A Primary Question
Here's something I've wondered about for a long time. Why is is that we don't hear a little more Democratic protest over the fact that the three States that hold the first primaries, Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, which between them represent less than three percent of the American population, are among the most Conservative States in the country, and yet they effectively get the right to pick the issues on which the election will be fought?
This has always seemed to me to be just one more way the Republicans are allowed to game the system, to give themselves an advantage in elections that they could never win fairly. Shouldn't some Democrats be coming up with a way to change this unfair arrangement?
This has always seemed to me to be just one more way the Republicans are allowed to game the system, to give themselves an advantage in elections that they could never win fairly. Shouldn't some Democrats be coming up with a way to change this unfair arrangement?
Comments
New Hampshire voted for the Democrat in five of the past six Presidential elections.
Iowa voted for the Democrat in six of the past seven Presidential elections. Iowa even voted for Dukakis.
If New Hampshire and Iowa are among the most Conservative states, then I am Queen Marie of Romania.
Got any answers for the questions I asked?
Thought not !
I am claiming that New Hampshire and Iowa are not very conservative states, unless a state which voted for the Democrat in five of the last six presidential elections is somehow "very conservative."
In 2008, both New Hampshire and Iowa gave their electoral votes to Obama, not McCain.
In 2012, both New Hampshire and Iowa gave their electoral votes to Obama, not Romney.
Therefore, neither New Hampshire nor Iowa are very conservative states.
If they are very conservative states, explain why they voted for the Democrat in five of the last six presidential elections.
You have been proven the ignorant one. You know nothing about the primary process, yet, you complain about something you know nothing about. You are the one Bill Maher was talking about when he said the internet is killing the truth.
Adam - I wouldn't accuse Green Eagle of lying without proof. It's his opinion that Iowa and NH are very conservative states. I think you owe him an apology.
[For the record, I checked voter registration numbers in both Iowa and NH. In both states, independents are most numerous, followed by Republicans, and then Democrats. However, Democrats outnumbered Republicans in NH in 2009, and in Iowa as recently as 2013, so Republican dominance isn't long-running.]
Green Eagle - Adam isn't an ignorant troll; his argument is a classic modus ponens, as follows:
Premise 1: If state X has voted for the Democrat in five of the past six Presidential elections, then it is not a very conservative state. ("If P, then Q.")
Premise 2: State X has voted for the Democrat in five of the past six Presidential elections. ("P is true.")
Conclusion: State X is not a very conservative state. ("Therefore Q is true.")
If the two premises are true, then the conclusion must be true.
Premise 1 is Adam's opinion, but it makes sense to me.
I checked - for both Iowa and New Hampshire, Premise 2 is true (Adam's facts check out.)
Therefore, Adam's conclusion makes sense, and I think you owe him an apology, too.
Perhaps how conservative a state is should not be based on the election results for only one office, even if that office is for the president.
Fair enough; a sample size of one election could be an anomaly. Six elections for one national office is better, especially since mandated term limits ensure that we get different candidates for the election. For what it's worth, there was a 30-year period from 1985 to 2015 where Iowa's senators were Chuck Grassley (R) and Tom Harkin (D); I'm guessing personal attraction may have helped there.
Iowa has two GOP senators now, and, while Terry Branstad (R) is governor, there was a Democrat serving in that office between 1999 and 2011, which are the years Branstad left and then returned to the office. I'd classify Iowa as middle-of-the-road, perhaps trending conservative recently, but I wouldn't call it very conservative.
New Hampshire has a split between its two senators - one D, one R. However, its governor, Maggie Hassan, is a Democrat, and every governor since 1997 except for Craig Benson (who only served two years, 2003-05) has been a Democrat. The one time since 1990 that a Republican won the electoral vote there was 2000, and that was due to the Nader-Gore split. I'd say New Hampshire leans left.
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The point I was trying to make was that Adam was at least trying to make a good argument, and the factual points do check out. Thus, he's not what I'd call ignorant. Anonymous, on the other hand, has offered nothing but personal attacks. Therefore, it's unfair to Adam to classify him with Anonymous.