Congratulations to Michigan

Michigan has joined Florida in defying rules imposed by the major political parties and scheduling its primary elections for January 2008.
(See http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-GOP-Primaries.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)
There is no good reason why Iowa and New Hampshire should have privileged positions in the choice of party nominees. Some say it's a good test of "retail" campaign skills for candidates to hustle for the votes of a small state. The Founders wouldn't have been impressed by that argument, since they thought it unseemly for anyone to electioneer for himself. They actually expected communities to take the initiative themselves and nominate worthy persons without prompting by a party caucus. Even then, of course, ambitious men manipulated people into nominating them while they retained the appearance of disinterest and self-sacrifice for the common good. Nevertheless, they believed in a grass-roots process, and we should do likewise. For that matter, why should any community in Michigan or Florida or elsewhere wait for the word of their governor before stating a preference? Why not have town meetings to select a candidate or draft a platform and invite a candidate to accept it. Those communities could seek out like-minded communities, establish committees of correspondence and through strength of numbers increase the incentive for a candidate to swear allegiance to a grass-roots platform. If people wanted to start that process now, there'd be nothing wrong with it, no matter what people in Iowa or New Hampshire think. Nothing stops them from doing likewise, and if the major parties say no, that would be as good a signal as any for the insurrection that finally ends the two-party usurpation of the American Republic.