Florida's Geller joked about his amendment: "sarcasm and audible laughter in chamber"

[madfloridian]

Geller added an amendment to the January 29 primary vote, and then he joined the rest of the House in laughing his own amendment down. Then in a letter to Dean two months later, he said they were outvoted on the amendment. But the Rules Committee had the transcript.

Here is the letter from Senator Steven A. Geller to Governor Howard Dean apparently in May of this year...after the vote was taken in March.

Geller's letter to Dean

The Democratic Leadership in the Florida Senate and House of Representatives attempted to adhere to the rules of the DNC by offering amendments to keep the presidential preference primary on February 5, 2008. A copy of the amendment offered by myself and the Senate Democratic Leader Pro Tempore is included with this letter. An identical amendment was filed by the House Democratic Leader and the House Democratic Leader Pro Tempore. But as we are still the minority party in a Republican controlled Legislature, our amendments were overwhelmingly defeated. Simply put—we were outvoted, a scenario which - I’d like to caution - will be difficult to change should you move forward with any sanctions because of the primary date change.

In addition, while our amendments failed, we as Democrats voted for the final product. The legislation we supported finally moved our state from the punch lines into the headlines with regard to election reform, including the creation of a verifiable paper trail, a change long overdue. A verifiable paper trail was one of our Caucus priorities and important to many members of Congress as well.

Well, that sounds very good. But here is more of what the Rules Committee knew before they took their vote on Saturday. Actually Geller laughed out loud at his own amendment. Amazing. From the comments which refer to an Adam C. Smith article.

The DNC members had handouts that included quotes by House Minority leader Dan Gelber brushing off Howard Dean, and the following transcript of Steve Geller making the motion to move the primary to Feb. 5:

Geller: "...So the Democratic leader and the Democratic leader pro tem are jointly making this motion, which we will duly show them later, that we tried not to have the election on, um, before (Feb. 5).
President: "And so Sen. Geller are you urging a negative vote or would you like us to pass this vote?"
Geller: "Oh no sir. We really, really want this. Don't we senator? (sarcasm and audible laughter in chamber).

Somehow that humor just doesn't sit well with me. Not when the party's votes are at stake. So they really did not make an effort to oppose the Republicans. It was all a joke to them.

Both parties voted yes. They wanted to be "relevant." Nothing wrong with that at all....just as long as you don't try to lie about what you did.

Laughing off an amendment, voting yes, and saying they were outvoted

House Republicans and Democrats passed the earlier primary bill (HB 537) by a 115-1 vote - a challenge to the national parties that are wielding threats in an attempt to prevent a nationwide race for earlier and earlier primaries.

Today the county chairs in Florida at the request of the state party are sending around emails asking people to call the DNC contribution line....and take my word they are not urging them to donate. In fact it is assumed they will stop donations. This is wrong on so many levels.

The DNC has been informed of these emails. They have been getting calls like this. But when I called tonight I was told they are getting some very supportive calls as well.

I don't mind a good fight. In fact I enjoy good clean battles. But there is nothing I detest worse than underhanded tactics and propaganda.

[madfloridian]

1. Geller thought he was funny. They are the ones who gave the vote away.

What a dignified excercise in Democracy here in my state. He laughed off his own amendment and then wrote Governor Dean they were outvoted.

"Geller: "...So the Democratic leader and the Democratic leader pro tem are jointly making this motion, which we will duly show them later, that we tried not to have the election on, um, before (Feb. 5).

President: "And so Sen. Geller are you urging a negative vote or would you like us to pass this vote?"

Geller: "Oh no sir. We really, really want this. Don't we senator? (sarcasm and audible laughter in chamber)."

And people here at DU are still yelling that big bad DNC took their votes away. Geller is getting away with this because people are not aware what is going on.

They would rather yell that their votes were stolen.

[TSIAS]

2. Gellar is a "Mainstream Florida Democrat"

http://www.mainstreamdemocrats.com/blank.html

Which is essentially Florida's version of the DLC.

I know you liked Smith, a "Mainstream" Democrat, for governor -- but Davis was equally deplorable.

[madfloridian]

3. We don't have much choice here.

Kind of depressing.

:shrug:

[Supersedeas]

23. with friends like Gellar, who needs filthy Re-pigs--FL has a Gellar smeller

[liberaltrucker]

4. Speaking as an Alabamian

Appears to be Southern politics as usual.

:grr:

We have a long row to hoe. It starts with us, but.....how?

[madfloridian]

6. Well, we are going up against some closed minds here....

and sharing some thoughts today they don't want to hear.

I feel discouraged this week and don't have many answers.

I thought when I tried to present the truth it would matter, but it doesn't.

[madfloridian]

5. Another, Dan Gelber, said the amendment was to show the DNC they "tried"

From the notes held by the DNC rules committee:

"Florida House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber stated,
after receiving a call from DNC Chair asking for help in opposing setting
the primary date before February 5, “I don’t represent Howard Dean.”"

"Florida House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber stated,
after offering an amendment to move the primary to February 5th, that the
only reason he offered it was “to show that there was an attempt to state
within the Democratic Party rules.”with no debate being offered."

In other words it was a joke to them.

More on Steve Geller's joking way of dealing with this issue.

Florida Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller stated
on the Senate floor that he was offering an amendment to move the primary to
February 5 only because he was threatened by DNC Chair Howard Dean. Sen.
Geller than mocked his own amendment which failed on a voice vote without
any debate."

We have so many battles ahead for our party. The Florida Party are the ones who gave people's votes away. Not the DNC.

I despise the attitudes here so much.

[madrchsod]

7. hmmm..who`s worse?

the florida democrats or the illinois democrats...let me think a minute......yup it`s a toss up. so don`t feel to bad about this crap we have an equally corrupt bunch of democrats too

[mohc]

8. I really do not understand...

First let me say that I am a resident of Palm Beach county, and as such have a vested interest in the outcome of this situation. Also, I do not particularly like the system that gives Iowa and New Hampshire the first shot every election cycle. That being said, while the rule may be to some extent unfair, it certainly is not illegal, or even unreasonable. Therefore I myself support the DNC on this, and that very well mean I lose my chance to have a say in the primary, something I would not give up easily. I do not understand the sentiment that if the rule is flawed then it makes it ok to break the rule. When a rule or law itself violates a higher rule or law (ie. Constitutional), you may have a case for breaking the rule, but I do not believe that is the situation here. It seems as if Florida simply did not like the rule, and willingly violated it. The DNC even made a specific exception to states that were forced into this position by a Republican legislature, and yet they chose not to oppose the move. Even if they wanted the bill to pass, I would guess that the DNC would let it slide if they had simply voted against it, sarcasm or not. The final vote was basically their way of saying loud and clear that they could care less about the rule.

If you oppose the rule, change it. The argument being made is that Iowa and New Hampshire are too small to have this much influence, if that is the case, it should not take much work to get the rule changed next time around. Until then, the states are going to need to learn to live with the rules in place.

[madfloridian]

9. "specific exception to states that were forced into this position by a Republican legislature"

Yes, they tried to use that exception when they had made fun of the process and the DNC. It did not work.

[aquart]

27. Considering Florida's past performance this decade

I really don't want their voice to get louder. It's already damn near destroyed all of us.

[hughee99]

10. You've mentioned several times

that you've put the facts out and some people just don't get it. I guess I'm one of them. Here's how I see it...

Somewhere around 4.3 million democrats in Florida will have no say who their party's candidate will be because their few elected officials failed to adhere to an ARBITRARY rule. If the goal of the democratic party was to keep the existing primary schedule as is, then this "exception" is arbitrary, since it will do nothing to actually further this goal, just enable them to flex a little political muscle.

If you want to punish elected officials for not voting the party line, fine. Don't send them any money come election time, don't encourage others to help raise money for them, and/or don't send anyone down to campaign for them. If those politicians think their constituents support them in their decision to go against the party, let them demonstrate it by letting their constituents pick up the slack in these areas. Hell, then can even encourage and support opposing Democratic candidates in the primaries when these elected officials run for reelection.

Dr. Dean is the chairman, and it's his job to enforce the rules, so I don't blame him for all of this. The "exception" is a SHITTY RULE. As a good person, which I believe Dr. Dean is, it's also his responsibility to try to do the right thing here, (and I don't know that he's not working on some sort of resolution to this, so I'm not trying to imply that he isn't trying to do the right thing within the confines of his obligations as the party chairman).

As for the facts...
IMHO, the fact that Geller was an a-hole about this, or that a few other elected Dems didn't follow the party line is an insufficient reason to not let the Florida Dems participate in the process. If politicians don't follow the part line, the DNC should punish the politicians, not the people.

I think the DNC has the right to exclude the Florida voters, but I don't think it's the right thing to do in this situation.

[xxqqqzme]

11. sorry, but I do not see how party rules are arbitrary.

After being on the CA Dem Party Executive Board, attending e-board conferences, attending committee meetings - I'm on the legislative committee - during those conferences' taking part in debates over rules changes - and then waiting until the next state convention for the delegates to vote yea or nay on what you have just spent the past year trying to perfect - I would not casually toss off 'arbitrary' as a way to describe changes in rules. And I participate @ the state level - I cannot imagine how much more complicated - add faction bickering; territorial posturing etc. - it must be @ the national level.

Sounds like y'all down there in Florida need to take your state party back.

[hughee99]

14. I'm not actually from Florida, but I agree with them needing to take their state party back.

The reason THIS exception rule is arbitrary isn't because it was done easily, without bickering or without posturing, the reason it's arbitrary is this...

The reason for having these rules at all is to prevent state parties from F'ing with the primary schedule. I don't have any issues with having rules for that. I have an issue with this asinine exception rule. The Florida Democratic state party was not capable of affecting the outcome. The primary date was going to change, regardless of how they voted. If the party's goal is to keep the schedule the same, then the votes of the Dems in the Florida legislature are COMPLETELY irrelevant to the DNC's goal (as were their attitudes during the voting process). Requiring that 1/2 the legislators vote a certain way when the outcome is already determined is as arbitrary as requiring that 1/2 of them wear an orange tie to work. The "exception" prevents millions of voters in Florida from having any say in their party's primary just because a few Dems didn't make the "right" irrelevant vote. I can certainly see where the DNC would want to keep state legislators "in the fold" as far as their stated goals go, but there are other ways to punish them for their disloyalty than to remove all the state's Dem voters from the primary process.

[madfloridian]

15. Florida knew the rules before they voted. They knew if they TRIED to fight...

they would not lose delegates.

Florida has proven that lying and propaganda and personal attacks work every time.

[hughee99]

19. So as long as you know the rules beforehand

any condition set upon you is okay? Yes, the legislators knew what the rules were beforehand, and they F'd the Democratic voters of Florida. This exception rule basically says that if a few dozen people don't make a token gesture that is doomed to fail, millions of people have no say in the primary. Punish the many for the sins (or idiocy) of a few? That's not the Democratic way, as I learned it anyway, that's what the repukes do.

[madfloridian]

20. Then let Florida control things, and let them break the rules.

That is best. Florida is more important to the universe than any other state.

Let them break the national organization.

[hughee99]

22. Your right...

since were getting into sarcasm here anyway now. The rules, whatever they may be, are ALWAYS right. You didn't punch your ballot all the way through, go to the right voting place, or wait in line for 7 hours to vote? Too bad, you don't get to vote, those are the rules. You weren't disenfranchised, you just didn't follow the rules. It's your fault.

[madfloridian]

26. No, not being sarcastic.

Florida is trying to be in charge of the process. If we let them, it would be best.

[cobalt1999]

16. The party rules may not be "arbitrary" but...

What do you do as an elected state official when the majority of your constituents want a change in the "favorite states" agenda? Are you responsible to the people that elected you or are you responsible to the committee meetings?

Personally, I know a lot of us Florida dems were genuinely pissed that we got the choice of Kerry or nobody (Kucinich doesn't count) in the last election. There are people in a number of states in this country who feel the same way. Those legislatures are doing the same thing to BOTH democratic and republican party committee rules.

If I'm a state legislator, I'm going to listen to the actual voters over some (even hard working) committee members. Isn't that what we ask of all our elected officials?

[madfloridian]

17. And honesty doesn't matter.

.

[cobalt1999]

24. Wow, George Bush must be the most honest man in the world.

He never listens to the people that elected him.

How is it dishonest to respond to the your constituency or put them above party committees?

I know you are emotional about this topic, but remember they are doing the same thing to the republican national committee.

[madfloridian]

25. I have learned from this incident.

I have learned that propaganda means more than truth, and it is far more successful.

I think they will take down Governor Dean in this move...., something Carville failed to do.

I think Florida fully believes it is the hub of the universe, and Bill Nelson is in charge. They never cross him.

I have learned that most of DU will see Dean's goal for building the party go down the tubes in the name of "me firsties" by Florida.

I have learned that it does not matter if leaders are honest.

[madfloridian]

18. They are lying to and about Dean and the DNC

I think this will be what turns me off against the party here.

[hughee99]

21. I agree that the state party's handling of this is reprehensible...

I just don't agree that it warrants cutting all the voters of Florida out of the process.

[madfloridian]

12. One Florida county is saying there will be further bloodshed. Much argument here today.

The only solution to this is the lawsuit threatened by Bill Nelson. Go for it, Bill. Sue Howard Dean. Sue the DNC. Let all the shenanigans behind the scenes right out in the open in court.

After all the party leaders are sending emails telling people to not donate to the DNC. That is called breaking the back of the party.

Florida Dem chairs asking Floridians not to donate to the DNC

The cautious, uninvolved Bill Nelson has found his calling in life...bring down Dr. Dean. After some calls and emails I am totally convinced this is getting very personal. In other words, no one crosses Bil Nelson and Florida.

Nelson: "I will lead the delegates to Denver whether or not the DNC plans to let them in."

Now about the call for bloodshed.

Will there be a January 29th Florida Democratic Primary? Yes!

Will your vote count? Yes!

Will there be further inter-party bloodshed in our usual "circular firing squad"? Yes!

Will the FDP win the fight ... Yes!

Dave Dew, Chair
Martin County Democratic Executive Committee

Martin County Democrats

Oh, and Governor Dean, if you get tired of being Bill Nelson's whipping boy....just remember we will welcome you back to the DFA with open arms.

[jmp]

13. Well, that explains that.

"Oh, and Governor Dean, if you get tired of being Bill Nelson's whipping boy....just remember we will welcome you back to the DFA with open arms."

[madfloridian]

28. Calling for bloodshed and stopping donations.

Hell of a power play.