hy does Feb. 1 seem so much earlier than Feb. 8? When Secretary of State William Gardner announced recently that he was scheduling the presidential primary for Feb. 1, politicians and their pals reacted as if he'd said we'd be voting before Thanksgiving. The curious thing is Feb. 1 does seem a whole lot sooner. In four months Primary 2000 will be history.
There was brief speculation that Gardner moved our primary up to teach Iowans a lesson for their bizarre straw poll last summer, an event that distracted attention from the Granite State. Not so, Gardner says, and folks in the State House took him at his word. The Legislature threatened to take away Gardner's primary date-setting power, but that move fizzled.
Gardner has been secretary of state for 23 years, repeatedly elected to the job by legislators of both parties. He's a quiet man with an impeccable reputation for honesty and fairness, and it was that reputation more than anything else that helped him survive the storm of controversy following his announcement. It looks like the Feb. 1 date will stand and Iowa will move its caucuses up a week from the original Jan. 31 date.
Gardner said he settled on Feb. 1 because Delaware was closing in on Feb. 8 and New Hampshire law requires us to hold our primary one week before anyone else. Now the primary process has been knocked still further out of whack and is just about broken. There are too many primaries, they are bunched too close together, and they require too much money. In 1968 there were 12 primaries spread out from March to June; this year there will be 30 primaries, and the show will be all but over by the end of March.
In the scramble to be early, the states have turned the primary process into a race only for the wealthy. It has become a game for high rollers. This will lead to the endless presidential primary as candidates try to capture attention and money ever earlier. You can be sure there are contenders planning their 2004 primary strategy now.
What we've done is crank up the pressure for candidates to raise even more money while we bemoan money's corrupting influence on the system. George W. Bush got it right - raise piles of money and do it early. He is ready for the long haul now, and future candidates will learn from him.
It seems unlikely that sanity will be restored to the primary process; the best we can do is adjust to the changes. The first weeding out of candidates now takes place well before the primary season kicks into gear. During the past few months Lamar Alexander, John Kasich and Dan Quayle have dropped out of the Republican race. Bob Smith has gone off looking for windmills, and Pat Buchanan is making noises about moving over to the Reform Party. By Feb. 1 there is a good chance that there will be two Republicans left - Bush and John McCain. On the Democratic side, Al Gore and Bill Bradley still will be slugging it out. The New Hampshire primary may decide nothing. Our primary will have lost its significance.
The time has come to throw a good scare into leaders of both parties. It's time to get the Reform Party on the ballot in New Hampshire and in other primary states. Most of New Hampshire's voters are independents and they can wait until election day to choose the party they will vote in. These independent voters are in a position to change the course of politics in this state and in this nation.
Forget the fact that the Reform Party has become more entertaining than a three-ring circus. Those of us who don't live in Minnesota are intrigued by Governor Jesse Ventura. His election is not the mystery some would have you believe. Political analysts have tried to figure out what is was about Ventura that appealed to the voters. Ventura didn't get elected for what he was; he got elected for what he wasn't - neither a Republican nor a Democrat.
Now we have Pat Buchanan, Warren Beatty, Cybill Shepherd and Donald Trump making noises about joining Ventura in the quest for the Reform Party's nomination. They are all entertainers who know how to put on a good show, and today's voters seem to like that. Does anyone know what the Reform Party stands for? I doubt it, and it doesn't seem to matter. It's an alternative to the two dominant parties, and that's reason enough to get interested.
It seems only natural that entertainers would be drawn into the political arena. We're a nation obsessed with celebrities, and that obsession has spilled over into politics. It's too bad John Wayne and George C. Scott have passed through this vale of tears - they would have made great presidents, at least on television. Maybe Barry and Eliot, those two guys who have been selling furniture on TV, will jump into the race now that they've sold their stores. And what about Peter Jennings? He certainly seems presidential. Too bad he's a native of Canada and ineligible.
The Reform Party now is collecting petition signature to get on the New Hampshire ballot. If you get a chance, sign the petition. It's time for a change. Republicans and Democrats need to wake up and a challenge from the Reform Party may just do the job.
Hank Nichols is assistant professor of journalism and writing at New England College. He lives in Sutton.
