Given the hoopla over the R&B's Florida/Michigan decision this weekend, I've been thinking about ways to improve this byzantine and at times arbitrary primary system for 2012. Of course, the candidates knew what they were getting into this cycle, so I don't accept any ex post facto complaining, but since we hope to have an uncontested primary in 2012, it seems like as good a time as any for reform.
Let me start by saying this: I like proportional allocation. No, it doesn't work like the ever-loathed Electoral College, but it's...well, democratic. Republicans like to choose their nominee by making states like California, Florida, and New York winner-take-all, but as Democrats we like underdogs a bit more than that.
Let me also say that I like the early four states used this cycle. Maybe we should try to rotate these early four every cycle, but I think we should always aim for a similar regional, ethnic, and ideological balance: one labor-heavy Midwestern state, one Western state with a marked rural/urban split, one independent-minded Northeastern state, one heavily African-American Deep Southern state.
I don't pretend to have the answers. But I think I've got a decent proposal, on which I'd like to hear input. It is far from perfect, but it is a start. Read below the fold...
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