Florida: The Rules Are Different Here.

[madfloridian]

"Florida—The Rules Are Different Here” was a state promotional slogan that began in 1986. It is still used derisively, whenever someone wants to break the rules.

Well, we want to tell you that Chairman Dean has us folks here in Florida all out of sorts. He can't change the rules without the whole party getting involved, and that just is not good enough for us. So we will make him look like the bad guy. And we are good enough to do it.

Schoen: Replace Dean with Harold Ford
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1193

Carville: Replace Dean with Harold Ford
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/838

Florida: Just replace him....get him outta there. He's going to take our
delegates away because we broke the rules and blamed him for it, even though
we approved of those rules at one time.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3314361&mesg_id=3314361

Hey, maybe this will be our new party. You just never know.
http://dlc.org/

They got the money and power. :shrug:

Florida: the rules are different here. We don't tolerate those smaller states getting in ahead of us. We don't tolerate folks who don't let us break the rules.

Because here in Florida we only count votes when and if we want to do so. We don't fret about elections being fair. Not our problem.

And we don't tolerate chairmen of parties who try to follow the rules when we are breaking them. And we are good enough to turn it on that person and make him the bad guy.

We just have different rules here. Welcome.

[madfloridian]

1. And just in case....

anyone doesn't understand, here is my other post on the subject.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3314361&mesg_id=3314361

[Hippo_Tron]

2. Can't Florida hold the Democratic and Republican primaries on seperate days?

[badgerpup]

3. The FARK website...

...has a special tag JUST for stuff that happens in Florida.
They don't even bother with the "STUPID" "OBVIOUS" "SCARY" "WEIRD" or "DUMBASS"...

you see that little tag with an orange for the "o" and you just know the story will probably contain at least 3 outta the 5 above-mentioned elements...

[demoleft]

4. "Florida like Sicily", said an italian journalist...

An italian journalist posted an account of election in Sicily in 2005 and, describing strange things happening, he said something like "not a surprise. Is it not Sicily the Florida of Italy?", more or less, referring to the time of first Bush election.

I didn't catch the sense at the time. Then after the strange things happened during the last USA Presidential elections I began to understand. Now when you talk of (NO) rules in Florida I see there's a quite serious problem.

"We don't tolerate folks who don't let us break the rules" is a slogan for (too) many in southern Italy. And some (bad) politicians rejoice in the situation: the hateful political landlords of the new middle-age...



:hi:

[madfloridian]

9. Your statement is interesting.

"And some (bad) politicians rejoice in the situation: the hateful political landlords of the new middle-age..."

Hey, demoleft from Italy.

:hi:

[retread]

5. Couple of question: 1. How many Democrats voted with the LARGE repig

majority on this? 2. Why is all the sturm und drang coming from just the Democratic party? 3. How do the repigs benefit and the Democrats not?

[Selatius]

6. The Repubs could jam up the Democratic primary system if this is allowed to stand.

If Florida pushes its primary up to January, other states could cry foul and try to push up their primary dates. Michigan has already threatened to push up their primary day if Florida's change is allowed to stand.

With many large states holding their primaries early, the candidate who wins will likely must have a huge war chest early on. This is biased against poorer candidates. This could mean good news for big monied interests, bad news for working class/poor interests.

The middle-of-the-road Democrats and the Terry McAuliffe cronies who voted with the Repubs to change the primary day should be ashamed of themselves. If they weren't cowards, they might own up to their actions instead of blaming everybody but themselves for the mess.

[madfloridian]

8. The Republicans control the whole process here, voting, elections commission...

everything. It is my understanding that the vote in the Florida house was a unanimous yes for moving the primary.

The Republicans are breaking the rules of their own party, but Martinez as chair does not make waves.

Crist may be a decent guy, but he is after all a Republican.

[riona]

7. Last time, the March date was too late

It was already a done deal when we voted. Really, with all the early campaigning, it seems that the a national primary date would be the way to go. When I vote in a primary, I vote for the candidate I truly want. When I vote in the general election, I vote for my Party's choice.

[madfloridian]

10. The late March date was fine with the party leaders in 04.

Why was that? What changed? Think about that for a minute. Many of us called and talked and met with them about that terribly late primary, but they just did not see a problem.

Now this time it IS a problem, so they break the rules and blame the DNC chairman for following the rules.

[cobalt1999]

12. The party was wrong to approve the rule.

Hey, I'm a Floridian too and I want the early primary. As for changing the rules, better late than never. It's a bad rule.

[madfloridian]

13. Not sure...

which rule you refer to. The ones set up last year by the DNC committee and 447 members? Or the primary just moved up in Florida.

Either way, why blame Dean who can't change the rules by himself.

[cobalt1999]

16. I'm talking about the DNC rule...it's bad, dumb, and it should be challenged.

You asked "what has changed?". I think what changed was people in the party in this state actually started listening to those of us bitching about a late meaningless primary.

As for Dean, while he can't change the rule himself, but he could champion a effort to get it changed. He could speak out against it. He could look into what it would take to change the rule. He could refuse to enforce it.

Instead Dean is pushing the state and the candidates into a corner and it's not going to be pretty for him or the party. Frankly, I think he is more concerned about protecting New Hampshire and Iowa (like that strategy has worked in the past). You too are lashing out about the move and yelling about the democrats in Florida, when they are finally listening.

Either way late primary or a Dean "straw poll", our primary votes will be meaningless.

[madfloridian]

17. Actually Dean is following the rules, the state party is breaking them

and blaming him for it.

That is not a fair situation.

[cobalt1999]

18. Dean is coming across as an advocate of the rule, not a victim of it.

That isn't going to play well in Florida with those of us who have been demanding an early primary for a long time.

As I said, why doesn't he speak out against the rule that would disenfranchise the state? IMHO, because he supports the rule and is playing a vindictive game (how dare Florida!).

Sorry we disagree, you can stay mad at the state...I'll stay pissed at the enforcer of an unjust rule.

[madfloridian]

19. Florida, the rules are different for us.

Gotcha.

[cobalt1999]

21. Florida, listening to what our people want vs. blindly following committee rules.

It's called democracy.

[madfloridian]

22. Well, that's one way of looking at it.

:shrug:

[riona]

24. Personally, I do not blame Dean

I'm expressing my opinion that a national primary day would be the most fair solution all around. The 1/29 date is already causing problems and I do not like being the renegade state. Nor did I like voting on the old March date. All the candidates had either dropped out or might as well have by then. As I said, every general election, I support our candidate. However, it would have been more to my liking, and perhaps a truer picture, if results weren't in any way influenced by earlier primaries.

[Warren DeMontague]

11. "Replace Dean With Harold Ford"... That's the best idea I've heard since "back down on the Iraq

Supplemental".

:crazy:

[seasat]

14. We would have had more influence if they moved it to Feb 12th.

IMHO, we're going to lose delegates and discourage voters with the January primary. We'd be lost in the shuffle on the Super Tuesday primary. If we moved it to the Tuesday after Super Tuesday, we'd have some influence due to our high delegate count. We would be the tie breaker if a couple of candidates came out from Super Tuesday near tied.

[Ron Green]

15. Florida again. I'm keepin' track.

[madfloridian]

20. Heh heh, you will stay busy.

:hi:

[Horse with no Name]

23. Fuck the DLC

and that's all I have to say about THAT!