Everybody do the Michigan rag. Or at least I will. The chronic calendar cheaters are at it again:
Michigan lawmakers have continued votes to confirm Feb. 28 as the date for the state's 2012 Republican presidential primary.Looking like a big pile-up on Feb. 28. Michigan joins Arizona on what is supposed to be South Carolina's day (Refresher on the rules: Both parties agreed that Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, in that order, get February dates, and no one else goes before March 6.)
The Republican-led House passed a measure confirming the date Tuesday by a 63-45, mostly party line vote. The Republican-led Senate has passed the bill and likely soon will send it to Republican Gov. Rick Snyder for his signature.
But it's still too soon to lock in our caucus night. The next moves are up to South Carolina and another chronic cheater, Florida, whose Republicans want to be the fifth state.
As I keep saying: if South Carolina is content with Feb. 21 and less than a week before and after, and Florida is willing to vote on a non-Tuesday (Thursday 2/24 or Saturday 2/26), Iowa could still be caucusing in February, either Tuesday 2/1 or Thursday 2/3. That puts New Hampshire on 2/8 and Nevada on Saturday 2/18.
If that falls apart, then at least we're dealing with late January rather than Monday 1/2 or even December.
Here's the real shocker in the Michigan news:
Michigan Democrats voting against the election plan say the $10 million cost is wasteful. They're choosing presidential delegates by caucus.Last cycle it was the Michigan Democrats driving that state's rule breaking, and not even so much because they wanted to go early: it was because Michigan's most powerful Democrats want to dethrone Iowa and New Hampshireas the lead-off states. Carl Levin, John Dingell and Debbie Dingell care less about whogoes first than they do about who DOESN'T go first.
But of course this cycle little is at stake in the Democratic nomination process so they're just keeping their powder dry for 2015.
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