The Coming Florida Backlash
May 9 at 9:09am by Macranger
Democrats who have long carped about making “every vote count” are facing a backlash from disenfranchised Florida voters who participated in January’s primary but now appears that their vote won’t count.
Yesterday Florida Dems threw down the gauntlet.
Democratic members of Florida’s congressional delegation agreed at a closed-door meeting in the Capitol to urge the Democratic Party to resolve the dispute over the state?s national convention delegation at a May 31 meeting of the party’s rules committee.
?We cannot afford to allow this sad chapter in our Party?s history to perpetuate itself any longer. Bringing it to a close at that meeting will allow us say to our voters with a straight face that their votes count and then turn our full attention to winning Florida and beating the Republicans and John McCain this November,? said the letter signed by all of the congressional Democrats except Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa.
The party’s rules and credentials committee is scheduled to hear an apeal on May 31 to the decision to bar all of the state?s convention delegates because Florida?s Jan. 29 primary was held too early under party rules.
“We see no need for the DNC to punish Florida voters more than they already have been,” said the letter addressed to Democratic Chairman Howard Dean.
“There is, however, a need for victory in November, and Florida factors heavily in that victory. As those who know Florida voters best, we assure you that if the DNC does not bring to an end this ongoing controversy on May 31 with the seating of Florida’s full delegation at the Convention in August, it will be near impossible for us to win our state in November. We hope that you agree and will take the necessary steps over the next three weeks to make this happen.”
Dean had better get his act together. Obama has promised to seat the delegates but Florida is a Clinton stronghold and it?s not at all clear that there would be support for Obama in the fall, thus a walk out could be in the works.
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