Florida Democrats Won't Vote Again, Official Says
- From: jose <josefsoplar@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 08:58:36 -0700 (PDT)
Florida Democrats Won't Vote Again, Official Says
By JOHN M. BRODER
WASHINGTON -- The Florida Democratic Party chairwoman on Monday
officially buried the possibility of redoing the state's disputed
January presidential primary, saying there was no practical or
affordable way to conduct a new election.
The chairwoman, Karen L. Thurman, essentially threw up her hands after
failing to secure approval for a new election from state officials or
the campaigns of Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
She said in a statement late Monday that party officials in Florida
had proposed such a plan last week. It was unceremoniously shot down,
she said.
"Thousands of people responded," Ms. Thurman said. "We spent the
weekend reviewing your messages, and while your reasons vary widely,
the consensus is clear: Florida doesn't want to vote again. So we
won't."
The decision leaves the fate of the state's 211 Democratic convention
delegates in limbo, with no plan on the table for determining whether
or how they will be seated at the Democratic National Convention in
August. Ms. Thurman said the matter would now go back to the national
party's Rules and Bylaws Committee -- the same body that stripped
Florida and Michigan of delegates in the first place.
Florida and Michigan lost their delegates because they violated party
rules by holding primaries early. Mrs. Clinton won both contests by
substantial margins, but no delegates have been awarded.
Michigan Democratic party leaders on Monday proposed legislation to
conduct a new primary on June 3 to allocate the state's 156 delegates.
The election would be run by the state but be privately financed.
Mrs. Clinton, of New York, has agreed to the plan; aides to Mr. Obama,
of Illinois, have refused to commit to it. It is more uncertain than
ever that he will: The party's rules may disqualify anyone who voted
in Michigan's Republican primary from voting in the Democratic primary
-- including those who may be Obama supporters who voted Republican
because his name was not on the Democratic ballot.
Michigan Democratic officials said the plan for a revote could not
move forward unless both campaigns agreed to the proposal in the next
day or so.
The Michigan Legislature then must approve any plan to conduct a
statewide election, and state lawmakers are scheduled to begin a two-
week recess on Thursday. Even if the Obama and Clinton campaigns
endorse the proposal, it still must win two-thirds support in both the
State House, controlled by Democrats, and the Senate, which has a
Republican majority. The plan is also dependent on state party
officials raising an estimated $10 million to pay for the new
election.
But those hurdles appear surmountable compared with the chaos in
Florida.
Ms. Thurman noted that the state of Florida would not pay for any new
primary election, and party officials could not practically run a
statewide primary or caucus. A number of counties are changing their
voting technology and cannot be ready for an early June election. An
additional complicating factor is that five Florida counties, because
of a history of voting rights violations, must receive clearance from
the Department of Justice before conducting any new election.
"We researched every potential alternative process -- from caucuses to
county conventions to mail-in elections -- but no plan could come
anywhere close to being viable in Florida," Ms. Thurman said in her
statement.
Texas Democratic Party officials, meanwhile, are still sorting through
the results of March 4. On Monday they said the party would not take
extra steps to verify the signatures of caucusgoers -- measures
requested by the Clinton campaign in response to what it said were
more than 2,000 complaints of possible violations at caucus sites.
Florida Democrat voters are disenfranchised.
No matter, their votes will count as much as any
other Democrat's vote, zip, nada, zilch, zero...
The nomination will be determined by the
omnipotent elite party regulars, the Super Delegates.
What an unfair, deeply flawed system the
Democrats have constructed to keep the liberals
in control of the party.
.
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