The Endless Campaign

The Holland Sentinel ^ | March 19, 2007 | Alan Helvig

[BigAlPro]

Have you heard? There is going to be a new Super Tuesday for the 2008 election cycle.

Feb. 5 is fast becoming the date of choice for holding primaries in a number of states, including Michigan. If this comes to pass, the summer and fall of 2007 will be a highly contested election season for all registered voters.

With 2008 being a presidential election year, and with a number of local and state seats coming up for grabs, things are going to get pretty busy around here. There will be virtually no break between last November's general election and the primary season leading into 2008. In fact, the bulk of next year's primary campaign events will most likely take place this year.

As potential candidates scramble to adjust their campaign strategy for a winter primary, Michiganders are going to have to brace themselves for the longest election cycle in the state's history. The 2008 presidential race started last November and is kicking into full gear right now. It won't be long before the local contenders start crawling out of the woodwork as well.

Soon, there will be new flyers in your mailbox and a number of candidates or supporters at your door. Then, once the primary is over, we will have nine whole months of phone calls and commercials to contend with.

Is this to be the wave of the future? Are we to bounce directly from one election cycle to the next? Is there to be no rest for the weary on the political scene? I don't know if America is ready for a lifetime of consecutive campaigns.

My guess is that most citizens were looking forward to having a politically quiet summer, especially after last year's wild ride. I would suspect most Michiganders would prefer to take at least one year off in between elections. That appears to be an unreachable goal at this point. As the national campaign scene continues to race out of control, local involvement will have to increase in order to keep up with the new trend.

So much for all the past talk on campaign finance reform. How can we have campaign finance reform without first having election reform? Personally, I would rather see a national election reformation which requires all primaries to be held exactly nine weeks before the general election. That way, we only have to put up with two months of intense bombardment per cycle. Unfortunately, that is not likely to happen, as it is up to the discretion of each state to set the dates for their respective primary.

There will always be some states that want to be first and others that want to make sure they are positioned to make an early difference. After all, what is the point in holding your primary for a national election if the national candidates have already been chosen by the early bird states? What good would it do to have an August primary in Michigan if the presidential races were all determined by March?

The race to be first is getting out of control and needs to be squashed. If "we the people" don't take a stand and force the government to put a stop to the madness, "we" will be forced to live with the consequences day in and day out. It may already be too late for the 2008 election, but it's not too early to prevent this from happening again in 2010.

[BigAlPro]

While this article was written specifically for Michigan readers, it definitely applies to the entire country. We will never see campaign finance reform without first seeing election reform.

[mtbopfuyn]

There will be virtually no break between last November's general election and the primary season leading into 2008.

Anyone else already bored of the '08 election?

[Phlap]

Ban political parties in your state. All political parties!

But we know that will not happen. The two major parties are entrenched.

So stop running primaries. Let the parties find their standard bearers on their own dime. If they want a primary,let them have it and pay for it. If they want a convention,let them have it and pay for it. If they want to huddle in a smoke filled room and pick their candidates and their membership agrees, let them. Why should the state be involved in party politics anyway? The state should only run the general election. Party politics be dammed.