More interesting information on the DNC chair...

[cjbuchanan]

link: http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041114/OPINION01/411140332/1035/OPINION

scroll down about a third of the article:

Death to the caucuses? A popular Weblog of liberal political analysis is known as "daily Kos" run by Markos Moulitsas at www.dailykos.com. One of the hottest topics the other day was titled "Kill the Iowa caucuses."

Moulitsas opened it by saying that the current system is "untenable" and that "two overwhelmingly white, small, rural states are deciding a nominee for tens of millions of Democrats around the country." The vigorous online debate that followed, agreeing and disagreeing, drew 403 comments.

Aides to Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin say that so far they don't hear anything threatening bubbling when it comes to the caucuses, but again, many Democrats are still moping around or complaining about election fraud. You do wonder what may happen when they get ready to rumble.

It may indeed be up to Gov. Tom Vilsack to leap in, battle Howard Dean and emerge as Democratic National Committee chairman to keep the caucuses.
----

So does Vilsack just want the job to keep Iowa first in the nation? Is this because he thinks that is what is best for Dems or is he hoping to hold an advantage for a future run?

[Stew225]

1. It's heartening (not to be confused with Harkining) when people

actually "think", as opposed to rationalizing something with "oh, we've always done it that way." This seemingly is indeed a no brainer.

[scarletwoman]

2. It's not the caucus system, it's just the timing.

Being a Minnesotan, where we too have a caucus system, I would fight tooth and nail against anyone seeking to destroy it.

The problem is timing. Why shouldn't every state hold its caucuses/primaries on the same date, just as we do the general election?

Let the top three winners continue to compete and hold the final votes at state conventions.

Just a thought...

sw

[Pirate Smile]

3. How about regional times so candidates can campaign in a group of

states instead of having to fly everywhere?

I like the idea of areas including blue and red states.

We could include MN, WI, IL, IA, MO, IN, MI and Ohio in one group.

The battle would be which regions get to go first.

The mid-Atlantic states could also be a good region to get a well rounded view - maybe with PA, DE, TN, VA, WV, KY, etc.

The groups of states include both urban and rural, more minority populations, etc.

[Ima]

4. why not California?

Would be better than Ia.

[scarletwoman]

7. I've seen several similar proposals.

One "regional primary" proposal suggested rotating the dates between the regions every election, so no one region goes first each time.

There really needs to be SOME kind of change, the way it is now is ridiculous.

Anyway, I like your idea of including red and blue states together in each region.

sw

[Warpy]

5. That would make entirely too much sense for the party

but cause the candidates to scream foul at not being able to campaign in all 50 states for the nomination, then recampaign in all 50 states for the office. They do have a point.

However, having the caucuses/primaries on the same day two weeks before the convention would still make a lot of sense, let the front runners battle it out there instead of the slow torture of all those primary dates in all those different states, with the final primaries being ireelevant, at best.

It's up to Democrats to know who the movers and shakers are in their party, and if the media suddenly became responsible and published what each candidate stood for and intended to do, campaigns for seaparate state primaries would become unnecessary. In the absence of a fair media, perhaps the party could consider mass mailings two weeks before the primary date to acquaint people with the candidates who are running.

What we do know is that the present system is ridiculous, annoying, and wasteful of precious party resources. It's got to change.

[Sputnik]

6. Having the primaries/caucuses on the same day

Would take an incredible amount of money by the candidates. I would however favor setting up some type of rotating primary system, so that each state would have a chance to be first.

I don't know. There has to be a better way than how we're doing it now. Every four years, I find myself incredibly jealous of Iowa and NH and all the attention that they receive, lol. Amazing though that both Iowa and NH were close, with Bush and Kerry each taking one.

[scarletwoman]

8. Yeah, you're right.

I was just throwing something out there. My button got pushed over the thought of someone calling for getting rid of caucuses -- I LOVE our caucuses!

sw

[cjbuchanan]

9. My biggest problem with the "National idea" is...

What happens if no one gets a majority?

Let's say there are 7 candidates in the primary (about average for an open primary) with 4 of them being the "serious" candidates. The final outcome is as follows:

Candidate A - 30%
Candidate B - 20%
Candidate C - 20%
Candidate D - 15%
All others - 15%

Who gets the nomination? Do we have to wait till the convention to settle it?

My other problem with it is the fact that money would become an even bigger part of the primary process. Since you would have to be able to campaign ever where in order to have a chance to win the nom, you will need to raise a lot more cash early on to be taken seriously.

[Skink]

11. Here's the problem

In Iowa you get about a 10 percent turn out. Of that the vast majority are 65. That is in no way representative of the people. It should be one person one vote.

[cjbuchanan]

12. Welcome to DU!

Glad to have you here.
:hi:

[NashVegas]

13. How Quickly We Forget

and then we forget we have forgotten.

The democratic party frontloaded the primaries specifically to ward off the possibility of a dark horse candidate taking the nomination.

If all primaries were held on the same day, it would serve the same purpose x10, plus make it even more expensive for the candidates.

Better to just let them choose in the proverbial smoke-filled room; less costly campaigns that way.

[cjbuchanan]

10. Has Dean said he would do away with Iowa as first in the nation?

I meant to ask this in my first post, but forgot. I have not seen Dean say that anywhere, but the last paragraph seems to imply that he has.

Anyone know anything about this?