Plenty of blame to go around for primary mess

To understand how Florida Democrats tumbled into purgatory over their presidential primary, it helps to go back to April 2003, to the Washington office of Michigan's senior senator. Expletives were flying. The head of the Democratic National Committee was having it out with Sen. Carl Levin because Michigan wanted to crash the rarefied club of early presidential primary states.

Move your primary too early, Terry McAuliffe warned, and Michigan will lose half its delegates to the 2004 Democratic convention. "The closest they'll get to Boston will be watching it on television," McAuliffe vowed. "I will not let you break this entire nominating process for one state. The rules are the rules."

Story here.

Video: Click here to see Sen. Steve Geller's nod and wink attempt to move the primary to February. Skip to the 6:22 mark.)

Comments

[Crusader]

Great story. Puts it all together.

... and may it all end the same way.

not one of the repiggie stiffs will get my vote. dems are a disorganized mess, but they don't begin to act like the kind of a-holes that are pandemic in repuke circles.

Democrats will regret this come November of 2008. The worst mistake is not letting the candidate campaign here. It's all about the $$$ being made by insiders who bleed the candidates with their "know-how" of Iowa and NH, it's a cottage industry in both parties. Reporter have missed it cause they fall in the same pit, falling for terrain and sources they know.

[Gene Smith]

Well Adam, there you go again. And you are still wrong. Florida Dems votes will count on January 29th because our voices will be heard by the rest of the country and that fact alone will influence the majority of the other states that will not have voted yet.

For a more on this subject, I invite you to read this:

http://fl-kossacks.blogspot.com/2007/10/presidential-primary-adam-our-votes.html

even now,
Senator Ring is much, much better than a Senator Graber!

[zenator]

Gene:

I used your link and read your blog. I remain unconvinced by your argument.

That said, there is a lot of time between now and January 29. I suspect that the next round will be played out in the courts.

[Zhombre]

Gene Smith doesn't have an argument. He never does. He utters some platitudes or repeats DNC talking points and convinces himself this is substantive and that he is a bright, astute fellow when he is merely obtuse and invincibly ignorant. Typical of a true believer, left or right.

[Gene Smith]

To the two Z's:

My argument is merely reflective of Speaker Rubio's. He cares not a whit that the GOP's delegate will . may be reduced in half. He is all about the influence the early primary date gives to Floridians.

I suppose he's all screwed up on this too, correct?

[Zhombre]

I'm not surprised to learn your argument is "merely reflective" of someone else's because that is exactly what I said, that you have few if any original thoughts. The Kossacks, being true believers and an assortment of kooks, tend to repeat the same talking points over and over and over. As for the primary, I will vote in January come what may but it's great gobs of fun to watch the Democrats flop about over this issue.

[zenator]

Gene:

The Repub candidates will campaign here, attend public events, open offices, hire staff, utilize volunteers and advertise. The Repub voters will also elect delegates. The same cannot be said for the Dems.

I hope Howard Dean understands the irony of the DNC disenfranchising Democratic Florida voters.

I thought “disenfranchise” was what happens when one Burger Kind says bad things about another?

[csbrudy]

Smith is correct. Florida's millions of Democratic primary votes will trump the four early states, because the later states will follow our lead regardless of the DNC or the blather of the mainstream media.

[Mason]

Carol Fowler's son was not elected party chairin 2005, because Florida led the effort to elect Howard Dean. Dean lacks the loyality to help, and she gets the last laugh.

Odd how she just happens to be leading the effort to hurt Florida, and to make all democrats look bad across the nation.

I guess when the D's loose because of this mess, she can push her son into the 'seat of power' as weak as it is....

Anyone would be better than that DINO called Thurmadrunk!