Democratic primary meltdown

UPDATE: Clinton joins the boycott: "We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process,'' said campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle. "And we believe the DNC’s rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role."

****

Democratic presidential candidates to Florida: Drop dead. John Edwards and Barack Obama sign the pledge promising not to campaign in Florida. As it now stands, every Democrat except Kucinich and Gravel have decided to let Republicans have Florida to themselves for the next few months. Raise your hand if you think these Democrats will decline to raise money in Florida too.

Edwards: "Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina need to be first because in these states ideas count, not just money. These are places where voters get to look the candidate in the eye and measure their policies, ideas, and integrity."

Obama campaign: “Because states that violate DNC rules will not be allowed to contribute to the delegate tally, we urge all states to ensure their compliance with DNC rules so they can participate in our Democratic nominating process. Our campaign will work within the rules established by the DNC to earn the support of Democrats across Americaand run a grassroots campaign to unite Americans around Senator Obama’s commitment to challenging the conventional thinking in Washington.”

Clinton campaign (earlier Saturday): "We've received the letter and we are reviewing it. Sen. Clinton is 100% committed to campaigning in Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina. She believes that these four states have a unique and special role in the process. There are other states that are going through a process now and we are going to let that process play out. But no matter what happens with those states, that will not affect our committment to these four states and we will compete in those states no matter what day those primaries or caucuses are held."

Comments

Florida- The D's don't think you count- guess they have forgotten the last two presidential elections. Stupid!!

[terminator]

Rivera must be laughing his butt off.

He, CC and Greer better hope the same doesn't happen to the RPOF!

[terminator]

Rivera must be laughing his butt off.

He, CC and Greer better hope the same doesn't happen to the RPOF!

[terminator]

Rivera must be laughing his butt off.

He, CC and Greer better hope the same doesn't happen to the RPOF!

[terminator]

Rivera must be laughing his butt off.

He, CC and Greer better hope the same doesn't happen to the RPOF!

Termie, stop hitting post!

As a Registered Democrat, it appears the list of Democratic presidential candidates who are rapidly losing my support is growing.

I guess, Obama, Edwards and the rest who are abandoning Florida Democrats are going to have to get to 270 electoral votes without Florida. Good luck winning South Carolina in November.

How do I get my money back from Obama? If he won't campaign in Florida, he needs to return our donations.

[terminator]

sorry guys

I was having a senior moment!

[Issywise]

Lost my vote.

[Issywise]

Lost my vote.

[Issywise]

Lost my vote.

Don't do it Hills!!!

Well, with an almost assured victory in 11/08, the hapless Democrats have to find some way to lose. Unbelievable.

If they don't want our votes, they shouldn't get our money. Will all these candidates cancel fundraising in Florida. Probably not. Our money is good enough, not our votes. No one should write another check to any candidate that says FL should not count.

CC and Greer are working this behind the scenes and all the talk. I think that at the end of the day Fl Republicans will get all 116 delegates. People say Greer is a master negotiateing things like this stuff. To bad Thurman does not have the same skills or none of this would have happened to the Dems. If Greer pulls it off, The Governor and Lemeiux need to send him down to Broward to negotiate with the Seminoles.

It isn't the negotiation with the RNC, it is the killer loophole in their rules that Greer is going to exploit.
Next week the RNC is going to drop the dime on RPOF, saying we only get 57, but the real test won't come till the convention. It was good work by the Chairman, and RPOF will pick the 114 delegation starting after February 5th, send them to Minneapolis, and then the convention will decide.

[Yeyo]

Que se jodan.

Not sure, but is not finding a loop whole, to use part of good negotiateing. Seems like Greer and the RPOF Staff know what there doing!.

Hello, Obama..."challenge the conventional thinking in Washington"...you just bowed to it.

I expected more

Maybe Hillary will be the real one to challenge conventional Washington thinking

3:, Wait a min, Greer is not the only RPOF Chairman who has Negotiated , CJJ did it all the time, Oh thats right not for the RPOF , but when she was on line in her office ordering from QVC. Thank you GOV Crist and Chairman Greer for doing your JOB.

None of this matters unless one of the party's has an open convention because no candidate has enough votes to win the nomination...that won't happen. This is a monumental blunder by the Democraps.

Et Tu Hillary.

You had a chance to be different.

Lemmings....

Democrats - hahahahhahahahahahahahahahaha breath hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Way to throw it away, idiots. Proud of that chairman now?

[zenator]

The law of unintended consequences is operating in full force.

At the time that the Florida Legislature voted to change the primary date, it appeared that the Fla. Dem primary was a wide open race. Since that time, Hillary has emerged as a prohibitive favorite with the result that all of her rivals are more than happy to take advantage of the free pass offered by the DNC.

It is now a safe bet that Dem voter turnout will be very low, which among other consequences, is good news for the proposed constitutional amendment to cut property taxes.

And now Hillary has signed the pledge as well.......

[Jim]

Apparently national Dems are eager to burn all bridges to Florida. For the first time in 40 years, I now expect to sit out a national election.

[zenator]

It is utterly stupid for the DeaNC and the Dem candidates to deliver the brazen message to Florida Dems to F- off. It just shows how completely out of touch the DEM Party has become with reality. Do any of the Dem bigwigs realize that Fla Dems might just wake up and decide to evaluate their options? After all, as Justice Holmes once stated: Even a dog knows the difference between being stepped on and being kicked."

It surely swings the door wide open to FRP to issue an invitation to conservative Dems to join the party of Governor Crist, who has been working toward that end in any event.

Thank you Donna, Howard and Moveon.Org.

It's time for Dean to go. He is pissing off the wrong people.

From reading 3:07, 3:12, and 3:35 it looks like Greer and Delmar have nothing else to do today, but blog.

Florida Dems, let's play connect the dots. Who made this primary date change a legislative priority this past session (aside from Sen. Ring)?

Marco Rubio

Who does Marco revere and is regarded as the sucessor to his legacy?

Jeb Bush

Who is the brother of who?

President Bush

Who is advised in all matters pertaining to GOP by whom?

Karl Rove

Let's start thinking about who the real enemy is and what the end result is of this primary BS. Florida is still a swing state and right now the Dems are losing their advantage here!

"Ignorance leads men into a party, and shame keeps them from getting out again" - Benjamin Franklin

7:30 you read too many spy novels and assume things that simply are not true

[Zhombre]

And 7:30 forgot to mention Karl Rove is the Son of the Devil put on earth to sow discord and misery.

I don't think that. I think Karl Rove(or possibly someone else) is a brilliant strategist that has found a way to make the Dems form a circular firing squad and weaken our political stregnth in 2008. The Rs have the same sanctions coming their way and you don't see them having a knock-down drag out fight amonst themselves for the whole world to watch.

7:30
Now that is quite a 'spin'.

I am sending back all fundraising letters from the DNC, DCCC, DSCC and any presidential candidate ignoring Florida. I am writing "Count Florida!" On the envelope. I urge you to do the same.

[mike]

The problem with your conspiracy theory, 7:30, is that most democrats voted for the change. It wasn't a partisan issue by any stretch of the imagination. The party allowed the whacko fringe to install Howard Dean, and this is the kind of irrational drama queen BS that Dean brings to the table. YYAAAAAAAWWWWHHHAAAA!!!!

[Zhombre]

Mike, why did you have to go and tell him that? The imbecile was so happy with his paranoid fantasy and now you've gone and ruined it for him. His little brain will be so confused now, it'll probably have an aneurysm.

Florida to DNC -- F-OFF!

[Bob]

The FDP really screwed up. They have no business complaining about how the DNC handled this when they were threatening to sue before the DNC made their final decision. They should hold caucuses like the DNC has requested and beg for financial assistance.

Well said Bob.
Remember that Nelson helped blow this as well.

Did everyone see Barry S. Edwards back in the news?

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/222005.html

Florida doesn't lose in all this as much as Hillary. If she loses Iowa and New Hampshire, she no longer has FL to give her a comeback win.

Nor will this make any difference next November. It will be ancient history by then.

The DNC did the right thing. The people in the early states are paying attention to the candidates, and most Floridians are not - it's football season, not political season!

How many visits were you expecting from the candidates this fall anyway? They're fighting for Iowa and New Hampshire, and if they can't win or place there, then it's over for them.

When have our primary votes ever mattered anyway?

As long as george bush is president, and the repubs continue to be the perverted hypocrits that they are, the general election will take care of itself.

Let's really connect the dots.

Who is the national chairman of the Democratic Party?

Howard Dean, a ranting lunatic and left wing crazy.

Who is the chairman of the Florida Democrats?

Karen Thurman, a failed and irrelevant congresswoman.

Who makes up the legislative braintrust of the Democrats?

Steve Geller and Dan Gelber, who between the both of them neutered property tax relief, destroyed Florida's insurance market and supported the primary bill that started the meltdown.

Throw Bill Nelson in the mix,
cue the circus music, and watch the democrats run around like idiots and lose another election.

And which party is it that they complain don't count your votes? Hmmmm...

You know who is to blame here? Florida.

Like the Ds didn't see this coming... And like the Rs don't see it coming too.

Changing the primary date was stupid.

[Carol]

All citizens of this country need to start a class action suit against OUR politicians, particularly the Democrats right now, to sue their butts off if Florida's votes don't count in the primary. If it can happen in one party or state, it could probably happen anywhere. Our politicians are out of control.

I will not give up my vote. I will just YELL AT THE TOP OF MY VOICE that
I WILL VOTE AND MY VOTE WILL COUNT!!!!!!

Well, this ensures that the property tax amendment passes and Rudy wins Florida.

Thank you Dems.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Not only does the property tax amendment pass, but local Dems everywhere lose races in "non-partisan" muni races on Jan. 29th. This will not be forgotten in Nov. because the Republicans will use it as the story about how party people from DC and NE made sure not to count votes. It'll be tough to forget it when you see it on 10 mail pieces. What a way to make people forget about war, poverty, healthcare, tax breaks for the rich, etc. etc.

[J. Russell, Dade City, Fla]

We Dems in Florida should not blame Howard. This was a long time coming... Just ask Donna Brazile who scolded Karen following the DNC vote in D.C. last week for not straightening out Florida's election process so that the vote can be trusted. (Seen on C-Span live)

It's the CORRUPTION stupid! To echo a phrase from the past. Ask Karen, Bill and Scott and the rest of the long list of operatives/"leaders" who have used and abused the heart of Florida Democrats for decades now.

People can also thank this same group and their cadre of supporters, when the tax vote and those Muni elections mentioned, go against the interests of Democratic voters as well.

Maybe, just maybe, if Florida is cut out this time "we" will finally get our act together and overhaul the party "leadership" so- called and the apparatus... get a CLEAN slate and work from there.

Thanks Adam for your "interpretation" of David Boniors quote... Bonior... "This (Edwards) campaign is focused on the four early states of Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina because that is where the issues matter most." Adam Smith... "Ouch. Florida issues don't matter as much?"

Adam, that is not what Bonior meant ... AND YOU KNOW IT! Bonior meant that issues, meeting the candidates up close, measuring their personal character and integrity matter more in these states, in particular Iowa and New Hampshire, because of the INTIMATE, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL nature of campaigning in these states... in contrast to what would be a purely $MONEY$ contest in a large state like Florida.

Adam, I would guess that the $Money$ people who "direct" the opinions of the St. Pete Times, would prefer a $MONEY$ campaign over a personal campaign as has been the tradition... because then outcomes are much more CONTROLLABLE, and SKEWED to their liking. One more example of why I no longer subscribe to the Times. Thanks for representing the interests of your employer.

[manaboutit]

Florida should not be included in the early states...until the election fraud it delt with. Fla voters are not being heard...and none of these arguments reflect that issue dead on. Florida wants to choose; I get that. But the vote tabulators are choosing and this is known all over the united states, great britian, everywhere but Fla. dems don't want to belive it, and the repubs just think they keep winning. Thurman did not want to have election reform as part of the platform when she came to be, never said a word until the Jennings fiasco. She did not want to turn off the voters. Donna Brazille told Thurman Florida did not do it's job. We have not been able to get the democratic party to educate themselves, and work with the election reform groups. Instead of sending out emails asking the dems to cheer charlie crist on the environment, she should have led the dems up to tally to stop this legislation? And to correct her, we do NOT have a democrat in the govs mansion. This is like a third grade student council organization here in fla.

[AwakeDem]

"They wouldn't let us vote if it meant anything."

This is an important issue only in as much as it reflects the broader calamity we face in this country. We elected a House of Representatives and Senate and the clear message was "Get the Hell out of Iraq." What has the Dem response been - the latest, Hillary and Obamma say "Oh, it will take a long time to get out - 12-24 months." LIARS, TOTAL LIARS. The British are leaving as we speak, quickliy.

Why would they say that? Because they're bought and owned just like the rest of the Democratic party leadership from DC to the county level. THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE. If they did, they'd be camped out on Capitol Hill saying, "Hey folks, get us out now. Quit messing around."

The Florida fiasco is just one part of the larger ongoing, historic effort to keep the public from getting what it wants, in this case out of Iraq and some honesty in DC.

You can have a primary in January, February or July and it won't matter if it's these front runners, with the exception of Edwards. He should change his position on these primaries right away however. What's with the implication that implication that in Florida "ideas count" doesn't apply?

Lots of ideas in the Sunshine State. It's ground zero for the manufactured destruction of the country thanks to two stolen elections.

Dear "AwakeDem",
Can the rest of the state help it if four Democrat counties, with Democrat Supervisors of Election can't count.
I am tired of you saying the elections were stolen.
Perhaps you should talk to the lawyers from the Democrat party who were already on site before the election. Perhaps you should consider taking back control of your party.
Let's face it--both parties are out of touch with the mainstream of America. All the more reason to quit talking about the past and start acting for the future.