Did Dean betray Florida?

There's an irony to the DNC coming down so hard on Florida Democrats for busting the Democratic primary calendar. But for the Florida Democrats, Howard Dean today might be back in Burlington pushing for more bike trails and examining patients instead of leading the DNC. Remember, it was the Florida DNC members who early on threw their support to Dean (mostly thanks Scott " I'm a gun-owning pickup-truck driver and I have a bulldog named Lockjaw" Maddox) and gave Dean the big mo.

"I feel like I screwed up, where I supported this man,'' said DNC member Janee Murphy of Tampa. "We stepped up to the table. We stuck our neck out, and back then Howard Dean was quoted more than once talking about the uniqueness of this Southern state and making sure every vote was going to be counted...We're the state that has dealt with election cycle after election cycle of issues when it comes to voting. For him not to stand up for us is a slap in the face for every Floridian.''

Comments

"But for the Florida Democrats, Howard Dean today might be back in Burlington pushing for more bike trails and examining patients instead of leading the DNC."

Bottom line. Hit the road Dunce... and take thurmadrunk with you...

Oh please, Janee Murphy is so "old" Democrats. Howard Dean didn't make this decision now did he? No, there was a vote and it was unaminous all but ONE.

Dems in Tally fell hook, line and sinker and were outsmarted by the RPOF once again.

But please, Janee Murphy????? All she's worried about is what hotel she'll be booked in in CO and who will pay for it.

No more Janee Murphy PLEASE! damn but she drove away so many good Democratic grassroots door-knockers - no more Janee Murphy PRETTY PLEASE!!!

YEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

How log will Dean remain as DNC chair when Hillary is the nominee?

you can say what you want about janee murphy and karen thurman, but they're looking out for their people. and those people are democrats who live and vote in florida.

Murphy is right, this is another Dean yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaw moment.

As soon as Hillary Clinton is the nominee, Dean will be back in Burlington where he belongs. No worries. His day is coming soon.

I guess Janee Murphy isn't satisfied with the damage she did to the Hillsborough County Democratic Party while she was Chair. Now she's decided to go after Howard Dean for doing his job. Earlier this summer she was quoted slamming Karen Thurman, who is doing a great job, btw. Janee needs to remove herself from the circular firing squad. She is irrelevant and (as stated above) only cares that she won't get a good hotel room in Denver.

[Bill G]

Let's all concentrate on the Washington Democratic National Committee who is giving Florida the shaft because of our early primary....Let's hold up all donations to the DNC until they come to their senses....Florida has more Democratic voters that N.H, Iowa, Idaho and most of the other early primary states but
somehow these idiots in Washington just don't get it......

[Susan S]

Bill G,
Why do you think Florida shouldn't follow the rules? Just curious...

[Michelle from Tampa]

8:34 and 8:41, that's really tasteless. Let's keep the personal attacks out of it, okay?

Thanks Z.

Janee Murphy is right on target. And the negative and personal comments about her are not only inaccurate, they are repugnate (as are those who posted them). So much for intelligent discussion of the issues on the "Buzz". Those days are apparently over.

The Florida Legislature is responsible for the primary move. The Florida Dems who co-sponsored and/or voted for it need to step up and take responsibility for their actions. Hiding behind a finger pointing at the DNC Chair is cowardly. Dean is leading 50 states not just one.

[Z]

Don't thank me. I'm no angel, Michelle. But there some tactics even I won't use.

[Susan S]

9:15PM,
You are absolutely right. Now it's time to get to work and turn these lemons into lemonade. The whining has got to stop.

I'd take Howard Dean's choices over Janee Murphy's any day. If Janee can dish it out, then she damn well be able to take it, too.

[Francine]

this may be the last straw!

the DNC is picking a fight with the wrong state.

Think about how the whole "punishment" came down. None of the FL delegates will count, so that means candidates can still visit FL. If the DNC said 1/2 would count, the candidates couldn't visit FL.

Also, the FL Dems voted for the "wrong" date so we could have a paper trail. Remember that the MINORITY party doesn't always get to choose what they REALLY want to vote for!

BTW, to those of you who feel you must ridicule others or call them names, did you forget your kindergarten lessons of good behavior????

[csbrudy]

21 comments, 5 people attacked personally, a few several times. One would think this was a junior high school cafeteria. On either side of the spectrum, anonymity doesn't excuse the abandonment of dignity.

[csbrudy]

21 comments, 5 people attacked personally, a few several times. One would think this was a junior high school cafeteria. On either side of the spectrum, anonymity doesn't excuse the abandonment of dignity.

[Joe from Philly]

Ms. Murphy's "jilted by Dean" remark is not the sort of discussion Democrats need. She should leave her personal feelings at home and focus on objective facts.
There was a vote, this is democracy. Live with the results and stop articulating this issue as middle school crushes and feelings.

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[Gene Smith]

I said this earlier on another post, but none of this foolishness really matters. The important thing is that Florida Democrats get to voice their opinion on the Dem nominee for President at a time when it will still matter.

That is way more important than some delegates to a big party where no real business is conducted. The importance of the momentum to be gained from a good showing in Florida, one week before the rest of the world goes on February 5th can not be overstated. The delegate count does not really matter. The candidates are not going to Iowa and New Hampshire because of the delegates at stake. They go because if they do well there, they have a shot at the prize.

So let's all get over ourselves and get back to thinking about how we can help our Dem nominee win the White House in 2008. And we are going to have an important voice in who that nominee is going to be.

Other than the people who work the election, I don't think average florida democrats care about this whole situation. Average Floridians won't know who counts for what in what election, so I don't know if the super homestead exemption will pass (plus you need 60% of the vote, and if the intiative gets more than 60% it is going to pass anyway with huge momentum and a democratic primary won't be able to stop it).

Now the people who work the election may be offended, but guess what, prominent members of the Florida party were speaking up in support of the move by the republican legislature. If they had just kept their mouths shut, I am sure the DNC would have had mercy on them. They didn't and we are in this mess. I am sure it will all be worked out though. But you know what, the Democrats may win the next presidential election, but I doubt they will carry the state of Florida. the 2000 election was a mircale for Florida democrats that we probably won't be seeing for a while.

[csbrudy]

Gene is correct. The rest of the country is going to follow the Florida lead. Whoever wins here takes the cake, regardless of Dean and the DNC.

[csbrudy]

10:35, whoever counts the votes will carry Florida. Hand counts, and its the Democrats. Machine counts, its the Republicans. Google Ion Sancho Harry Hursti.

All those felon votes won't count?

Dean is not to blame for this at all.

Who cares about the delegates? The eventual nominee will decide whether to seat the delegates. And they will.

Florida will be the first big primary, with the most diverse electorate. The candidates absolutely cannot avoid it.

The winner of the Florida primary will then have the mo going into the California and New York primary, along with other big states, and boom, it's over. The democratic nominee is chosen in early February. I mean, the next president is chosen.

[Reality Check]

Gene Smith and all the other DEC loyalists are whistling in the dark.

Given the headlines of the past few days and the high visiblity this story has received, the likelihood is that Democrats will NOT be motivated to vote in the Jan 29th Primary that they've been told won't count.

And candidates won't be spending any money in the state since the primary has been declared meaningless (they really didn't want to, anyway ... Florida's media markets are just too costly to mount a serious competitive effort in).

So let's get serious, folks. Howard Dean and the DNC gave Fla Dems the big fat finger.

How humiliating and demeaning an experience was it for Karen Thurman & the FDP? The pictures we saw of her in this weekend's newspapers told the story better than words ... or even Gene Smith's partisan spin ... ever could !!!!

[Demmom]

So tell me you really believe Howard Dean has no control over the Rules/Bylaws Committee? I beieve one of the members on the committee was a college roomate.
Dean, through the DNC bylaws and in general is in the driver seat!!
Yes, it is true in eleven hour our Presidential nominee can come in on their white horse and give us our delegates back.
But, at that point Howard Dean and DNC have already assigned hotels to each state. Where are we going to put 210 delegates and find transporation to and from the convention.
Moreover, if we are knocked down to 0 to 20 delegates I just don't see any candidate spending a tremendous about of time or money in this state. Why would they need to. We won't have enough delegates to really make a difference.
I almost forgot the most generous offer of a caucus from Howard Dean. Okay, my fellow Democrats hold your nose because before we get out of the gate we won't be counting at least 25% of the votes. These are absentee ballots. Florida Democratic Party will be saying to our Florida men and women in Iraq and others living aboard your vote doesn't matter.
Our state is the cash cow for the RNC and DNC. Enough is Enough!!! At least Janee is standing up and not making excuses for Dean.

And, I agree about the personal attacks it's really tacky. The comments about Janee are way off base. The woman took all the drama from her local DEC and still paid their rent for 9 months. That doesn't sound like a woman that is looking for someone to pay her way in CO. She is a young attractive woman of color that seems to be her biggest crime with some of you small minded individuals. Clean it up guys almost everytime I have seen her at an event she has her daughter with her. Stop living up to that saying that "Democrats eat their young" or should I say young of color...

sorry Michelle

[LSB]

Dedan was a sorry governor of VT and an also-ran MD..don't send him back to Burlington.

[Omega83]

Last I checked, the laws of the state of Florida were more important than the rules of a national party.

The DNC is not only disenfranhising the future vote of its members, but it is already usurping the laws of a state, presented by, amended, supported, and codified by elected reprsentatives of the people.

It would appear that the DNC does not believe the rules apply to them instead of the current spin.

[Disenfrachised]

This just shows that the DNC could care less about disenfranchising Florida voters.

The Constitution allows states to determine their own election day and conventions are now nothing more than choreographed media events. Sorry but as far as I'm concerned the Constitution trumps "party rules" developed by a group of party elites.

If the DNC doesn't want my vote in January, they're not going to get my vote in November either.

Floridians shouldn't contributed to any Democratic candidates either until this is changed.

Adam - When are you going to stop quoting Janee? You know she will always say something negative. You are using her to "add a dynamic" to your articles and posts when all they do is discredit them. She is no longer respected by the local political community because of her horrible attitude. Therefore, she never really has good intel anymore. People have stopped asking her for advice, sharing information with her and asking to be involved in the political process. All too often she spouts off her uneducated, ill informed, fiery opinion and uses the race card when no one will do what she wants.
She knows better than anyone that DNC voting members are trying to prevent any primaries from being in 07. The DNC voting members all have close ties to the candidates and it’s extremely beneficial to the candidates and the eventual nominee that the primaries stick to their original dates. Has anyone ever thought about what the candidates want?
Dean has been used as a punching bag and Janee knows that Dean didn’t even vote – she knows the process. She’s just trying to get her name in the paper again.

[One of those racecard dems]

8:37 AM -
I have a question if she is ill informed then tell me is it true what she has been saying about Dean's offer of a caucus that would disenfranchise absentee voters(military for ex.)? If this is true that doesn't seem like she is playing the race card but is more concerned about every Floridian.

Out of local politics! Did you attend the event she hosted to raise money for the local party this month? The keynote was Alex Sink and several elected dem female elected officials spoke. Well, I was there and Bill McBride asked everyone to stand up and thank Janee for a wonderful event.
All of us that really care about the Florida Democratic party know Janee always will be on the side of Florida. Not cutting some deals with a presidential candidate. You want to talk about uneducated and full of fiery. Boy, you got some real top notch class acts in Gellar and Gelber Their comments have been used by Dean several times to support a strict ruling on Florida.

I have for two years sat back and watched Ms.Murphy dropped in frying pan by fellow dems. Each time it seems some local dems take their attacks to the media. Moreover, each time it is a white person that brings up her color. No more am I (a proud black dem) going to stand by and not say anything.

Ms.Murphy, if you read this keep telling it like it is. You have backbone and thank you for what you still do for us local dems.

We are with you the local Democratic Black Caucus and others.

Uh ...COHosted and how many phone calls, envelopes did she lick, and how many copies did she actually make?

9:57 AM

She paid for the entire event herself and had limited help. I personally and other members of the Black Caucus offered to help. She didn't want us to take time away from preparing for our event. Oops, I stand corrected she did come to a meeting and I did observe her daughter sealing envelopes.

Check out the next HCDEC financial report. It will have all of Ms. Murphy's in-kinds and contributions I am sure.

LEAVE THE WOMAN ALONE!!! Get back to the real issue A binding primary on Jan.29th or not.

[issywise]

If Howard Dean stole the ballot boxes, we'd jail him. He accomplishes the same purpose by party rules. If a party can't support my right to have my vote count, I can't support that party. We need laws to require every vote count.