After moving up Florida's primary date, Governor Crist will fight party penalties

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: May 21, 2007
Florida’s Primary Penalty
By Abby Goodnough

Signing into law a contentious plan to move up his state’s presidential primary, Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida said yesterday that he might lobby the national Republican and Democratic Parties to bend their “byzantine” rules so the state will not be penalized.

The new primary date, Jan. 29, puts Florida’s election ahead of contests in all but four states. But it also violates the national parties’ rules, which bar all but a few states from holding primaries before Feb. 5. Both parties said they would strip Florida of half its delegates to their nominating conventions; the Democrats would also withhold Florida delegates from any candidate who campaigns in the state.

“These sort of arcane, byzantine rules that get set up are not good for democracy,” Mr. Crist told reporters in West Palm Beach after signing the bill into law. The measure also replaces the touch-screen voting machines used in many Florida counties with paper ballots counted by scanning machines.

Democrats at the state and national level are privately trying to negotiate a compromise. One leading proposal: making the primary results nonbinding and holding caucuses, akin to Iowa’s, after Feb. 5, to apportion delegates. That could get complicated if one Democratic candidate won the all-but-symbolic primary and another swept the caucuses....

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/05/21/a-primary-penalty/

[rusty charly]

1. More rules that don't apply to Repukes?

[DeepModem Mom]

3. "State Republicans, with less to lose, are holding firm to the new date." nt

[Freddie Stubbs]

4. Republicans would lose half of their delegates, Democrats would lose all of theirs

[DeepModem Mom]

7. Thanks, Freddie -- I wasn't sure of the diff. nt

[Deep13]

2. Putting such a big state in January only benefits the big-money candidates.

So these "Byzantine" rules actually do help democracy.

[LiberalFighter]

5. They need to go with 6 or 8 district primaries.

[madfloridian]

6. Let the hopscotching begin.

Next thing you know we will voting in December this year for the nominee. :shrug:

They knew Martinez would be weak on the reprimands, so they did it to hurt the Democrats.

I don't think Florida is ready yet to be so powerful in the primaries. Our Secretary of State has too much control over elections. The Republicans have too much control over the state.

[Orangepeel]

8. before they moved the date, the Florida primary didn't mean anything anyway

Old date: delegates counted, but were selected after there was only one candidate in the race
New date: delegates are selected early in the race, but don't count

Hell, at least with the new system, the Florida primaries get some press.

[asjr]

9. Someone, please, help an old lady

understand why the rush to be the first primary. Is it to rule out the "second tier" candidates? I would say this sounds "unAmerican" but who knows what American means these days. It seems we have been on a perpetual political roller coaster since 2000 without any letup.

[Freddie Stubbs]

10. Many states are tired of having their primaries after the nominee has been decided

The earlier they hold their primary, the more influence a state will have. It is not some conspiracy to sabotage second and third tier candidates. In fact, both national parties have rules in place to discourage states from holding their primaries too early. That is why Florida is being penalized.

[madfloridian]

14. Florida Dems have made insulting comments about the national party.

It is very much resented. They act like Florida has no obligation to follow rules at all.

It has disheartened me totally to see our Democrats here insult the national party with one side of their mouth, yet beg for delegates out of the other side.

I remember that old saw..."Florida, the rules are different here."

Many of us have decided not to vote for anyone who campaigns here until something is straightened out with the DNC.

[CK_John]

11. They always want a chance at a "do over" to fix the outcome. n/t

[Freddie Stubbs]

12. Who are 'they?'

This bill had bipartisan support.

[madfloridian]

13. Quote of the year from Rubio...Jeb's buddy and friend and house speaker

Yeh, right, Marco...of course you did not know what a mess it would cause...you said as you chuckled up your sleeve.

And thumbs down to Jeremy Ring and the other Florida Democrats who insult the national party. Here is Jeremy's statement.

"GOP officials in the state say they had no idea until late in this spring's legislative session that the change would create so much turmoil on the Democratic side.

"I don't think anybody made us aware of that until the very end of the process," said Marco Rubio, the Republican state House speaker.

And Jeremy Ring, a Democratic state senator from Broward County and co-sponsor of the legislation, defended it.

"If the choice is Florida is relevant and has no delegates versus being irrelevant and having delegates, I'd choose being relevant with no delegates," Ring said. "We did this so 18 million Floridians could take part in the presidential primaries, not so a few hundred people can go to a party in Denver."

And another South Florida legislator said he had no loyalty to the DNC or the party.

http://www.ovaloffice2008.com/2006_04_01_ovaloffice2008_archive.html

"Florida's Democrats also support moving the primary up, and they have cold, hard logic on their side. "We're Florida, for crying out loud," said Democratic state Rep. Dan Gelber. Out loud. "Moving it up would give our state and its voters the prominence they merit," he added. It's a logic you can't refute. All around the country, state legislators are shaking their heads, wondering if their own voters should be given prominence when they clearly don't merit it. Floridians are special."

And more special stuff from Gelber.

"Indeed, when DNC chair Howard Dean threatened to cut the size of the Florida delegation to the 2008 convention, State Representative Dan Gelber of Miami Beach responded, "I don't have any constituents in the DNC. I only have constituents in my district. They would like to be more relevant."

http://bleiersblog.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html

Most of the Florida Dems would undermine the national party to get this state first or near the top of the primaries.

They would NOT do it in 2004, they just did not care. The state chairman now is asking for a way to get Florida Dems help for breaking the party rules.

The whole thing is sickening. It was a power play. And not just by the Republicans.

A party in Denver? Really, Jeremy Ring. You sound just like a Florida Democrat. A party in Denver?