DNC moves closer to changing the presidential primary calendar

Democrats took a step closer Thursday towards altering the party's 2008 presidential candidate vetting process when a Democratic National Committee panel voted overwhelmingly to recommend adding two more states to the early part of the nominating calendar.

The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee did not choose the states, but decided that a caucus would be held between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, followed immediately by an additional primary before other states would be allowed to hold presidential primary contests.

In July, the DNC Rules Committee will select the two states to recommend to the full DNC membership, which will vote on the proposal in August at the DNC's summer meeting in Chicago.

The vote all but assures that Iowa and New Hampshire will have to share their privileged status as the first proving grounds for Democratic presidential candidates in 2008.

A Republican rule adopted in 2004 prevents the GOP from changing its primary schedule until the 2012 presidential contest.

Don Fowler of South Carolina, a DNC Rules member and an outspoken critic of the plan, conceded at the outset of the vote that he did not have the support to prevent the proposal from moving forward and chose not to require a lengthy debate on the issue.

But two other DNC Rules members, Mark Brewer of Michigan and Kathy
Sullivan of New Hampshire, expressed opposition to the plan. Brewer argued that, in order to achieve the DNC's goals of infusing more ethnic, economic and regional diversity into the primary process, more states would need to be included early on in the primary process.

"I think we have to have at least three or four (states) to achieve those goals," he said.

Sullivan said she opposed the plan because it would encourage
front-loading of the primary calendar and might violate New Hampshire state law, which requires no other primary or caucus be held seven days before the New Hampshire primary.

John Distaso, the dean of New Hampshire political reporters, writes up a more detailed account of reaction from Granite State officials in today's edition of the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Hawaii,
Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina and West Virginia are vying for the two early calendar slots. Nebraska, which initially asked to be considered for an early primary position, has withdrawn its application.

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Fowler calls for additional DNC neutrality in 2008

A condition the 10 states and District of Columbia must meet in order to be considered for an early caucus/primary position is assurance that state party leaders would remain neutral in the presidential primary process. In a June 12 letter, the DNC asked the prospective contenders if a current rule is already in place governing this, and if not, "indicate the extent to which the prospective state is wiling to implement one."

During yesterday's conference call, Fowler asked how the DNC could impose such a restriction on state party leaders if it did not require all 30 members of the Rules committee to take a similar pledge.

"I just can't imagine you would establish that standard for state parties and not ourselves," Fowler said. "It is just inconsistent to not make any sense."

Fowler argued that since the Rules committee has considerable power within the DNC, a similar restriction would help avoid conflicts or the appearance of a conflict of interest during the presidential selection process. The DNC requires the chairman, officers and staff to remain neutral during the primary, but there is no such restriction on Rules committee members. Expect to hear more about this issue at the Rules committee's next meeting in July.

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Edwards fined

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-North Carolina) 2004 presidential campaign was fined $9,500 for violating contribution laws in 2003, the Federal Election Commission announced Thursday. Tab Turner, the donor who solicited four $2,000 contributions from colleagues in Jan. 2003 for Edwards and then reimbursed them with a company credit card, was fined $50,000. Turner, whose law practice Turner and Associates is based in Little Rock, Arkansas, also used the credit card to make an illegal campaign contribution in his own name and to pay for various campaign expenses.

Federal law prohibits donors from making contributions in other peoples' names, and prohibits direct corporate contributions to a federal candidate.

Edwards, who is considering another run for president in 2008, did not contest the FEC's ruling and Edwards' spokeswoman Kim Rubey described the FEC's announcement to CNN's Robert Yoon as "old news."

"All the issues that were raised today had been addressed by the campaign back in 2003," she said, adding that the campaign returned all of the illegal contributions referenced in the FEC complaint.

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Cheney speaks to CNN's King

Vice President Cheney sat down for an exclusive interview with CNN's John King yesterday and covered topics ranging from Iraq and North Korea to how people perceive him personally. On the 2008 presidential race, Cheney wouldn't acknowledge a favorite but noted "We may get involved eventually." To view the full transcript of the Cheney interview click on this link.