Democrats threatening New Hampshire's Primary Placement

It isn't obvious to me that this threat by the Democratic party will have much of an effect. So you lose the delegates from New Hampshire? How is important is that compared to the benefit that you get from all the publlicity of winning the early primary? Especially if several candidates start campaigning in NH, I don't see how they can stop the others from doing so.

The Democratic Party is moving to enforce its rules in the battle between states over who goes first in the presidential primaries, taking aim at candidates in case the states themselves won't go along with the party's rejuggled 2008 schedule.

New Hampshire, with its traditional first-in-the-nation primary, says it's not going to worry about "a handful of Washington insiders."

A change recommended Friday by the party's rules and bylaws committee would deny national convention delegates to any presidential candidate who campaigns in a state that leapfrogs its primary over others. . . . .

"If you campaign in a state that is outside the rules, then you're not entitled to delegates from that state," said Carol Khare Fowler, a rules committee member from South Carolina who offered the change. . . .