Tuesday, July 5, 2011

End the Presidential Monopoly

This will be short and to the point, but I gotta say it.

Iowa is nothing special. There is nothing uniquely American about New Hampshire. South Carolina is not a bellwether.

Every four years presidential politics seem to feed off these three states as piglets do to a sow's teet. Well, its time for the other 47 states in the country to finally say enough is enough. The presidential calendar must be reworked so that every state has a chance at being the darling of the presidential season now and again. Here is my proposal.

First, break the country into five regions. Each region would have 10 states (except Mid-Atlantic/Northeast which also would have DC) so that each region is of equal size. The regions would be:

Western


  1. Alaska,

  2. California,

  3. Hawaii,

  4. Idaho,

  5. Montana,

  6. Nevada,

  7. Oregon,

  8. Utah,

  9. Washington, and

  10. Wyoming

North Central/Great Lakes



  1. Wisconsin

  2. Minnesota

  3. Michigan

  4. South Dakota

  5. North Dakota

  6. Iowa

  7. Indiana

  8. Illinois

  9. Ohio

  10. Pennsylvania

Mountain west/Southwest



  1. Colorado

  2. New Mexico

  3. Oklahoma

  4. Texas

  5. Kansas

  6. Arizona

  7. Arkansas

  8. Louisiana

  9. Nebraska

  10. Missouri

Southeast



  1. Mississippi

  2. Tennessee

  3. Alabama

  4. North Carolina

  5. South Carolina

  6. Florida

  7. Kentucky

  8. Georgia

  9. Virginia

  10. West Virginia
Mid-Atlantic/Northeast



  1. Massachusetts

  2. Maryland

  3. New Jersey

  4. New York

  5. Rhode Island

  6. Connecticut

  7. Delaware

  8. Maine

  9. Vermont

  10. New Hampshire

  11. District of Columbia
Now, by computer randomization order the regions one through five. Within each region use the same process for the individual states for numbers one through ten. To create the calendar for the primaries/caucuses, simply align region/state position with the round number. The rounds would be as follows:



  • Round 1 - Top states from each region, first Tuesday after first Monday of February


  • Round 2 - States 2-5 from regions 1-2, first Tuesday after first Monday of March


  • Round 3 - States 2-5 from regions 3-5, first Tuesday after first Monday of April


  • Round 4 - States 6-10(11) from region 1-2, first Tuesday after first Monday of May


  • Round 5 - States 6-10(11) from regions 3-5, first Tuesday after first Monday of June
There you have it. A completely impartial and fair way of nominating presidential candidates. Why is this so difficult?! Do you have any thoughts?

No comments:

Post a Comment