In a recent post, I argued that New Hampshire has forfeited its claim on the first in the nation primary because its leftward lurchings have placed it outside the political mainstream. A piece today in RealClearPolitics also observes that New Hampshire has turned into a latte-sipping, Lexus-driving, what-can-government-do-for-me bastion of BLUE political thought. It argues that the New Hampshire primary, which used to act as a restraint on the Democrats, now will hurt the Democrats by forcing the candidates too far to the left:
" ... someone used to whisper to Democrats that they ought not to lurch left in the primaries for fear that they might have to do some awkward, damaging rightward maneuvers in the general election. Some years ... that someone used to be New Hampshire.
Not this time. New Hampshire has lost its distinction, which is a cultural shame and a national problem.
The cultural shame is that the state, once protected from foolishness by the White Mountains (and, farther south, by a lingering sense of remoteness), is more like the rest of the country than it used to be, which by any definition cannot be good. The national problem, for the Democrats this time, may be that New Hampshire won't offer a cautionary brake for the party and its potential nominee."
