It’s time to reform the primary process. I don’t understand why Iowa and New Hampshire should remain as the two states where people vote in the primaries first. Iowa is a pork state. It’s the home of Senator Tom Harkin. Need I say more? New Hampshire isn’t much better. It’s a small New England state that’s not exactly representative of mainstream conservative thought. Why does the GOP care what the voters of New Hampshire think about picking a nominee? The fact that the RNC wants to maintain the status quo is a great example of how the GOP establishment fears the conservative wing of the party. Florida is attempting to move its primary up to January 31, 2012, and that’s causing a gnashing of teeth at the RNC.
Florida’s move would directly violate RNC rules that forbid any state other than the first four “carve-out” states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — from holding a primary before March 6.
States that ignore the RNC rules are subject to losing half of their delegates — party representatives who ultimately choose the nominee — to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, next August.
Ask Hillary Clinton how important the state of Florida is to getting the nomination. Clinton won the state in 2008, but the DNC didn’t recognize the delegates because the state moved up its primary. One solution would be to hold a national primary. The only problem with that idea is that the benefit of a staggered primary system is the process. It’s a good way to determine which candidate has the stamina and organization for the general election. I wouldn’t mind a four-stage process where you break the primaries into four elections. It would allow the candidates the ability to visit the states in play and it would end this ridiculous Iowa/New Hampshire courtship.
Creating a system like I’ve described isn’t likely because each state controls when their primary is set. The RNC/DNC should just get out of the way. If Florida wants to move up its primary so bit it. The state of Florida is a much more pivotal state in the general election than Iowa or New Hampshire. In a four-stage primary, both small and large states would be represented in each primary election. It’s so logical that there’s no way either party will accept it. The fact that the DNC and RNC both act like the BCS tells you a lot about how they govern after the general election… like asses and pachyderms.
This won’t make partisan Republicans happy, but I think the economy is headed in the right direction. It probably won’t recover quickly enough to save the Democrats in November, but for Obama there’s a lot to be optimistic about. First of all the President was able to pass his key item: health care. It doesn’t matter if it’s unpopular; there’s no chance it will be repealed while he’s in the White House. Plus, thanks to the way the bill was written most of the truly heinous problems won’t starting destroying the heath care system for a decade. Sometimes it’s good to be King.
Save us Obi Wan Constitution. You're our only hope.
The economy is always the main issue in elections and I’ve thought for months Americans aren’t really angry with the White House; they’re angry about the economy. The Republicans should quit banking on the economy staying in the tank forever and come up with a plan to save the Republic. Obama and the Democrats are a short-term business cycle rebound from bankrupting the nation forever. At this stage it’s time for a Reaganesque “starve the beast” strategy. If Americans want to be sold a populist bill of goods then so be it.
I wrote last month about the Balanced Budget Amendment. This is a very populist bill that despite its economic theory problems is a best solution available to solve the nightmare fiscal situation we’re facing. Let’s be frank. Despite the fact the President has insisted that his health care bill is deficit neutral, it’s not. He’s living in fantasy land. The claim is laughable and reflects what Obama thinks about the intelligence of the American people. Even The Economist, which endorsed Obama’s bill, thinks that it’s going to add to the debt. The GOP should move fast and make the Balanced Budget Amendment the keystone issue in the 2010 election.
Faced with a Constitutional amendment mandate, Congress will be forced to either raise taxes or cut entitlements. The nation needs to make this choice sooner, rather than later. If we had honest leadership we would be addressing these problems now instead of passing it off on some other generation. The only question is can enough people push for this amendment before it’s too late?
If the RNC is any indication there’s not a lot of hope for the GOP. The RNC supposedly doesn’t like big government but they don’t mind it as long as they’re in power. There needs to be a revolution inside the GOP if there’s any hope of tackling America’s fiscal problems.
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