When will the early primaries take place?

We still don't know when Republicans will start choosing their party's presidential nominee.

Here's the situation: Party rules dictate that Iowa gets to lead off the presidential nominating process, followed by New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. (Iowa and Nevada hold caucuses; New Hampshire and South Carolina hold primaries.)

Other states are understandably jealous of the influence and an economic boost that comes with going early, and are thus showing a willingness to flout those party rules. The Republican National Committee has vowed to punish any state that sets its primary before March 6 - other than the privileged four - by stripping it of half its delegates to the 2012 nomination convention. But that didn't stop Arizona from setting its primary date as Feb. 28th; Missouri's is currently set for Feb. 7th, just one day after the scheduled Feb. 6 date for the Iowa caucuses (though it remains in flux). Over the weekend, the Colorado Republican Central Committee voted to move Colorado's caucuses to Feb. 7, and Michigan is also eyeing an early vote.

South Carolina Republican officials say they won't share their primary date - currently Feb. 28 - with any other state. And Iowa GOP officials say Iowa and the other privileged states will move their caucus date forward if they have to in order to maintain their position, though they appear to be hoping the other states buck to party pressure and move back their votes.

"The four sanctioned early states have been very clear that we'll move together if necessary to ensure integrity of order as outlined in (Republican National Committee) rules," Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn said Monday morning, the Des Moines Register reports. "Thus, the date of the Iowa caucuses may change, but its lead-off position will not. I remain cautiously optimistic that we can avoid having Iowans caucus while simultaneously wrapping Christmas presents."

In the 2008 cycle, the Iowa caucuses took place on January 3rd.

The Republican National Committee has set October 1 as the date for states to set their primaries or caucuses. The privileged states are expected to announce new, earlier dates just before that deadline in order to make it more difficult for the other states to leapfrog them. (Currently, Iowa is set for Feb. 6, New Hampshire for Feb. 14 and Nevada for Feb. 18.) Nevada officials have voted to link their caucuses to New Hampshire, setting them for the first Saturday after the New Hampshire vote.

Florida, meanwhile, is trying to make sure it can be the first state after the first four, and is working with South Carolina officials to make that happen. (You'll recall Florida, a swing state with a relatively diverse Republican electorate, is where John McCain effectively won the nomination in the 2008 cycle.) On Friday, Florida officials voted to put off a decision on setting their primary date for a week to see what happens with rival states. A source tells CBS News that Florida officials are favoring Tuesday, Feb. 21 for the primary, though that could change as other states set their dates.

It all amounts to a massive game of chicken, with officials reluctant to back down despite pressure from the party. In order to force compliance, Republican officials are considering penalties in addition to stripping half a state's delegates, though it's unclear what they might be; as Politico notes, the party in August tabled a motion that would have given such states fewer guest passes and worse hotel rooms at the convention.

But the party's threats may not be enough for officials eager for their state to have a greater say in picking their party's nominee to give in. In 2008, Florida went earlier than party rules allowed, resulting in sanction by the party, but still played an influential role; McCain let the state's full contingent of delegates participate at the convention despite the violation.