For Now, New Hampshire Is Still First in Democrats' Hearts

New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D), right, with former Virginia governor Mark R. Warner, is warning the party not to upset his state's primary status. (By Jim Cole -- Associated Press)

Democrats eyeing a 2008 presidential bid heard a pointed warning from New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) last week: Dis the New Hampshire primary, and you can expect to pay a price.

The Democratic National Committee is weighing a recommendation to add contests between the 2008 Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Lynch thinks that's a terrible idea -- and he says he's not the only one.

"I think voters will be watching carefully to see which candidates stand with New Hampshire to protect its traditional role," Lynch said in a speech last Tuesday.

Lynch's comments came just days after Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh became the most high-profile Democratic White House contender to back New Hampshire's right to hold the second nominating contest in 2008.

Bayh "believes we need places -- like Iowa and New Hampshire -- where the voters get to meet the candidates one-on-one," spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said. "Someplace where it isn't all about who has the most money or the best TV ads."

Iowa and New Hampshire have long been granted spots at the front of the line when it comes to picking presidential nominees, delivering these small states major financial windfalls and scads of attention from the national media.

Bayh's rejection of adding one or two states between these two traditional stops puts him at odds with many in the party who believe the calendar must be changed to broaden the geographic and ethnic diversity of the voters selecting the Democratic nominee.

A group -- known formally as the Commission on Presidential Nomination Timing and Scheduling -- that was created to study potential changes in the calendar has recommended the addition of a caucus (or caucuses) between Iowa and New Hampshire. Last month, the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee approved the plan. States hoping to move up in the process must submit a proposal to the Rules and Bylaws Committee by April 14 and may also personally lobby committee members during the organization's April 20-22 meeting in New Orleans.

Bayh's potential competitors for the 2008 nomination have been less willing to offer a full-throated endorsement of New Hampshire's supremacy, choosing instead a middle ground -- supporting the Granite State as the first primary but allowing for the possibility of caucuses to be added before it.

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has assiduously avoided taking a position on the issue despite personal urgings by Lynch to do so. Former Virginia governor Mark Warner, the hot "anti-Hillary" candidate these days, is similarly noncommittal.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said recently that adding a caucus between Iowa and New Hampshire is "fine"; Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry said he will support whatever plan is approved by the DNC but has expressed concern about packing too many contests into early 2008. Former North Carolina senator John Edwards "supports some additional geographic, racial and economic diversity in the early voting," spokeswoman Kim Rubey said.

DeLay the Film Critic

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Former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) is not only in an election battle with Democratic opponent Nick Lampson. He's also in a war of words with two Texas filmmakers.

In a letter sent out Thursday by his campaign, DeLay urged supporters to counteract the movie "The Big Buy: How Tom DeLay Stole Congress" by sending him donations. The film chronicles DeLay's alleged illegal fundraising activities and will be released in theaters, stores and house parties in mid-May. DeLay called it a product of "Hollywood liberals" designed "much like Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9-11' . . . to influence the outcome of an election."

"National Democrats are planning to hold thousands of house parties across the country to air this documentary and raise money for my opponent," the letter to supporters said. "Please send in as much as you can afford to help me fight back -- there's no time to waste!"

Filmmakers Jim Schermbeck and Mark Birnbaum of Houston shot back saying, "You can call us a lot of things, but it would take more than different Zip codes and a higher tax bracket to even get us close to being transformed into 'Hollywood Liberals.' ''

The DeLay camp got the last word. DeLay spokeswoman Shannon Flaherty said the letter refers to the well-known liberal Hollywood producer Robert Greenwald, who is distributing "The Big Buy." "This desperate attempt of these guys to back off from a working relationship with Hollywood liberals is as pathetic as Nick Lampson backing away from his liberal voting record," she said.

Cillizza is a staff writer for washingtonpost.com. His online political column, The Fix, appears daily athttp://www.washingtonpost.com/thefix.