Ever wonder about the origins of Iowa and New Hampshire’s coveted place on the electoral calendar? Now the truth can be revealed (via Andrew Malcom blogging at the LAT’s Top of the Ticker blog: A political primer on primaries
Primary elections were instituted by the Founding Fathers in legislative earmarks to boost hotel, restaurant and television station revenues in New Hampshire and Iowa at a time of year when no one in their right mind would go to either place. Iowa turned a daytime primary election into a nighttime caucus because the farm chores are supposed to be done by dark and Monday Night Football is over by January.
Who knew? Of course, if the Founding Fathers wanted it, it must be good!
But wait, there’s more!
owa has become such an important part of the presidential selection process because with all of its empty space and 95% white population it is so totally unrepresentative of the American nation. New Hampshire is an essential part of the primary process because the Manchester Union-Leader says it is and no politician wants to be the one to tell that newspaper that the 19th century ended some time ago.
About 2,800,000 of Iowa’s less than 3 million residents won’t have anything to do with a caucus session. It won’t look that way on TV though. In New Hampshire, where probably four out of ten voters won’t bother, TV coverage will show people trooping through snow into schools all day, even though the campaigns’ political managers will know before brunch who’s won. Everyone keeps the secret to boost TV ratings that evening.
Yep, that sounds about right…
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