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November 09, 2003
Primaries? What primaries?
So far, Kansas, Colorado and Utah — all with Republican-controlled legislatures — have canceled their state-run 2004 primaries. Republican legislatures tried unsuccessfully to drop primaries in Arizona and Missouri, but Democratic governors either vetoed the primary bill or restored the funding.Some Democrats complain that cutting primaries hurts them especially, with their crowded field of candidates. President Bush (news - web sites) has no challenger.
Other Democrats, however, are pushing to get rid of primaries. Maine dropped its presidential primary for next year, and New Mexico effectively did — it passed a law allowing parties to hold caucuses, and then Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson set an early Feb. 3 caucus (June primaries will go on for other elections).
Washington Gov. Gary Locke, head of the Democratic Governors Association, is calling a special session to discuss scrapping his state's primary next year.
"Why waste $7 million of scarce state money?" Locke said. Democrats in Washington state are using precinct caucuses in February to allocate national convention delegates, making the March 2 primary pointless.
Money worries have just exacerbated already existing doubts about the front-loaded nature of the primaries, officials and experts said.
"It started to snowball," said Leslie Reynolds, executive director of the National Association of Secretaries of State. "We're spending all this money, we don't have an impact on the process, and people aren't coming because they don't feel they have an impact."
Don't feel they have an impact? In a wide open race between nine candidates?
This, plus Dean's telegraphed rejection of matching funds. Why don't they just hold an internet poll to choose the nominee, and see who can get the most hits on a counter for their candidate? (For you Deaniacs out there, that was a joke).
Posted by Mike at November 9, 2003 03:12 PM
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