With Kerry, It Broke

Andrew Cline at the Weekly Standard doesn’t think much of the Democrats’ move to abandon Iowa and New Hampshire as the presidential primary kickoff. There are plenty of reasons to question whether IA/NH’s lead role makes sense, although there are at least two reasons to leave them in place. One is the immediate fact that, at present, both states are very closely divided (they are two of just three states to vote for George W. Bush in one but not both of the 2000 & 2004 elections) and they are fairly representative of the demographics of a number of the other “purple” states like Wisconsin and Minnesota. The second is the small-c conservative answer: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The system has served us well in selecting nominees, so why ditch it?
The second of these reasons is why the Democrats’ rush to abandon the old calendar is, implicitly, such a damning indictment of John Kerry, the winner of the only seriously contested Democratic primary season since 1992. Whatever else may be said about the decision, if Democrats had faith that the existing system could be trusted to pick the right man (or woman), they would not depart from it. Their willingness to do so speaks volumes.

2 thoughts on “With Kerry, It Broke”

  1. The obvious thought is that by giving up on NH and IA their next nominee will be even farther out on the left fringes. Not a smart move. IA saved them from Howard Dean.

  2. The argument against it is that it gives the parochial concerns of Iowa and New Hampshire more influence then they deserve (see ethanol subsidies, although I don’t know if there’s a NH equivalent).
    Also, I’ll ask you this: Have you ever voted in a presidential primary where your vote mattered? I haven’t. (Although that might change in 2008, since Jersey’s moving theirs up.)

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