Democratic State Party Chair Lays Out Conditions For Florida Primary Mulligan

TALLAHASSEE, FL -- Florida's Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman drew a line in the sand regarding the seating of its delegation. In an e-mail blast to the party faithful Monday evening she outlined three prerequisites before the Florida party would hold another election - either primary or caucus - including the up-front payment of millions of dollars to make it happen. The DNC has stripped the Sunshine State of its delegates because it violated party rules in holding an earlier than approved primary.

Thurman's statement was construed by some as opening the door to a "re-do" of the election process, if it had the blessings of both Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama. Others said it was merely a reaction to the ongoing media reports of the delegate counting mechanism being watched nationally, especially information coming out of Washington that some kind of brokered deal was looming. Florida and Michigan's Democratic Congressional delegations held a widely reported "brainstorming" session on the delegate controversy in The Capitol in Washington Monday.

"It is important also that we are clear about one issue. At this time, no suggested alternative process has been able to meet three specific and necessary requirements: the full participation from both candidates, a guaranteed commitment of the millions of dollars it will cost to conduct the event and a detailed election plan that would enfranchise all Florida Democrats, including our military service members serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere," Rep. Thurman said.

"The Florida Democratic Party cannot consider any alternative that does not meet these requirements. Indeed, it is very possible that no satisfactory alternative plan will emerge, in which case Florida Democrats will remain committed to seating the delegates allocated by the January 29th primary," Thurman added.

Her e-mail message came shortly after news reports that Florida's Republican Gov. Charlie Crist and Michigan Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm were attempting to find a solution to the seating of both states' delegations. Gov. Crist made news by calling the DNC'S failure to count Florida "reprehensible." 1.7 million Democrats voted on Jan. 29th.

Michigan, like Florida, also held a primary prior to Super Tuesday, and had its delegations either stripped of voting rights or, in the case of the GOP, given only a percentage of its delegate allocation.

DNC Chief Gov. Howard Dean has been quoted as saying Florida and Michigan must come up with new election plans - either primaries, caucuses or mail-in voting.

Thurman said:

"It is important to remember that the Democratic nominating process does not end until June 10. The Florida Democratic Party continues to work with our leadership, Sen. Clinton, Sen. Obama and the Democratic National Committee to ensure this state is fully represented at the National Convention."

"We have discussed many things, ranging from the plans for the general election to a potential alternative primary to the process for appealing to the credentials committee of the National Convention to seat our delegates as currently allocated.

"We continue to move ahead with preparations for an unprecedented coordinated general election campaign. The people of Florida, like most Americans, are eager for change - not more of the same from [Sen. John] McCain - and in November, we will make the Democratic nominee the next President of the United States of America."

Florida's Democratic leadership has made an argued that the punishment was too severe or unnecessary since it was the Republican-dominated legislature that set the early primary date. The Republican National Committee only chopped the Florida GOP delegation by 50 percent for changing the primary date.

The DNC'S punishment has made news almost daily and has been the subject of public conversations continuously, with some Democrats saying the controversy is playing right into the hands of Republican strategists who see Florida as an electoral battleground that now could go their way in November. Even the state's most read newspaper, the Miami Herald, took the unusual step last month of editorializing that the intra-party political decision to blacklist Florida's delegates was a "kamikaze" decision which will benefit the GOP. The newspaper editorial noted "if not counted the same as other states .... the party stands to lose any claim they have to the loyalty and support of the voters of this state."

Democratic activists recall that it was only a handful of ballots that cost Al Gore Florida's electoral votes and the loss of the 2000 election. "The DNC is now doing it again," was a frequent comment at this weekend's delegation-selection caucus in Plantation, the heartland of one of Florida's most Democratic (20th Congressional) districts.

Florida's 210 delegate count now has taken on greater importance than earlier believed. It offers a major thrust for either Clinton or Obama, helping one of them to reach the magic number of 2,205 needed for the nomination. Because the Jan. 29 vote is apportioned by congressional district vote, it could give Clinton an edge of several more committed delegates.

So, Clinton wants the Florida delegates confirmed now, while Obama says he prefers a new way of counting Florida, perhaps by caucus.

Florida's senior senator Bill Nelson, a supporter of Sen. Clinton, has been outspoken in the controversy saying it would be wrong to have a handful of potential caucus-goers decide new results "after 1.7 million citizens had already made their choice."

"It is a Constitutional right to have our votes counted," Nelson said.

"It's a mess" is the general reaction.

The state of Michigan, although being equally punished, has one major difference. In Michigan only one candidate was on the ballot (Clinton) while in Florida voters chose from the whole Democratic field. Only Clinton and Obama got more than the 15 percent of the electorate necessary to win delegates.

Democratic voters also went to the polls last weekend (March 1) to actually select individual delegates (based on the January election results) who will go to Denver in August for the national nominating convention.

Comments

[Purple Girl]

DON'T SEAT MI UNLESS WE GET AN ENTIRELY NEW PRIMARY!!
OUR ELECTION PROCESS WAS RIGGED TO FAVOR CLINTON. Our State Dems will feel the heat- Recalls, Investigations and prosecution for election Fraud. These Dems are not only going to loss their JOBs, bu theri future freedom.
I want an independent Monitoring System in place for our NEW PRIMARY. AND I WANT PAPER BALLOTS (ALL THE SAME) TO BE COUNTED BY THOSE INDEPENDENT MONITORS!
we HAVE NOT forgotten hanging chads and buuterfly ballot scams used to steal the last two Pres elections. And I want those Responsible for this 'shell game ' to not only pay for th enew Primary out of their own pockets (personal) I want those responsible to be thrown out of Office and charged with Election Fraud!!!
This life long Dem is Pissed- "Hell haveth No Fury...." Deceit and Betrayal are far more heinous of crimes than being a straight forward asshole (got more respect for my State Repugs at this point)
If Your a Dem Public Servant be assured your name is on the list for Indictment.

[ComputerGeeksWife]

Senator Nelson needs to re-read his copy of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Last time I checked, voting was a privilege, not a right. There is no federal guarantee of a "right" to vote. The only thing the Constitution and its amendments does guarantee is that voting can't be denied due to race or gender or to anyone at least 18 years old. Rights can't be taken away, where privileges can -- most convicted felons lose their privilege to vote as a result of being convicted.

Yeah, I know, I'm arguing semantics here, but isn't that what Senator Clinton has been doing all along?

[oorfenegro]

Florida democrats could have floated a referendum to have split primaries like in Louisiana and other states that hold separate primaries for Democrats and Republicans. The Florida Demo party also could have called for a general referendum to ask voters directly to change the election date or they could have gone to court, especially since the primary date was being mandated by the GOP controlled Florida legislature. Florida Demos, including the head of the Florida Democrats, didn't make much of a fuss about the early primary date. In fact they acted like the legislature did them a favor. If Florida demos are really upset, shouldn't they be calling for the recall of the Secretary of State, who has ultimate authority in scheduling an election that on its face would be declared null and void? Dean should stick to his position, since it will send a message to other states that they better not try to jump the gun four years from now. It should also send a message to New Hampshire and Iowa that if the DNC wants other states to be first in the nation four years from now, they should get out the way or else...

[chasemonster]

What a mess!
Telling TWO states that their votes won't count is frackin' looney tunes.
Something should have been done about this a long time ago before the primaries.
But of course that would have taken TRUE leadership from the DNC.

[Mandelay]

Very disappointed to be reading about even the hint of a "do over" caucus in these states. There are folks who vote by absentee ballot, not only those in service overseas but also the elderly and other shut-ins who participated in the primaries in Florida and Michigan by absentee ballot. The "caucus" process favors those who are young enough, well enough and mobile enough to travel to a caucus site. It is a method that excludes rather than includes. And it is an insult to people who have spent a lifetime voting and participating, only to be in their house/nursing home/rehab center, etc. and unable to join the throngs of younger enthusiasts. Somebody should fight to have these voters included and that means a "primary only" process with plenty of time for people to request/re­ceive/retu­rn their absentee ballots. If the Democrats really want to "try" to be fair, why not seat all delegates from the original primaries and afford those delegates to caucus at the convention and cast their votes accordingly. At least they will be delegates who were elected by voters who had the opportunity to vote, and who took the opportunity to vote. At least this would seat those delegates and afford them the chance to fully participate in the convention, and also avoid a costly redo of a full primary or an unfair, exclusive, not inclusive, caucus.

[Wolf1739]

There are a multitude of ways to be inclusive AND hold the vote again.

They could allow on-line voting.

They could have a mail-in primary.

They could print the ballots NOW and hold the voting during a 2 week voting period from March 30 to April 12th (or any other suitable period to be "inclusive").

They could both reschedule their primaries for April 22nd and turn that into yet another "Super Tuesday" with Pennsylvania.

But to suggest that the delegates elected in January be seated "as is", is about as un-democratic an idea as I can possibly imagine.

Every person who cast a ballot in Florida and Michigan in January did so with full knowledge that the vote was MEANINGLESS! To turn around and whine about "my vote should count" is hypocrisy at its worst.

[marinade]

The Florida primary was not a fair election. The property tax amendment on the ballot brought out homeowners, i.e. wealthier, older Floridians. If this election is counted then the less wealthy and younger Floridians are disenfranchised.

Wow, if ever there was anything I could get angry about, it would be the Democratic Establishment screwing me over as bad as Bush did with the war.

[crushinator]

I agree. I am a FL Dem who voted in part because of the property tax amendment and because it would be my only opportunity to vote for my candidate of choice (not HRC or BO).

I don't want any do-overs and I don't want the delegates seated.

Both campaigns and the political "pundits" are whining because the voters in FL and MI would be disenfranchised. The state governments should have thought of that before they moved their primaries knowing it was against the DNC rules. The DNC should have thought of that before choosing to enforce the rules.

HRC and BO supported the DNC decision at the time and now want a take-back. NO. Obama wants a do-over so he can try and scoop up the votes that originally went to Edwards, Kucinich, et al. Hillary needs them because she can't win without them (some math shows she can't win with them either, so the point may be moot).

And think about the cost. My tax dollars had to pay for the first one even though my vote wasn't going to count. Now "someone" would have to pay for the 2nd one. Estimates of $15 - $28 million have been quoted as the cost. What a waste. This money could do so much good someplace else.

This is all political BS that makes me sick. And all this silly, snarky, superficial, petty attacks against each other while McCain gets a free pass because no one's paying attention is going to come back and bite us in the butt in November if they don't get their heads out of those butts now.

[Wolf1739]

This is ludicrous! How can they argue a fair election in either state???

Hillary has near universal name recognition and Barack had only won Iowa a couple of weeks before the Florida primary. To call Florida a fair election because neither candidate campaigned there is just ridiculous.

Michigan has no argument. Hillary was the only top candidate that left her name on the ballot after they moved the primary date. To argue that she has the support of Michigan when a lot of Democrats (like me) stayed home to protest the idiocy of the state party leaders is just stupid. To top it off, she only pulled 56% of the vote with NOBODY ELSE ON THE BALLOT!!!

Michigan and Florida need to come up with a process that reflects the ACTUAL will of the people.

[treadway123]

Maybe, Obama who broke a record in a presidential campagne funds could fund the Forida Voters to re vote and clinton could fund michigan. If they don't want to divide the cost------­-------tha­n shut up about seating both thee states. Ican't figure out how it would be fair any how-------­----Clinto­n was the only one on the michigan ballot. I think it's time to end it! Please, Pennsylvania and wyomming vote Obama so this can end and we can start a real fight against the Republilcans before it's to late and the Demacrate Lose the white house.