Butter them up?_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Butter them up?

Uppity legislators in Michigan and Missouri have introduced bills to advance their primaries. But it is Florida, a habitual offender, which is causing the most fuss by trying to hold its primary in January. This violates rules set by both the Democratic and Republican National Committees, which co-ordinate the nominating process and organize the conventions that make the result official. The two parties have barred January primaries, and want only the four habitual starters—Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina—to hold their contests in February. All other states are supposed to wait until the first Tuesday in March at the earliest.

The Republicans have tried to give the laggards extra clout by barring states with primaries in March from using a winner-takes-all voting system. Perhaps more compelling will be the penalties for going early: the loss of half of the offending state’s votes at the convention, which is due to take place in Tampa, Florida, in August 2017. Also at risk, the RNC says, are perks such as plum seating and accommodation at the convention and extra passes for guests: not trivial things, as state parties use them to butter up big donors.

- The high tide of frontloading has passed and now seems to be ebbing, The Economist, April 20, 2011.

About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.