| December 10, 2005--At the final meeting of the DNC Commission on Presidential
Nomination Timing and Scheduling Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) argued forcefully
against a privileged position for Iowa and New Hampshire in the Democrats'
presidential nominating process. The Commission settled on
a more modest proposal that has been described as "Iowa and New Hampshire
plus," a primary objective of which is to increase diversity in the early
stages of the process. To counter frontloading and encourage states
to go later in the process, the Commission recommended an incentive scheme
that will award bonus delegates to later states. [selected
remarks] New Hampshire Democratic leaders lobbied against even
these changes. Iowa Democratic leaders took a quieter approach.
The Iowa caucuses escaped unscathed, although Commission member Jerry Crawford
of Des Moines remarked jokingly to Levin that, "We look forward to your
returning your extraordinary skills full time to the United States Senate."
Below, Levin and Debbie Dingell, also from Michigan, speak with the Commission
co-chair Congressman David Price after the meeting. |
