There were too many comments in the Iowa caucus thread that Kos posted. I have thought about this issue and doing this diary since the election ended. It was a sore point while the primary process started long ago.
In my opinion, in addition to the theocracy battle and move to transform the media into its needed position as the watchdog on government, election reform is the most important issue on our plates. Campaigns cost too much, take too much time, and leave too many out of the prcess.
Already at Kos, there are many diaries about 2008. Let's figure a way to make the system work better first, for all of us. We can be a powerful think tank in this regard.
What follows is just something I thought of while reading the thread. That said, I am also for primaries spread out where all parts of the country have a chance for input.
Anyway, here is my draft plan, to get the ball rolling. Comments are welcome, assuming the thread has not exhausted the matter completely, and specific plans are welcome even more.
- Campaigns cannot start until Jan. 1
- Perhaps allow Iowa and NH on Tuesday nearest March 1 (not necessary).
- One National Primary on Tuesday nearest June 30.
- Multiple debates throughout the 6 month period in various states.
- In addition to the debates, free TV time offered to candidates to use as they wish, or perhaps time paid for by the DNC by pooling a percentage of resources from the candidates.
- Perhaps the overall campaign can be coordinated by the DNC to make it efficient and fair to less well funded candidates.
- One more idea. Maybe there could/should be a national primary on April 30, where the field is narrowed to the top 2 or 3.
Again, the main idea is to keep the costs and length of the campaigns down and allow all voters an equal say in the decision.