The Democrats' Decision: Good For The Country, Bad For Florida

What's the right side in this fight over whether Florida's Democratic presidential primary on Jan. 29 should count?

If you're like me, you're worried that the presidential primary process is becoming ridiculously front-loaded. We're talking about choosing the candidates for the November ballot by late January or February. Think about nine dreary months of a general election campaign. Choosing our candidates for president is becoming even less deliberative and selective, and more dependent upon a rushed, big-money, horribly flawed process. Yet the various states, including Florida, keep pressing to hold their own primaries earlier and earlier, hoping to promote their own importance. That's exactly why Florida moved its primary to Jan. 29.

In that context, it's a sign of discipline that the national Democratic Party seems intent on punishing Florida, and saying that Florida's election won't count when it comes to choosing delegates to the Democratic National Convention. The decision is not exactly pure. It's based in part on the internal politics of pleasing other states. It's based partly on the calculations of the various campaigns as to whether they'll benefit from de-emphasizing Florida.

But it's a rare show of holding the line anyway.

On the other hand, this is a terrible decision if your main interest is the Florida Democratic Party. The national party is punishing Florida Democrats just because their state Legislature, which is controlled by Republicans, chose an earlier date. The decision threatens to weaken the importance of Florida's Democratic primary, and reduce the amount of time the Democratic candidates spend here -- which in turn, some people think, weakens the chances of an eventual victory in November.

The national party says that Florida Democrats can still seat their delegates if they agree to choose them in a later process, such as party caucuses. But that still puts Florida Democrats at a disadvantage, since the Jan. 29 date is going to be the "real" primary. That's the date that Floridians will vote on an important property-tax amendment to our state Constitution. The Republicans will be holding their "real" election that day. (That's an interesting side question -- will the vote on the property tax amendment be influenced by the fact the Republicans will be more motivated to turn out?)

In a better world, here's what would happen. The national Republicans would show the same discipline and clamp down on states trying to move up their primaries. There would be less incentive to play that game of hopscotch...

But in the best of all possible alternatives, this mess would result in both major parties agreeing to a system of rotating regional primaries, as lots of smart folks have suggested. Imagine the field of candidates facing each other in a staggered, systematic group of state primaries, spaced out enough over the spring to give the voters a thoughtful grasp of what was happening, and time to evaluate their party's candidates.

In the long term, the national Democrats' decision to slow down the rush to earlier primaries is better for the country. In the short term, it's bad for Florida Democrats. The Republican-controlled Legislature probably isn't losing much sleep over that.

Comments

[Gene Smith]

I hate to see myself in agreement with Marco Rubio, but on this point, I am.

Florida Democrats are going to vote on January 29th and their voices will be heard in a meaningful way in connnection with the selection of the Dem nominee for President. This has not happened since the 1992 cycle when Bill Clinton won the STRAW POLL at the FDP Convention in the fall of 1991. Ask President Clinton if that "beauty contest" was meaningless to him.

It does not matter one whit that delegates may not be apportioned on January 29th. This is not going to be a brokered convention. At the end of the day, Florida's delegates will be seated at the convention.

What does matter is that all the states voting after us will know which Democratic candidates did well in Florida and which did not. That is going to be HUGE for momentum going into the Feb 5th Super Duper Primary Day. Florida's Democratic voices will be heard. And that's what we want.

Gene is right, whether the delegates are elected at that point is not relevant. What is important is that every democrat vote on that day regardless of the DNC.

If the dems do not vote, the property tax amendment will pass, and the results of the Florida Dem primary vote will be meaningless.

Conventions have not been brokered in decades and decades.

[20/20]

I think we’ve all missed the underlying problem here. None of this has been done as a result of voter or electorate demand. The entire mess is partisan and politico driven, and no once has a substantive argument been made as to how this benefits the Democratic process, the owners of that process (We the People), or our country in any way.

This entire debacle is making a mockery of the very Democratic process our young men and women are dying in Iraq to protect, and to bring them.

If anything, the news media (to include the Times) should be demanding the answer to two simple questions with regard to this entire mess; why do we need this, and how does it help us?

I’m guessing you’ll get a lot of …

[Howard Troxler]

Howard here. I have deleted an anonymous comment in this space which looked to me more like a personal attack that anything else.

[Winston]

My suggestion:

Have a National Primary in Feburary or March, for each Party.

Take the top 3 or 4 into a run-off in July or August. Judge them strictly on popular vote.

Winner of the runoff gets the nomination, and runs against his opposition in November.

Discard the Electoral Delegates, if a state votes 49-51 on popular vote, split the College votes that way.

I realize that it may come down to splitting a vote, by rounding up, but throughout all the 50 states, it should even out.

This would eliminate the "Kingmaker" status of some states, that I do not feel reflects the will of the majority of us.

Two clear, National Primaries, one election decided by popular vote. Throw in the Independents wherever you want, most are just posturing anyway, trying to influence elections with just a few votes.

If they want to be a power, go to the grass-roots and develop a party of their own, It has been done in the past.

If no candidate receives a majority of Electoral Votes on Tuesday after the first Monday, schedule a run-off for the last Tuesday.

In today's information age, we do not need the Electoral College. This was conceived when communications were by Post Rider, and was designed to prevent someone power-brokering an election.

This scheme would have prevented Bush from receiving all of Florida's Electoral Votes, when clearly, all but 535 people did not want him.

This would also render gerrymandering ineffective, as it is staged now that many people might just as well stay home.

Summing it up:

1. Staged National Primaries, giving all the states the same weight as New Hampshire and Iowa.

2.Run-offs, staged to eliminate the also-rans, and give 3 or 4 candidates time to politic against their immediate opponents.

3. A National Election where the popular vote decides the portion of Electoral Votes.

Howard, the run-offs would circumvent your anology, comparing the World Series, as not just total runs scored, but games won. These dates could be adjusted for a different time-frame, but at least these will minimize the effect to Global Warming most campaigns contribute.

The above comment on Election Reform was made by me, Winston.

Somehow the system missed my name, and I am proud to publish my comments

Howard,

Somehow my comments are posted without a name. Any ideas?

Winston

BTW Howard,

Kudos on the deletion. That comment is what made me so anxious that mine were credited to me. This is just my opinion.

Winston

[Boo Boo]

I will get out there and vote regardless of any date. I vote every time there is something to vote for. I will vote my guy orrrr gal and hope they win. The super duper homestead lose your 3% cap is nuts. I will vote against it and make those folks go back to work on real meaningful tax reform fair for everyone.