Please educate me about the timing of primaries.......

[texanshatingbush]

I know that having primaries at the same time in all states would be monstrously expensive for all candidates. HOWEVER, I have begun to think lately that common-date primaries, scheduled after an "appropriate" period of campaigning by Democratic candidates, would avoid the problems we are currently facing:
1) voter fatigue from hearing the endless "did too--did not" squabbles and downright nastiness which have become a daily feature of this campaign. I, for one, am beginning to tune out the primary fight because I am tired of the incivility and pettiness of much of it
2)candidates eviscerating each other in an effort to be "last man standing", thus doing the work of the rePublicans--who should be our REAL foe

It just seems that the win-at-any-cost strategies of these last few months have become so destructive that we are no longer able to have sane and useful discussion of valid policy differences between the two remaining candidates.

I'm beginning to feel like I "got no dog in this fight". I WILL vote for the Democratic candidate come election day, because rePublican policy has raped this country and most of its people for the last eight years.

But, please, someone who is wiser than me, tell me the reasons why a uniform primary date would NOT be better than the killing field in which we currently find ourselves.

[Eric J in MN]

1. Are you saying that all state primaries/caucuses should be on the same day? NT

NT

[texanshatingbush]

2. In a word....yes.

I'm asking for reasons why having all-primaries-on-the-same-day would not be better than the mess in which we currently find ourselves.

[Benhurst]

3. One theory was that staggered primaries would give lesser known

candidates a chance to present their case to the public and build a base of support.

Unfortunately the corporate press has gained such control over the process as to make that less than likely. The corporate media, through its control of the debates, has been given untoward power to influence the selection process.

[SoCalDem]

4. as far as I know, Iowa & Nh have "star status", but

all the other states can set theirs for whenever they want,..

I would like to see a regional system, starting in Feb and ending in July...


That leaves August for resting up and planning the convention..

Each region I carved up is fairly balanced and the size of each allows for easy access to all the states..all regions have large cities, rural areas, decent airports..

The majority leaders of each party could alternately draw numbers from a bag, until all regions were drawn, so each region would have a shot at 1st, 2nd etc.

By having a month between each region, they could have debates the first week and then campaign the other 3 weeks..