Newt: re-vote in FL, MI

Gingrich: "Giving the Michigan and Florida delegates to Sen. Clinton -- particularly in light of reports that she bent the Democratic Party rules against campaigning in both states -- is a recipe for even more chaos.On the other hand, leaving the Florida and Michigan delegates unseated runs the risk for the Democrats of alienating two big states they want and need to win in November.

"The answer, for the integrity of the process, is a do-over: Hold the Michigan and Florida Democratic primaries again. The voters -- not the party insiders -- have the moral authority to choose the nominee. Democratic voters in Michigan and Florida should get that chance. Then in November, we'll have a fair fight. And I'll be honest -- it may not help the chances for a Republican victory in the fall. But it will help something even more important: the integrity of our political process."

Comments

Newt: shut up! Giving more delegates to Osama is the last thing we need.

Newt, you began the beguine when you started the slide of the First Majority we had with your poor leadership in the 90's, now try to blow this last bastion of control
Some leader.
Some idiot.
Please just go away.

Sooooo 9:53 - you solution to to give more to Hillary - and before you say she won - keep in mind a candidate cannot win a race not run...

9:59: My solution is not to give the delegates to Hill. My solution is to leave things the way they are.

Who cares what GOP Newt thinks about Dem delegates. That is like caring about what GOP Chair Jim Greer thinks about moral issues. They should both stick to things they know a lot about- Newt to Congress and Greer to strip clubs.

9:59 and all the Obama supporters like to forget the amazing amount of cable ads run in Florida in the week before the election. Why the media didn't count them up is beyond me--their bias I suppose. Obama didn't bend the rules, he broke them; bundled them together and broke them again. His election will lead to the biggest congressional losses in history in 2010--it'll make Gingrich's redistricting wins in 1994 look like a good year.

While I agree with Newt that something needs to be done, I don't think that another primary needs to be held. I think that the democrats should hold a caucus so that the taxpayers don't have to pay for it.

[A Blue Voter]

Thanks Newt, now that you've worked out what you think will best serve the GOP in this issue, we can proceed to do the opposite. I guess you still think Hillary is beatable, so you must be afraid of Obama. Probably other than making fun of his name, you haven't got any good swiftboat material on him?

The real issue for those who might otherwise be neutral is the absolutely horrific record of the current GOP administration. No little DEM flap is going to counteract that.

The last thing we need is another primary. Besides, who is the lizard to be giving advice on how the Dems should handle their business?
If he wanted to be taken seriously, he could have run for president (I'll give him a pass here on his past baggage). Instead, he'd rather take the easy shots from the sidelines.

11:10, what a homo reply.

10:53- Well then how are you going to pay for a caucus? Ya, lets hold a caucus in state where no one knows how to hold a caucus! What about those 1.7 million people that already went out and voted? Also VERY few people can participate in a caucus.

[RFB]

First of all she did not "I repeat did not" campaign in either state. Where did you get that information. She only went to Florida "AFTER" the primary was run and she won 50% of the vote to thank the voters for backing her. Isn't that what your mother taught you, to always say thank you? Secondly, I don't understand the whole thing because other states were allowed to run their primaries and caucuses before that time, so why were Florida and Michigan not allowed to do the same?

Who cares... it's a non-issue... get over it... see you in November!

Oh, and Newt; shut the hell up and get back in that dark, damp, smelly, hole you call your life.

If Florida's politicians really wanted to make Florida's citizens important in electing the future President of the United States, we would reschedule the democratic primary election ASAP. We would get two chances to vote for who we wanted. Our early vote may or may not have influenced some of the Super Tuesday results, but with the race as close as it is a second vote could be decisive for either side.

Florida's Republicans all but annointed McCain as the frontrunner. It would be nice if Florida's Democrats at least had a voice in who their candidate would be in November.

As to the money issue, just pay for it. Some of us think that having a vote for who the President will be is worth a few dollars.

If there is another election, local SOE's will have to bear the cost of holding them.

Wonder if Tallahassee will help fund it or will they keep saying "drunken local government spending"

[Florida Democrat]

Let's find a solution.

Here is a good read:
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/02/without-clinton-democrats-risk.html

unbelievable - the democrats can't even see through their blind hatred to argue for or against newt's point - they simply argue against him as a person

democrats truly do not care about reason or logic - for them it's all vitriol and hate - too bad, such a nasty way to live.

[Bubba]

Michigan and Florida knew that if they moved their primaries there would be repercussions. They KNEW that. Now all of a sudden the states are throwing a big fit, big shocker. Florida already has a history of being morons in elections, so I don't care if their votes are ever included. Most likely caused by all their senile residents. And as for Michigan - Obama wasn't even on the ballot, and yet people backing Hillary thinks that she should still get those delegates. Are you kidding me? Even that isn't the most bias b.s. I've ever heard then I don't know what is.

The money isn't an issue. The DNC has offered to pay for the caucus. The issue is that the state DEMs are happy to leave the results as is, because they've cast their lot with Hillary and know they can't deliver that margin again if they allow a campaign to proceed an election, a practice generally encourage in these things we call democracies.

11:27 the agreement was to stay out of florida until after supertuesday. She violated...

bubba, get off you sister and get back to work.

Obama had the option of having his name on the ballot in Michigan and did not take it. She played by the same rules and because she made a better judgment than he, you now want to change the rules. His name was on the Florida ballot and she beat him there, too.

No do-overs. She won her delegates fair and square.

3:15 the money IS the issue. If the DNC uses money for a do-over, the less dollars will be available for the campaign to win the White House for whomever the Dem nominee is.

Newt has a viable solution, something I thought would work..but...they should not allow any campaigning, in keeping with the promise made. No Caucus, we do primaries in Florida to insure that the players are democrats. Newt has started a new initiative. While I don't agree with Republican politics, I do find Newt's capacity to think on his feet entertaining. http://www.americansolutions.com/

[A Blue Voter]

Let it lie. Any attempt to recampaign, revote, or reassign those delegates is going to attach a Bush-like stench to the winner's name.

Real DEMs should be much less concerned with this GOP-created ploy, and more focussed on how we want the next DEM president and congress to fix this god-awful national catastrophy the Republicans are going to leave for us.

Blue Voter:
If this is a "GOP-created ploy", then what is Gelber's? They are both saying do-over.

Hillary won squat. You can't win delegates that don't exist. The DNC was adamant in stripping ALL of the delgates from FL and MI. Everybody thought it wouldn't matter much, since the irrelevant delegates would be seated when Queen Hillary won the nomination early. Ooops.
But the nominee won't be decided until the convention, and now Hillary is desperate, and will fight viciously, for those new delegates. That viciousness will seal her fate.
Life is beautiful.

This year I have learned a lot about the primary process, mostly because there has been more discussion of the process than ever before. I was on the phone with my dad yesterday, and even he admitted that he never really knew how Super Delegates worked until just recently. It's funny that only in a tight race do you learn about the "little things" that can come into play and perhaps even determine the eventual nominee. I'm not sure what the right answer is for Florida and Michigan, but I think the problems caused by the two states moving their primary dates reveal how the entire process is flawed. First, the states that hold the early primaries get much more attention from the candidates, as all of the contenders know that how they do in the first few primaries greatly influences future contributions to their campaigns. Normally the nominee is pretty much decided after Super Tuesday, and if that were the case this time, nobody would be talking about Florida and Michigan or Super Delegates. Typically the states with primaries after Super Tuesday have little or no influence in deciding the nominee. The states holding later primaries also have fewer candidates to choose from, but this might not be such a bad thing. It's probably worse for people who voted in early primaries for candidates that dropped out of the race. I guess the real contradiction is that the voters in states holding late primaries know more about the candidates than earlier voters, but usually have less influence on the eventual nominee. I've also noticed that as momentum shifts back and forth between candidates following each primary, it definitely influences the outcome of the next primary. That's one reason why Florida and Michigan are such a big issue, as people may vote differently now than they did earlier. Another issue is that states holding primaries allow all registered voters to participate, whereas people in caucus states can only vote if they are registered with one of the parties. In a typical primary season this probably doesn't have too much affect on the eventual nominee of each party. But as someone else already commented here, this could be a big issue if the DNC decides to hold a caucus in Florida to decide the delegates issue. I'm not sure how it will all turn out, so I guess for now I'll just sit back and enjoy the show.

Florida should have counted in the primary. Unfortunately, (in Florida)we are getting used to this. Perfect example is Bush is in office! He lost Florida by the popular vote, but having his brother as our governor worked to his advantage. Look at the shape this country is now thanks to Bush! Don't let this happen again. Florida does have a voice and it has spoken!! GO HILLARY!! She is the right person for the job, why should we have to vote again to make Obama happy. We didn't get a recount for Bush. Give Hillary the delegate count for Florida as she deserves.

4:17 - Ds are so confused they don't know their rear from a hole in the ground - newt says it, then it must be a nasty ploy - but gelber says it, then oh my god he's the best thing since sliced bread

NO DO-OVERS!! GINGRICH IS A NUT. THIS IS NOT A THIRD WORLD ELECTION.

You live with the results of democracy.

5:13
Tell that to Gelber.

[Gene Smith]

To the moron Republicans who keep insisting on butting into our little Dem squabble: Thanks for your concern, but shut up already. We don't care what YOU think WE ought to do.

Why is that different than what Gelber is saying? Just to spell it out for you, Gelber is a Democrat. He gets to have a say in what Dems decide to do. The same is NOT true for Republicans.

Gelber can say whatever he wants, but nobody will be listening to that moron.

Sen. Nelson's prepared Senate floor remarks

February 8, 2008

MR. NELSON: MR. PRESIDENT, I HAVE TWO SUBJECTS THAT I WANT TO DISCUSS BEFORE THE SENATE.

THE FIRST IS WITH THE DRAMATIC EVENTS SHIFTING AS WE SELECT THE NOMINEES FOR PRESIDENT FROM OUR TWO GREAT PARTIES. WE POTENTIALLY HAVE A SIGNIFICANT TRAIN WRECK THAT MAY START OCCURRING IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AS A RESULT OF A DIVISIVE ISSUE OF SEATING THE MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA DELEGATES.

THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE, A LEGISLATURE THAT IS CONTROLLED BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, PASSED A BILL THAT MOVED THE FLORIDA PRIMARY EARLIER THAN THE DATE ALLOWED BY THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE -- IN FACT, IT MOVED IT INSTEAD OF THE DEADLINE OF FEBRUARY THE 5th, ONE WEEK EARLIER TO JANUARY THE 29th, THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE THEN STRIPPED ALL OF FLORIDA'S DELEGATES TO THE NATIONAL CONVENTION. NOW, MIND YOU, THE BILL THAT WAS PASSED WAS AN ELECTION REFORM BILL, AND WHILE IT WAS BEING DELIBERATED IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE OF FLORIDA. THE DEMOCRATIC LEADER OF THE STATE SENATE OFFERED AN AMENDMENT TO TAKE OUT JANUARY 29 AND INSTEAD PUSHING IT BACK TO FEBRUARY THE 5th WHICH WOULD HAVE COMPLIED WITH THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE'S REQUEST AND RULES. THAT AMENDMENT BY THE DEMOCRATIC LEADER OF THE STATE SENATE WAS DEFEATED.

THE BILL THEN WENT ON TO PASS BECAUSE IT WAS AN ELECTION REFORM BILL HAVING TO DO WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF ELECTION MACHINES IN FLORIDA, SOMETHING THAT WE ARE QUITE SENSITIVE ABOUT IN OUR STATE AS A RESULT OF OUR ELECTORAL HISTORY.

AND, AS A RESULT, THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE TOOK GREAT UMBRAGE AT THIS AND INSTEAD OF THEIR RULES PROVIDING THAT THEY WOULD TAKE AWAY HALF OF FLORIDA'S DELEGATES TO THE NATIONAL CONVENTION, THEY REMOVED ALL OF FLORIDA'S DELEGATES.

FURTHERMORE, THE FIRST FOUR PRIVILEGED STATES THAT WERE ALLOWED TO HAVE PRIMARIES OR CAUCUSES PRIOR TO FEBRUARY THE 5th -- IOWA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEVADA, AND SOUTH CAROLINA -- EXTRACTED A PLEDGE FROM ALL THE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT TO NOT CAMPAIGN IN FLORIDA. THE CANDIDATES HONORED THAT PLEDGE. THE ELECTION WAS HELD PURSUANT TO STATE LAW, A LAW PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE AND SIGNED INTO LAW BY A GOVERNOR, WHO HAPPENS TO BE REPUBLICAN. BECAUSE OF THAT, FLORIDA IS BEING PENALIZED BY THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE.

IN THE MEANTIME, THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, UNDER A DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATURE AND SIGNED INTO LAW BY A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR, MOVED THEIR PRIMARY UP TO JANUARY THE 15th. LIKEWISE, THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE TOOK AWAY THEIR DELEGATES TO THE NATIONAL CONVENTION, BUT THE DIFFERENCE WAS THAT ONLY A FEW OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES' NAMES WERE ON THE BALLOT BECAUSE OF A MICHIGAN LAW THAT ALLOWS THE CANDIDATES TO WITHDRAW THEIR NAMES FROM THE BALLOT.

THE FLORIDA ELECTION ON JANUARY 29 HAD ALL OF THE CANDIDATES ON THE BALLOT.

NOW, HERE IS THE COMING TRAIN WRECK. IF ONE OF OUR TWO LEADING CANDIDATES DOES NOT GET A MAJORITY BY THE TIME THAT ALL THE PRIMARIES AND THE CAUCUSES ARE OVER -- THE LAST ONE IS SOUTH DAKOTA’S PRIMARY ON JUNE THE 3rd. IF THAT DOES NOT DECIDE WHO IS THE WINNER OF THE PRESIDENTIAL SWEEPSTAKES THEN WE GO INTO A PERIOD DURING JUNE, JULY, AND ALL THE WAY TO THE END OF AUGUST - A PERIOD OF ENORMOUS UNCERTAINTY AND TURMOIL. THE TURMOIL OF WHO THE SUPERDELEGATES, WHO ARE ALL UNPLEDGED, WILL VOTE FOR IN THE BACKROOMS AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO FLORIDA AND MICHIGAN'S DELEGATIONS. NOW, WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

WELL, IT'S CERTAINLY IMPORTANT TO THIS SENATOR BECAUSE IN FACT NOT ONLY DID FLORIDA VOTERS TURN OUT ON JANUARY THE 29th IN THE PRIMARY. THEY TURNED OUT IN RECORD NUMBERS.

OVER 1.7 MILLION FLORIDA DEMOCRATS TURNED OUT TO VOTE, AND THEY EXPRESSED THEIR WILL. A SIMILAR NUMBER OF REPUBLICANS ALSO TURNED OUT TO HAVE THEIR VOICE HEARD.

AND SO THE TURMOIL IS WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE SEATING OF THE MICHIGAN AND THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC DELEGATIONS.

JUST RECENTLY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE, A VERY DISTINGUISHED FORMER GOVERNOR OF VERMONT, GOVERNOR DEAN, OUR CHAIRMAN OF THE PARTY, AS REPORTED IN "THE NEW YORK POST" SUGGESTED HAVING A CAUCUS IN MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA AS A WAY OF SELECTING THE DELEGATES TO THE NATIONAL CONVENTION FROM THOSE TWO STATES.

BUT, MR. PRESIDENT, YOU CAN'T UNDO AN ELECTION WITH A CAUCUS, AND ESPECIALLY YOU CAN'T UNDO AN ELECTION WHERE 1.7 MILLION FLORIDA DEMOCRATS HAVE VOTED IN A SECRET BALLOT AND REPLACE IT WITH A CAUCUS THAT MAYBE 50,000 PEOPLE WOULD SHOW UP. IT'S BASIC TO OUR DEMOCRACY, AND IT’S A BASIC CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO VOTE AND TO HAVE THAT VOTE COUNTED.

SO WHAT DO WE DO?

WELL, I AM CERTAINLY AMENABLE TO ANYONE’S SUGGESTION TO GET US OUT OF THE COMING TRAIN WRECK BECAUSE THE POTENTIAL TRAIN WRECK COULD WELL BE THAT IF THE FLORIDA AND MICHIGAN DELEGATIONS ARE NOT SEATED AT THE NATIONAL CONVENTION IN AUGUST, TWO MONTHS LATER THOSE TWO STATES MAY WELL DECIDE WHO IS GOING TO BE THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

AND SO, WITH THIS SPEECH, I AM MAKING A PLEA TO ALL OF OUR COLLEAGUES IN THE SENATE AND OTHERS TO TRY TO FIND A COMPROMISE IN WHICH THE RIGHT TO VOTE AND TO HAVE THAT VOTE COUNTED CAN BE RESPECTED, ESPECIALLY IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, WHERE ALL OF THE CANDIDATES' NAMES WERE ON THE BALLOT.

Gene,
You never hesitate to insinuate your ideas into Republican squabbles. You don't have to take the advice, but the last time I checked, this is still a free country. Remember, the "freedom of speech" part of the Constitution?

I really wish the Democrats would stop the spin about the Republican Legislature...a Democrat filed the first bill, and all of the Democrats voted unanimously in both chambers on the final product.

Calling it the fault of the Republican Legislature not only shows your desperation, but that you're also willing to continuously lie in public in the hopes it helps your cause.

Your words are nothing more than the death rattle of the Democratic Party in Florida.

Actually 5:08, your revisionist history is way off, as 4 independent recounts showed Bush winning the popular vote in this state each time.

Hillary, she says, had all those years of EXPERIENCE. Read that as NAME RECOGNITION.

Of course she gets more votes when other candidates can't campaign. Of course she gets more votes in a state full of old ladies who have NEVER had a chance to vote for their gender.

And, "since it didn't really count," many got out there to THUMB OUR NOSE at naysayers.

Florida also takes vote away from felons (and non felons when Bushies use that outdated law to cheat in 2000).

Decades of false convictions, all white juries, jailing civil rights protesters --- leaves us nasty residue of taxpaying citizens whose vote is stolen for life by bigotry initiated law -- one long since dumped by other states. Even a re-vote won't fix that.

The insiders who thought they could lead us by the nose --- tossed us a hand grenade --- to distract the populace with a NON - ISSUE. To use it to ridicule EITHER candidate after the convention. I suggest we laugh at them. Refuse to revote, and refuse to revolt. Show them that Democrats RESPECT THE RULE OF LAW --- unlike the liar in the White House. Do NOT seat my delegate!

Don't pull the pin! Just sit in our sunshine under our orange trees, sip some of Kathy Harris's fractal magic "celestial drops" non cure for canker, from our FL 13 size PAPER TRAIL PLEASE cups, and laugh our posteriors off instead of taking their bait.

THEN, make better rules for next election cycle. SORRY NEWT, we don't swallow stinky bad fish stories down here. EAT CHAD.

We voted against voter suppression.
We voted BECAUSE you it would not COUNT.

We voted to clear out riff raff like Romney and Giuliani. We voted against all white, all male, all the time.

We voted to stop being told who is "electable." We voted because we could DIE before we get another chance to vote for a woman or a racial minority.

WE KNEW it didn't count. Quit giving us W H I N E. Our DIAPERS are for ADULTS.

We traded all that wasted paper campaign literature --- FOR A PAPER TRAIL to make our FUTURE VOTES verifiable. Yeee Haaa! We WON already.

[Is So]

That's a good deal Newt. We will have two primaries. One for practice and one for real.