Why We Still Are Not Players in the Primaries

The most splendid phrase ever used to describe political life in California belongs--as usual--to the writer Carey McWilliams. Way back in the 1940s, McWilliams saw the emergence of a California that was oversized in every regard, pre-eminent in its wealth, but lacking the political will to focus itself.

He referred to California as “the Eunuchoid Giant.” I remember, the first time I saw the phrase, I looked up “eunuchoid” in the dictionary just to make sure it meant what I thought. It did.

A Eunuchoid Giant is a very big fella who is missing a certain something. This being a family newspaper, we’ll call it “drive.” And because of this deficiency, the Eunuchoid Giant experiences difficulty in stiffening his resolve, in making his presence felt. He wanders needlessly, digresses habitually, wastes opportunities.

And so we get to today’s story. It’s a Eunuchoid Giant story.

Think back to June, 1988. The presidential campaign is steaming from state to state, primary to primary. We are about to go to the polls here and express California’s opinion as to which candidates should lead the parties.

Except that it doesn’t matter. George Bush already has won enough delegates from prior primaries to guarantee that he will be the selection of the Republicans. And Michael Dukakis has built such momentum in the Democratic primaries that his nomination is virtually undeniable.

Most voters see the futility of this exercise. Only 46% bother to show up.

Now we get to the Eunuchoid Giant part. After the primary there was an outcry, and our political leaders promised that never again would California be reduced to an irrelevance. The solution was simple: Move the state’s primary to an earlier date.

The governor supported this notion. So did Democratic leaders. Legislation was introduced. Media Big Foots announced that passage was certain.

But the Big Foots were wrong.

First, there was the question of how many primaries were necessary. A single, efficient primary for both presidential and state candidates was rejected in favor of holding two, awkward primaries. Reason: An early primary for state officers might not give the Legislature sufficient time to settle its squabbles over redistricting required by the 1990 census.

So we went to a split system. But what kind of split? March-June? March-September?

Deukmejian and the Republicans were suspicious of March-September. For arcane reasons best left in Sacramento, they believed that a September date for the state primary would favor incumbents. And because there are more Democratic incumbents, the March-September was nixed.

That left March-June. The Democrats now began to waffle. Maybe state races would be relegated to a secondary status by this split system, they suggested. Maybe the voters would be exhausted by it all.

Maybe there would be unintended consequences.

Then someone calculated that a separate presidential primary would cost the state an extra $40 million. Never mind that the economic infusion from the campaigns would equal or exceed the costs, or that an active role in choosing presidential candidates might be worth the price.

Things weren’t going well. An early primary started to look as if it were beyond our abilities, a simple idea that we couldn’t quite pull off.

In September, 1990, this verdict became official. The proponents gave up.

But despair not! Phoenix-like, the early primary has poked its scorched head through the ashes. Last weekend, state Democrats meeting in Oakland agreed to “study” a new plan for making California a presidential player.

In short, it involves holding a round of state caucuses in March that would produce 30% of the presidential delegates and a June primary to elect the rest.

It’s a nutty plan, probably violates national party rules and won’t fly. Its real purpose, in fact, is otherwise: to serve as a threat of what might happen if the Legislature refuses to act.

And there is still time, if not much hope. Assemblyman Jim Costa, a Democrat from Fresno, has reintroduced his plan for a March-June split. The major obstacle now appears to be the Republicans’ fear of a sucker punch by Democrats who might attach a pro-Democrat initiative to the presidential ballot.

Is this a real danger to the Republicans? Not enough to keep us a dusty backwater of presidential politics.

Just keep in mind, as the Legislature starts to bicker, that Iowa, New Hampshire and most Southern states manage to hold early primaries and somehow survive.

We can, too. We just have to want it. Unlike a real Eunuchoid Giant, we can restore our missing parts.