Editorial: On the verge of lunacy

Friday, Aug. 24, 2007 | 7:41 a.m.

A year ago the Democratic National Committee successfully pushed the idea of moving Nevada's presidential caucus ahead to Jan. 19, 2008. The logic was to squeeze Nevada in between the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary so that no candidate would get an early lead based entirely on the preferences of mostly white and rural voters.

By national party rules, most states are not allowed to have their primaries or caucuses before Feb. 5. But the absence during early contests of a Western state, one with diversity and a large urban population, had long been a flaw in the presidential nominating process. The same was true of a Southern state, so South Carolina's primary was also permitted to move up - to Jan. 29.

Florida then defied the rules and moved its primary to Jan. 29, prompting the South Carolina Republican Party to move its primary to Jan. 19.

Other states are now getting restless for earlier recognition. The Michigan Senate, for example, voted Thursday to move its primary to Jan. 15. If the date is ultimately approved by the whole Legislature and governor, the first votes for president could conceivably be cast in December.

This is because Iowa law says its caucus must be the first national contest by a margin of eight days. New Hampshire law says its primary must be held at least a week before any other primary. Therefore, if Michigan's primary is Jan. 15, then New Hampshire's would have to be moved from Jan. 22 to Jan. 8, forcing Iowa to decide whether to hold its contest on New Year's Day or sometime in December.

All of that would be in contrast to the original premise, which was simply for the early contests to more be more representative of the national electorate. The Democratic National Committee rules committee is scheduled to meet this weekend with state politicians. We hope the growing compulsion for early contests can be quelled, before the 2008 election devolves into lunacy.