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I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to think about presidential primary season for another few months, but Democrats dropped a December surprise: The party has shaken up the primary schedule, moving up South Carolina and bumping Iowa and New Hampshire from the must-see-voter TV lineup.
The New York Times amped up the drama:
When a panel of Democratic Party insiders endorsed President Joseph R. Biden’s preferred lineup of early presidential nominating states on Friday, they didn’t just shatter the exalted status of Iowa and New Hampshire voters.
They also formally aligned themselves with a demographic reckoning decades in the making, reflecting the growing clout of the racially diverse coalition that brought Mr. Biden to power — and implicitly rebuking two overwhelmingly white states that rejected him in 2020.
This is borderline racist framing. Democrats aren’t “rebuking” predominately white states because they recognize that their electorate is more diverse. If the presidential nominee needs to deliver huge margins and epic turnout from racial minorities, then maybe racial minorities should help choose the nominee! We still like white people and need your votes!
PREVIOUSLY:
Iowa, New Hampshire Crappy Way To Start A Democratic Primary
Iowa and New Hampshire also have a “have a disproportionately large share of retirees and a smaller share of people in their 20s, 30s and 40s.” A successful Democratic coalition includes a good number of people who never walked the earth with John Lennon.
The proposal Joe Biden recommended, which the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee adopted, moves up the South Carolina primary to February 3. We’re first in the nation, baby! This means Democratic presidential candidates will enjoy a year of edible food. I don’t mean to kick Iowa when it’s down, but corn dogs and fried pork chop sandwiches don’t really hold up next to shrimp and grits and pulled pork with “gold sauce.” Candidates can’t just appear at one Black church the week before the primary either. Though, there is the risk that we’ll endure a year of Amy Klobuchar dancing at cookouts.
Nevada and New Hampshire will hold their contests three days after South Carolina. Iowa is traditionally a Rube Goldberg-voting- machine known as a caucus, so South Carolina will displace New Hampshire as the nation’s first primary. This greatly offends New Hampshire politicians, including Sen. Maggie Hassan, who released this blistering statement last week:
I strongly oppose the President’s deeply misguided proposal for changes to the primary calendar. Make no mistake, New Hampshire’s law is clear and our primary will continue to be First in the Nation.
New Hampshire makes better candidates & better presidents as a result of our #FITN primary. Our state’s small size allows candidates from all walks of life—not just the ones with the largest war chests—to compete & engage in the retail politics that are a hallmark of our state.
Ma’am, I don’t want to “this is an Arby’s” you, but New Hampshire hasn’t picked a winning Democratic presidential nominee since 2004. New Hampshire didn’t make John Kerry a “better president” because he lost that election, just like Al Gore in 2000. Paul Tsongas didn’t set the world on fire in 1992, either.
Hassan went on:
We will always hold the First in the Nation Primary, and this status is independent of the President’s proposal or any political organization. I look forward to welcoming Democratic and Republican candidates to New Hampshire—just like we always have.
Hold up, is she gonna just hold a primary in her basement on February 2? The “First in the Nation Primary” status is very much dependent on what the Democratic Party decides. I suppose Republicans could keep their schedule the same. Both Sens. Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen snubbed the Congressional Ball at the White House because they’re so mad at Biden. This is what happens when you root your claim to “first in the nation” status on a technicality. What if Iowa had moved to a primary instead of the electoral key party they have every four years?
Georgia will join the early state roster on Feb. 13, followed by Michigan on Feb. 27. I probably would’ve preferred either swing state to South Carolina as the first primary. However, I appreciate the point that the Atlanta and Detroit media markets are far more costly for campaigns than Columbia.
Although such Democrats as Donna Brazile and Julián Castro have praised the primary schedule change for elevating diverse voices, the Times implies that Biden has more ulterior motives.
Mr. Biden’s recommendations were perhaps the most telling indicator that he planned to seek re-election, despite the prospect that he would be reaching well into his 80s by the end of a second term. His proposed reordering of the political map, noted Mike Murphy, a Republican consultant, happens to be “very Biden-friendly.”
Who the fuck is running against an incumbent president in 2024? This is just silly.
I fully endorse the new primary schedule. Thanks, Biden!
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