'Tis the Season
Ahhhhh. December 24. That can only mean one thing.
The Iowa Carcases are just around the corner.
You're absolutely right. It just doesn't feel proper to have in-depth political discussion right now. We should be worshiping and celebrating, but we are locked in political discourse. We have to be. Primary season is upon us, and there are some mammoth decisions to be made.
Now that we all have a sick feeling in the pit of our stomachs, I'd like to take this opportunity to kindly request that everyone back off of Iowa's junk. Thank you.
This whole problem started when states began moving their primaries and caucuses up to allow for more prominent places at the political table. Iowa has always been first, New Hampshire has always been second, and South Carolina batted third. It was a nice system. Then Florida, Michigan and Wyoming decided to jump the gun and slide their processes up to garner more attention. Great move. I'm sure Wyoming is enjoying the sudden influx of political attention it has been getting. Oh, that's right. The ploy hasn't worked.
The sad fact of the matter is that the former system was good for everyone. IA, NH and SC were a nice representative slice of Americana. The farmland, the coastal elitists and the southerners. If a candidate could make it through that gauntlet, they had proven themselves worthy of being labeled "The Contender". That would weed out the field for the rest of us to pick between two or three candidates. It streamlined the process. It gave us a manageable amount of information to think through.
The fact of the matter is that for all of our shifting and clamoring, the rest of us don't have the stomach to do what IA, NH and SC do. We don't have the attention span to listen to candidates for numerous months prior to our primaries. On the whole, we haven't been conditioned to listen as closely to or ask the questions of candidates as the people in those three states have. That's the truth. And you can't handle the truth.
The other factor in my defence of Iowa is that their caucus system is deep. It's a very complicated system, but one of its upsides is that it forces you to think about the candidate you most support, as well as the candidate who you would want to be your second choice. There is a depth to the process that it helpful in years where there are innumerable candidates.
My proposal is that we move Iowa, New Hampshire and SC back. Get them out of the Christmas celebration. Then, move everyone else to a Super Duper Tuesday the first Tuesday in February. Then, nobody's voice is eliminated, but we have a more manageable system.
Consider it my Christmas present to the political establishment.
Fair DInkum
The Iowa Carcases are just around the corner.
You're absolutely right. It just doesn't feel proper to have in-depth political discussion right now. We should be worshiping and celebrating, but we are locked in political discourse. We have to be. Primary season is upon us, and there are some mammoth decisions to be made.
Now that we all have a sick feeling in the pit of our stomachs, I'd like to take this opportunity to kindly request that everyone back off of Iowa's junk. Thank you.
This whole problem started when states began moving their primaries and caucuses up to allow for more prominent places at the political table. Iowa has always been first, New Hampshire has always been second, and South Carolina batted third. It was a nice system. Then Florida, Michigan and Wyoming decided to jump the gun and slide their processes up to garner more attention. Great move. I'm sure Wyoming is enjoying the sudden influx of political attention it has been getting. Oh, that's right. The ploy hasn't worked.
The sad fact of the matter is that the former system was good for everyone. IA, NH and SC were a nice representative slice of Americana. The farmland, the coastal elitists and the southerners. If a candidate could make it through that gauntlet, they had proven themselves worthy of being labeled "The Contender". That would weed out the field for the rest of us to pick between two or three candidates. It streamlined the process. It gave us a manageable amount of information to think through.
The fact of the matter is that for all of our shifting and clamoring, the rest of us don't have the stomach to do what IA, NH and SC do. We don't have the attention span to listen to candidates for numerous months prior to our primaries. On the whole, we haven't been conditioned to listen as closely to or ask the questions of candidates as the people in those three states have. That's the truth. And you can't handle the truth.
The other factor in my defence of Iowa is that their caucus system is deep. It's a very complicated system, but one of its upsides is that it forces you to think about the candidate you most support, as well as the candidate who you would want to be your second choice. There is a depth to the process that it helpful in years where there are innumerable candidates.
My proposal is that we move Iowa, New Hampshire and SC back. Get them out of the Christmas celebration. Then, move everyone else to a Super Duper Tuesday the first Tuesday in February. Then, nobody's voice is eliminated, but we have a more manageable system.
Consider it my Christmas present to the political establishment.
Fair DInkum