Another state is vowing to move its primary forward so it can be at the head of the line in determining the next presidential candidates. You know what that means: lots of blustering from DNC Chair Howard Dean about taking away their delegates and refusing to count their votes at the national nominating convention.
Except the state in question is New Hampshire and New Englander Howard Dean is strangely silent on the matter. The lack of righteous indignation has drawn its own attention from Democratic Senators Bill Nelson (Fla.), Carl Levin (Mich.) and Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), who have lodged a protest.
New Hampshire is talking about moving its Jan. 22 primary to stay ahead of Michigan’s Jan. 15 primary and South Carolina Republicans’ January 19 primary and the DNC is saying nothing, the letter said…
Democratic Party rules say states cannot hold their 2008 primary contests before Feb. 5, except for Iowa on Jan. 14, Nevada on Jan. 19, New Hampshire on Jan. 22 and South Carolina on Jan. 29.
Why is New Hampshire, the 41st most populous of the 50 states, so important to the primary process? It’s certainly not because of the diversity of its residents, nor their reflection of the country as a whole, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
| New Hampshire | Florida | America | |
| Population | 1,314,895 | 18,089,888 | 299,398,484 |
| Whites | 96.1% | 80.4% | 80.2% |
| Blacks | 1.0% | 15.7% | 12.8% |
| Hispanic/Latino* | 2.2% | 19.5% | 14.4% |
| Asians | 1.7% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Median HH Income | $53,377 | $40,900 | $44,334 |
* Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories.
It makes me wonder if all that sputtering about respecting the process is really about protecting somebody’s idea about rich white folks needing to go first. How very undemocratic of the DNC.
