Campaign 2008, Democrats, Election Coverage, Florida, Politics
You might already know the facts, but here they are again: Florida’s majority Republican legislature passed a bill earlier this year changing the state’s primary to Jan. 29. This placed the Florida election ahead of Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada, and good old New Hampshire, which is a violation of both Republican and Democratic party rules.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) punished Florida by taking away half its delegates to the 2008 Republican convention. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) took away all Florida’s delegates and made the Democratic frontrunners sign a pledge not to campaign in Florida. The pledge does not prohibit fund-raising.
The DNC offered Florida Democratic party leaders a deal: if you nullify the results of the statewide Jan. 29 primary and hold party caucuses, pay-per-vote straw polls like Iowa, or some other behind-the-scenes event with extremely limited participation on Feb. 5, we will forgive you.
FDP leaders, wisely, went with “no deal.” They argue correctly that there is more for Florida voters to decide on Jan. 29 than just presidential preference, and besides, your average voter (like me) doesn’t agree that his or her vote should be tossed in favor of those from Democratic party insiders.
Here’s why you should care. The DNC, in refusing to allow candidates to campaign in Florida, is throwing the 2008 election to the Republicans. Picture it: months of TV spots with Rudy and Mitt telling Florida voters why we should love them, but also increasingly hammering away at Hillary, Barack, and John. Headlines like, “Thompson Eats Fried Gator Tail at Rotary Picnic” and “McCain Tours Military Base.”
And on the Democratic side? Silence, broken only the occasional dive for dollars at private parties.
“You’re going to continue to see Republican candidates coming to Florida, shaking hands, listening to voters,” said Erin Van Sickle, a Florida Republican Party spokeswoman.
Said Merle Black, a political scientist at Emory University and expert on Southern politics: “It’s a huge power struggle within the Democratic Party that cannot help the party’s candidates in Florida.
“But having nobody come to Florida, that’s theater of the absurd,” he added.
The fourth biggest state in the country, always a toss-up, is abandoned — no, handed on a silver platter — to the Republicans. And why? Because national Democrats have their panties in a wad over something Florida Democrats can’t change: the legislatively mandated election date.
If there was ever a time for the DNC to get its head out of its ass, the time is now. As Ben Weaver, North Florida Regional Director for the Florida Young Democrats, noted, before it looked like all Democrats needed to do to win in 2008 was show up. And we can’t even do that right!
Frustration with the DNC, and the candidates who fear losing its funding, is high.
Republicans have been aggressively mobilizing and courting Florida voters, while Democratic candidates have been wary of doing anything to antagonize party leaders in those early nominating states.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s campaign even refused recently to send a letter of greeting to a Jackson County Democratic picnic for fear of violating his pledge to the four early states.
And all the front-runners, even those who originally accepted, have now declined invitations to the state party convention in Orlando at the end of October.
But Weaver, and quite a few others, are betting that Florida will get its delegates back even if the DNC rigidly stays the course, as they say they will. He thinks that on the first day of the national convention the front-runner will reinstate our 210 delegates in a show of party unity. I hope it won’t be too late by then, that too many Floridians will have only heard the GOP’s side of things for so long that they’ve tuned out whatever last-minute campaigning the Democrats engage in. If so, Howard Dean can take the credit for blowing it — again.
Topics: Campaign 2008, Democrats, Election Coverage, Florida, Politics
Trish, I agree 100%. In all my years of observing politics, this has to be one of the most asinine thing I have ever witnessed by a national party.
If Democrats don’t “move on” – and begin to concern themselves less with punishing Florida and more with actually doing something to win votes in Florida – this state may never go for another Democrat in my lifetime.
So this is how Howard Dean and the elites of Disgraceful National Committiee decide to run a 50 state campaing so laughable and to think I supported this North East elitests and Hil and Obama and the other feckless just lost it in 08 but we Democrates from Florida need to vote on Jan 28 regardless what happens its to important!!!!!!!!!!
Just proves that ALL THE BELTWAY POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS ON BOTH SIDES are about as irrelevant to the American Body Politic as is George W. Bush and everything else in US NON-GOVERNMENT.
What a sorry collection of know nothing/do nothing FOOLS!
[...] The Democratic primary: The Buzz – GOP Jumps on FL primary mess, The Buzz – Michigan trumps Florida, March on Politics – DNC Responds To Lawsuit, March on Politics – Nelson: “Now There Is No Choiceâ€â€”He’s Suing, March on Politics – Brazile: Florida Democrats Arrogant, Pensito Review – Why You Should Care About Florida’s Primary, Pushing Rope – Tough Guy Bill Nelson, Miami-Dade Dems – Please vote on Jan. 29, Pushing Rope – Democrats Sticking to Jan. 29th Primary Date, Bark Bark Woof Woof – Sticking With It, ReidBlog – Showdown in the Sunshine State, Broward’s Blog – Florida Democrats launch drive to defend early primary date, Miami-Dade Dems – Vote on Jan. 29: Your vote will count, Pushing Rope – It’s Lawsuit Time, Flablog – Florida versus the world, and Why Now – Not Quite As Clueless. [...]
It was a Democrat who introduced the legislation to move the primary up in violation of party rules. It’s a sad, sad day when elected people think they have to play to the media, instead of to the voters, and that’s what this is about — being first out the gate so they can catch first media wave.
So what’s to be done? The party won’t budge. The only option Florida’s Democratic Party has, given the fact that they cannot recall the legislation they foolishly initiated, is to beg and grovel to the DNC and work with them to find an alternate way to assign legitimate delegates that the DNC will seat at convention.
I suggest the Florida Party start working on a caucus to be held AFTER the legal primary would have been held…