Am I the only one who thinks it is stupid to have a state that votes ‘rat in most elections with a very stupid and archaic caucus system be so important in choosing republican candidates? I wish the would make OK or some other solid red state the first one.
States used to thought sovereign and nobody else’s business.
This year’s Iowa GOP caucus was a primary in all but name. It was a secret ballot that binds almost absolutely national convention votes. That means that Iowa has just replaced New Hampshire as the first real battle, which shouldn’t be allowed without other negotiations.
Until now, Iowa got to ‘go first’ because the results didn’t determine any delegate votes or bestow any other benefit on the winner.
Unfortunately, change requires bipartisan input from the national parties in DC as well as bipartisan cooperation in state legislatures.
The whole primary system needs to be overhauled. Get rid of caucuses (aka circuses). Get rid of open primaries. Have a lottery system to determine the order in which states hold their primaries.
Why in the world should Iowa and New Hampshire have so much power?
My state’s primary is on April 26. In every year that I can recall, the presidential nominee has been decided before I can vote, so effectively, I have NO vote at all.