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Mar

17

Florida abandons re-vote possibility


Politico has the e-mail that inclues the decision:

Dear XXX,

For a year now, the Florida Democratic Party has tried to comply with the Delegate Selection Rules of the Democratic National Committee.

We researched every potential alternative process – from caucuses to county conventions to mail-in elections – but no plan could come anywhere close to being viable in Florida.

We made a detailed case to the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee, but we were denied.

Our Democratic legislators in Tallahassee tried to set the Florida primary on Feb. 5, instead of Jan. 29, but of course, their proposed amendment to House Bill 537 was greeted with laughter and derision from the Republicans who control the state government <<Link to Audio>>.

Does ‘537’ ring a bell? It should. It’s the number of votes that separated Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore in Florida in 2000.

It’s the number that sent this country and this world in a terrible direction.

We can’t let 537 – or the Republicans – determine our future again.

President Bush plans to stop in Florida tomorrow to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Republican National Committee’s efforts to elect his successor in November.

The last thing America needs is a third Bush term. Despite the widespread anxiety that working families feel, not to mention the broad agreement among economists that we are in a recession, President Bush and John McCain blindly believe that the economy is strong.

And let me remind you that John McCain endorsed President Bush’s decision to deny health care to thousands of Florida children by vetoing an expansion of the successful SCHIP program. McCain also promises to jeopardize the financial security of Florida seniors by privatizing Social Security. He continually threatens to push Florida’s military families to the brink by keeping American troops in Iraq for “100 years” or more.

This is why we are Democrats, and this is why we must stick together, no matter where this ongoing delegate debate takes us.

Last week, the Florida Democratic Party laid out the only existing way that we can comply with DNC Rules – a statewide revote run by the Party – and asked for input.

Thousands of people responded. We spent the weekend reviewing your messages, and while your reasons vary widely, the consensus is clear: Florida doesn’t want to vote again.

So we won’t.

A party-run primary or caucus has been ruled out, and it’s simply not possible for the state to hold another election, even if the Party were to pay for it. Republican Speaker of the Florida House Marco Rubio refuses to even consider that option. Florida is finally moving to paper ballots, which is a good thing, but it means that at least 15 counties do not have the capacity to handle a major election before the June 10th DNC primary deadline.

This doesn’t mean that Democrats are giving up on Florida voters. It means that a solution will have to come from the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee, which is scheduled to meet again in April.

When this committee stripped us of 100% of our delegates last year, some members summed up their reasoning by saying, “The rules are the rules.” Unfortunately, the rules did not apply to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina when they, too, violated the DNC calendar by moving from their assigned dates.

As the late great Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “We must adjust our ideas to the facts of today… Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are.”

The Florida Democratic Party has stuck to its principles throughout this debate. We’ve remained open-minded while never wavering from our commitment to an open and fair election that would allow all Florida Democrats to participate, whether serving in Iraq, retiring in Boca, studying abroad or entertaining at a theme park.

Another late great President –Abraham Lincoln, a Republican – said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

If Democrats heed this wisdom, we will win in November.

America needs a great president again, but a President McCain will settle for the status quo and carry on the disastrous Bush tradition.

President Clinton or President Obama will make history and lead this nation in a new direction.

Let’s remember this as the delegate debate continues. We must stick together as Democrats. The stakes are too high and the opportunities too great.

I will keep you posted on any major developments. Thank you for your concern and your commitment.

Sincerely,

Congresswoman Karen L. Thurman

Chair, Florida Democratic Party [my emphasis]

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:14 pm March 17th, 2008 in Elections, Politics, Primary, Voting, WH2008 

Comments

6 Responses to “Florida abandons re-vote possibility”

  1. 1 Jason on March 17th, 2008 7:10 pm

    Jill – Interesting post. As you know, I’m a big Clinton fan. But I must say that even though the economy is certainly doing poorly and it feels like we are in a recession, we haven’t met the definition of recession yet. Let’s hope that we don’t!

  2. 2 Joe Ritchey on March 17th, 2008 7:40 pm

    Is true based on the numbers provided by the Bush administration that we aren’t in a textbook recession, yet. However these are the same people that annouced the positive inflation numbers last week.

    Oh by the way they don’t count little insignificant purchases like food or fuel in those numbers.

    I’ll trust my eyes and ears and what I see happening around me every day before I will trust any economic numbers put out by the Bush Administration.

  3. 3 Ben Keeler on March 17th, 2008 9:51 pm

    bad news indeed for team hrc

  4. 4 Chuck Butcher on March 18th, 2008 1:24 am

    Too bad the FL Dem Party decided to deride DNC and state that they were important enough to do as they pleased. This is the result of allowing a State Party to fall into the hands of hacks. The day after the FL leg passed the bill they could have started trying to get into compliance with the rules. They chose not to. After an illegitimate election Hillary further gummed the works by making promises regarding their seating that she had absolutely no power to carry out.

    If Clinton’s behavior regarding MI & FL were my only issues with her, they would be sufficient. Voters in both states knew their Dem Primary was illegitimate and unrecognized, some voted, many not. All candidates recognized DNC authority over the elections and that the elections did not count. Right up until Hillary needed those votes, having failed in her coronation. As a dedicated Democrat I am offended by the behavior of the State Party and then the candidate. The disenfranchisment of the voters was a deliberate action taken by legs and State Parties and further abetted by candidate Clinton. Much of the unjustified attacks on DNC is due to her propaganda.

    Once the players in the DNC drama are placed in context, some things become a little clearer, the end of Terry McAuliff’s reign at DNC marked a movement from autocratic big money top down 50%+1 strategy to Dean’s bottom up grassroots small money 50 states strategy. McAuliff proved how to lose, except the Clintons, Dean has been showing how to win. A lot of large salary people have lost work in the DNC in favor of grassroots organizational spending, these people are not happy, and neither is Terry.

    None of that is supposition, the statements have been made across the years since ‘04. The Clinton behavior causes serious harm now and possibly the future to DNC. Now you have to speculate.

    More lazy reporting and outright untruths have been made on this issue than almost anything else. The facts have been readily available as well as case law. BS seems to win the day, regardless.

  5. 5 Don on March 18th, 2008 3:24 pm

    DON’T VOTE!!!!!!! EVERYONE WHO LIVES IN FLORIDA LIKE ME SHOULD NOT VOTE IN NOVEMBER. IF THEY WON’T COUNT OUR VOTES NOW, THEN WE CHOOSE TO HAVE THEM NOT COUNT IN NOVEMBER. DON’T VOTE!!!!!!!!!

  6. 6 Joe Amschlinger on March 18th, 2008 3:36 pm

    Dear Florida Dems,

    Please, please, please follow Don’s lead.

    Sincerely,

    Your Pals in the RNC

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