Sure, Florida is America's biggest political swing state. But don't expect the national Democratic Party to back off punishing Sunshine State Democrats for scheduling an early presidential primary. "Their primary essentially won't count, " Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean said of Florida. "Anybody who campaigns in Florida is ineligible for delegates."Whoa... Anyone who campaigns in Florida won't get delegates? Exactly how is he going to pull that off? Last I looked, Hillary and Obama both had Florida operations, and Hillary was in Boca Raton for a fundraiser last month. Even her national co-chairs, Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Alcee Hastings, are from Florida! Does that mean that Dean has eliminated any chance of Hillary getting any delegates from Florida - just by his own fiat?
With states front-loading primaries so early in the 2008 election season, the whole traditional primary/convention dynamic is quickly turning into a joke. But this is ridiculous.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. This is not so unusual for DEMOCRATS. They will stiffle anyone that does not tow the party line. They are STALINISTS, believe it. Wait till you see what they have in store for YOU.
joem at 8:06PM on Jun 13th 2007
2. Democrats are pathetic, plain and simple. They engage in these wussy tactics and wonder why the republicans keep calling them "weak".
alexkreuz at 8:53PM on Jun 13th 2007
3. To the above two respondents - this is the Democratic primary we're talking about, not the national election. Since neither of you are Democrats I suggest you work on getting your own pathetic party in shape. I certainly do not think it is fair to disenfranchise Florida Democrats from having their say in the primary.
Phil at 10:37AM on Jun 14th 2007
4. BUT PHIL YOUR PARTY DOESN'T CARE ABOUT YOU... NEVER DID NEVER WILL... THAT'S JUST WHAT THEY ARE.. TYRANTS
joem at 10:36PM on Jun 14th 2007
5. joem - I'm furious about it too! I truly believe our party's core values will save America, but its obvious that we need someone besides a melagomaniac as chairman. I happen to live in the most important election county in the nation. If the Democrats cannot take my country, they cannot take Florida, and that seems to have an impact on the national election. Not one dime, no candidate support, or even a vote will issue from my house until I am assured that my primary vote is given full weight. Trust me, you would not have wanted to be on the receiving end of some of the emails and phone calls to the Demcratic leadership yesterday. I'm considering writing a letter to the editor or an op-ed in our local paper (they've printed an op-ed of mine before) suggesting that every Democrat in my country boycott the national election if our primary votes are disenfranchised.
Phil at 6:32AM on Jun 15th 2007
6. I fully support the approach of the Party Chair...the national Parties set the delegate rules under well-publicized and widely-vetted procedures. Sorry to the Florida voters that your state party leaders have let you down; February 5 has been designated as the first date of the 2008 national primary season since 2005!!! (This start date is not a new rule; just Google "DNC Commission on Presidential Nomination Timing and Scheduling".)
Florida was fully able to make their case to the DNC before the rules were finalized, but they have no basis to demand a special exception unilaterally after-the-fact. Don't think for a moment that other states would forgo moving up if this restriction were removed altogether. The national Party leadership even made a special trip to advise Florida Dems of the consequences before the date change was finalized. Instead, the Florida Dems did not even bother to pretend to oppose the early primary plan when it came to the state legislature or ask for a mea culpa after-the-fact.
Unlike the way the Reps operate, the Democratic Party functions under established rules and does not make it up as we go along. I may favor an overall reform of the primary calendar, but this will not occur by each state doing it on its own.
(It's not totally hopeless for FL...DC made the same mistake in 2004 and then chose to have a mid-season caucus as the means to select its delegates. Ironically, I think that Gov. Dean was the only leading candidate to not withdraw from the show primary.)
Peter Rudinskas at 9:18AM on Jun 20th 2007