New Hampshire to Iowa, "Don't Take Us for Granite"

From the NH Union Leader

If Iowans request New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner's help in saving their caucuses from political obscurity, he should tell them to take a hike.

Thanks to a primary calendar devised with Iowan help in the proverbial smoke-filled rooms of the Democratic National Committee, the 2008 presidential nominating contests are absurdly front-loaded. The DNC stuck Nevada's caucus between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, and put the South Carolina primary one week later. That prompted a jockeying forward of other states.

Florida moved its primary up, triggering South Carolina Republicans to move theirs to Jan. 19, three days before the date the DNC set aside for New Hampshire's primary.

South Carolina's move will push our primary to no later than Jan. 12, a Saturday, which could push Iowa's caucuses to probably Tuesday, Jan. 3. Iowa law requires the caucuses to be held eight days before another nominating contest.

No doubt Iowa officials would rather New Hampshire's primary be on Saturday, Jan. 12 than Tuesay the 8th. But Secretary of State Gardner loves the traditional Tuesday election. He is not inclined to hold the primary on any other day. If he picks Tuesday, Jan. 8, that would bump Iowa's caucuses to New Year's Day, a Sunday, or into December.

If he has not already, Gardner soon will feel the pressure from Iowa officials who want New Hampshire's primary to happen no earlier than the 12th. That's ironic because when Iowa had the chance to save New Hampshire's primary, it threw us under the bus.

In March of 2006, the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee voted to insert a caucus between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Iowa's representative on the committee voted against New Hampshire and for the new early caucus. Only after it was clear that the new calendar would not be defeated did Iowa Democrats later vote with New Hampshire.

Now the very calendar that Iowa Democrats helped create threatens to push their caucus into December and possible political irrelevance. So the Iowans are learning the hard way about unintended consequences and the value of friendship. Gardner should let them learn their lesson.