Or Indiana ! n/t

[murbley40]

11. primaries

Some form of rotation with public financing might be better.
This year,with everyone moving up,it definitely favors the top 3. There are a lot of ways to fix elections. This time maybe the primaries.

[Hippo_Tron]

9. Yup, things were just fine before there was a Super Tuesday

I don't care what state it is or if I don't get to vote until it's all decided, there is no better test of candidates than having to go door to door and hold small gatherings in living rooms.

[last_texas_dem]

10. I agree with you

Although I also agree with the OP's point about the problems with having the nominee essentially already chosen in Feb., I agree with you that the real problem is with Super Tuesday. Having it where a nominee is essentially chosen in one day "nationalizes" the primary process far too much and makes money more important than it need be. The recent changes to the calendar are going to make it more and more impossible for a longshot candidate to earn his or her party's nomination.

[wyldwolf]

12. If we returned to the "Smoke Filled Rooms" of yesteryear...

...you WOULD NOT like who the nominee would be. Guaranteed.

[Look My Way]

13. I'm not so sure about that.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was chosen in a smoke filled room. So was John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

[wyldwolf]

14. then let me rephrase it. The chosen nominee would NOT be...

... "netroots" approved.

It wouldn't be Kucinich.

It wouldn't be Obama.

It wouldn't be Edwards.

Hell, it wouldn't even be Clinton.

It would be Biden. Or Bayh. Or Mark Warner. Someone DU's head would explode over.

[murbley40]

15. Biden?

That would work for me.

[DesertRat]

16. Arizona's primary is now on Super Tuesday, Feb. 5

Gov. Napolitano is moving it up from Feb. 26. She thinks that it will benefit us by encouraging more candidate visits to the state.

[seasat]

17. I like the small state early primaries.

It gives a chance for a lower tier underfunded candidate to break through by doing old fashioned retail politics. They've got a good system with a North East state, a Midwest state, a Southern state, and a Western State. Maybe it'd make the other states happier if there was a rotating schedule for them at a time immediately following the early smaller states. You could break it into 4 dates with a random selection process each primary.

[Look My Way]

18. Why not a random selection of 4 states to go first , every 4 years ?

Let's share the wealth! Big or small, why discriminate? Add Public Financing and that beats it all.

[murbley40]

19. kick

:kick:

[Look My Way]

20. Biden's view on the early primaries. He's Right !

Read this.

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Biden's+challenge%3A+Save+retail+politics&articleId=2c11ba30-159d-48e6-a967-c379ab60fa3b