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Gordon Glantz is the managing editor of the Times Herald and an award winning columnist.



Saturday, April 12, 2008

My Way

By now I hope you have read my April 13 column "Break out the smelling salts" and, like most Sundays, were so impressed/intrigued by my masterful plan to resurrect the electoral process in this country from the dead that you are aching for a breakdown of how, under the Glantz Plan, the primary slate would break down.

As stated in the column, the whole mindset of candidates spending a year campaigning for a sole primary in dinky Iowa, after which media spin doctors hold eulogies for 75 percent of the field, we are not allowing anyone to officially declare their candidacy until after the bikinis are put away and Labor Day has passed.

That leaves a little more than sixth months to build up to the first set of primaries, which will be held in the 13 original colonies on the first Tuesday after my birthday - March 23.

In case you are not up on your continental history, those states would be: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island.

Analysis: There are enough big states on the above list to separate the pretenders from contenders better than some caucuses in Iowa. And with the voters that first night ranging from New England to the Deep South, the demographics will be established.

After skipping a week, we'd hold primaries in the next seven states to join the Union. In pecking, that would be the following: Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana and Mississippi.

Analysis: Again, we get a cross-section from the Midwest and the south. The tell-tale state of Ohio would receive most of the attention from the media, but smart candidates could keep hope flickering - and donations coming - by campaigning in the others as well.

This brings us to what would shake down as Super Tuesday, which would come after another one-week break. The states, in order of seniority, are as follows: Illinois, Alabama, Maine, Missouri, Arkansas, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Analysis: It would be only fitting that Iowa end up lost amidst this group. That aside, this primary would have been April 22, the same day of just one (albeit our own here in Pennsylvania) in the current flawed system. There may not be much reason to go on after this for most candidates, but this plan will have surely kept more on the ballot than the current dysfunctional system that frustrates most voters.

Skip two weeks again, and the front-runners will be more obvious - and represent more of a cross-section of America - than after Iowa and New Hampshire.

In the next group of ten, we have California. That would be enough to keep long-shot dreams alive. Another sizeable prize in this group would be Colorado. The others: Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas, West Virginia, Nevada, Nebraska and the two Dakotas.

Analysis: There are some liberal states in this group, meaning a GOP centrist may bolster his or her campaign while a fading Democrat with far-left leanings could get a jolt. And California is too large of a prize to concede without a fight. Therefore, we are 40 states deep with choices on the ballot.

And ... We're not done. There is a grand finale. Ten states - plus territories ranging from Washington, D.C., to Puerto Rico - still have yet to vote. They are: Montana, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii. Other territories include the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Guam.

Analysis: Arizona, Washington and Oklahoma are big enough prizes that it safe to say that either party could have contested primaries on the final day. And maybe, just maybe, we'll feel a little better about the choice we have come November.

12 Comments:

Blogger Lisa said...

Break out the smelling salts, indeed, because Gordon, I am going to agree with you 100% on your plan. I'm not even going to quibble with you over particulars.

At least for presidential elections, we must have some sort of national primary voting system that makes sense. Right now, the media all but decides the candidate, which is why we have McCain and you guys are getting Obama and many are unhappy.

April 13, 2008 12:34 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You've got the plan, man. No arguments here.

April 14, 2008 12:18 PM 
Anonymous Glow Worm said...

Makes too much sense to ever happen. This is America, remember.

April 14, 2008 12:19 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Only in America...If it works fix it. The Media will show you how with their many ways of counting & then finally the Exit Polls.

April 16, 2008 3:11 PM 
Anonymous God said...

This is too good to be true.

April 17, 2008 5:35 AM 
Anonymous Ennis Cosby said...

It's all spin because a black man is going to be president. None of these alternate plans would be drawn up if Ms. Clinton were the likely successor to the throne.

April 18, 2008 11:04 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just Joking...I heard by the way of the grapevine at our local...Billy Clinton has all the reservations for the over-nites scheduled...cost? ...check who their friends are and their donations.

April 18, 2008 1:17 PM 
Anonymous queer eye said...

Wow! That's funny. Not!

April 20, 2008 8:06 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

queer eye...Don't be shallow - a joke is a joke.

April 24, 2008 3:07 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It sounds like a good idea to have the 13 Original Colonies have the first Primaries. Going from East to West (or how the states entered the Union) the Primary Elections should be held after that. But, both the Dem. & Rep. should have the same rules. No need for "Super" Delegates, they are only "Super" in their own mind. Elect those that will go to the National Convention and they must support only the candidate that had the majority of the votes in their state. After the first ballot - they are free to negotiate with other States to have the candidate who won the most states to be legally placed on the ballot as the candidate for the Party.

April 30, 2008 3:42 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

President Obama sounds OK to me, but who do you feel will be the VP on the Ticket in order for this to happen?? Richardson would be an excellent choice. But, I also feel the same right now with President McCain & am also very concerned with the VP on that ticket. Both Conventions will be very interesting. Keep an Open Mind until they are over and then recheck who did what,when & where. The person that has foreign policy experience and has kept abreast with that area will be of great help to both Parties.

May 7, 2008 11:51 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Democrats are really having a problem coming up with a way Hil & Bill can be the chosen ones. The Committee called the shots way back in the Primary infancy and now it is not working out for the chosen. Sorry, they should have learned a long time ago, once you make a choice/decision you can not turn back and say "I really did not have all the facts" - indeed they did and if you are a candidate, you need to make the RIGHT DECESION especially since it is our future here in the USA, and there is no 30 day training course available.

May 31, 2008 11:17 AM 

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