Bring on the Western Caucus Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Presidential Politics, Regionalism

Tomorrow, the DNC is expected to make a change to the presidential primary calendar - adding a Western caucus before New Hampshire's primary. It's believed that the main contenders are Arizona and Nevada (and Colorado could slip in there.)

According to TIME Magazine:

For the Democratic Party, though, there are big advantages to the new schedule. It is meant to expand the pool of voters who have an early, and often definitive, say in who the candidate will be. Iowa and New Hampshire are small, northern and largely white; the new states to be added are intended to broaden the field and bring Hispanics and blacks into the process. Once reliably Republican, the Southwest is increasingly becoming a bloc of swing states, crucial to Democratic hopes for the White House. Officially, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada are all in the running for the Sun Belt spot, but the last two are most favored.

In addition to changing up the demographics of the early-voting electorate, it would also adjust the issue mix. As the Arizona Republic editorialized:

Such as immigration reform. No state in the Union would provide a more riveting platform than Arizona for a presidential-candidate debate over immigration reform. The same holds true regarding the increasingly high-tech-driven national economy, which is a fast-growing part of Arizona's economy.

Whether it's Arizona or Nevada (or Colorado) doesn't matter much here to us at Western Democrat. But, obviously, we're big supporters of any kind of change that puts the West into the mix.

Not only will it add some ethnic diversity and new issues to the presidential race, it's also going to force the candidates to fundamentally understand the Western attitude and political culture. If candidates spend the early months learning the straight-talkin', truth-tellin' attitude that works in the West - it's going to help the nominee when he or she hits the hustings during the general election.

One thing to watch out for: a "compromise" that would add a Washington DC caucus - rather than a Western state. As New Hampshire's Union-Leader reported:

As the Democratic National Committee’s rules committee readies for a key meeting in Washington this weekend, D.C. proponents say it’s a way to end the battle between New Hampshire and the DNC. They say a caucus in D.C. instead of a state would not violate New Hampshire’s law requiring its primary to be held at least seven days before any other state’s primary. Key word: state.

DNC members should stick to their guns -- let's add Arizona or Nevada (or Colorado) to the early voting mix. This isn't about making it interesting, and it's not about attracting campaign pork, and it's certainly not about tradition. It's about winning the presidency.

Let us look west.

Update: I just posted a stronger advocacy piece over at DailyKos.com. Check it out.

Update: New Hampshire Public Radio did a one-hour show on the topic this morning, including a brief interview with some guy from WesternDemocrat.com. :) Listen here.

Kari Chisholm | July 21, 2006 | Comment on This Post (3 so far) Permalink: Bring on the Western Caucus Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Presidential Politics, Regionalism

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