Florida Dems Threaten DNC -- War Escalates

A full-scale war has erupted between the Democratic National Committee and the Florida Democratic Party (FDP). The proximate cause is the DNC's insistence that the FDP follow its primary calendar rules, but this dispute is about more than the 2008 primaries. It's also about party resources and even about whether Florida will be a competitive state in the 2008 general election.

Today, Sen. Bill Nelson, who rarely wades into these internecine debates, fired a shot in the DNC's direction. He co-signed a letter to DNC chairman Howard Dean threatening to ask the government to decide whether the DNC's decision amounts to a violation of voting rights rules. Within the Democratic Party, that's a really aggressive charge to make.

"If the Democratic national committee sanctions Florida, then some of us on the Florida congressional delegation may ask an appropriate legal venue can determine whether a political party's rules supercede a person's right to vote and have that vote count," Nelson said on a conference call this morning. "We're going to fight to have Florida Democrats' votes counted."

Nelson implicitly compared the DNC's actions to the Democrats' version of what transpired in Florida, circa 2000. He called ironic the DNC's launch two weeks ago of a national voter protection program.

DNC officials privately dismiss the charges as absurd. They say they gave the state party numerous options to comply with its rules; the state party claims that the DNC's alternatives -- including a Feb. 9 caucus -- were -- absurd.

Some Florida Democrats say they feel bullied by the national party and believe that the national party has written off the idea that Florida would be a swing state in the 2008 general election. The state party was in debt when chair Karen Thurman took over. Thanks to an infusion of resources from the DNC and Thurman's own efforts, the party now functions.

But it's still a shade of the Republican Party operation in the state. Thurman and other Florida Democrats worry that the DNC will further penalize the state and that the lack of attention will demoralize activists and major state party donors.

Privately, Florida Democrats concede that Democrats also voted to move the primary to Jan. 29 -- but Florida Republicans smartly attached it to a bill requiring voter-verified paper trails for voting machines. The Dems blame (or credit) the smart strategy of GOP House speaker Marco Rubio, an extremely ambitious pol who has gubernatorial (and perhaps) presidential aspirations one day.

The DNC's rules and bylaws committee meets in Washington tomorrow. Democratic officials wonder why Florida complains so harshly today when the penalties the DNC could impose were clear to the party for months.

Comments

The Dems are between a rock and a hard place in FL and nationally. Florida will go to the GOP in '08 and there isn't much the DNC can do about it. With the current line-up of Dem presidential candidates, no SE or SW states will vote Democrat. Guliani or Thompson will likely carry 290 electoral votes in the '08 Presidential Election.

Posted by Alan | August 24, 2007 1:32 PM

The DNC has lost its relevance and quite simply represents only the extreme left-wing of the democrats. The Howard Deans, the Dennis Kucinichs, the George Soroses and the Ralph Naders have taken my party and infused it with the nuttiness and irrationality of the former Green Party. I hope the Florida Democrats do fight the DNC and put the DNC under a microscope. I think we'd find all kinds of parasites lurking there. While I'm still a member of the Democratic party, I requested that the DNC remove me from their list. I find them offensive and ignorant.

Posted by Miss Daisy | August 24, 2007 1:35 PM

its funny how people say what they want to hear.

Posted by john smith | August 24, 2007 3:35 PM

Right, Alan, keep dreaming. If you think Florida is a lock for the GOP, you obviously aren't paying attention to what's happening in the world. Same goes if you think the GOP nominee will be Giuliani or Thompson.

The Florida Dems are unfortunately reaping what they sowed. Bill Nelson is embarrassing himself with these totally bogus and spurious charges. Political parties get to set their own rules. There is no universal right to vote in the Dem primary. Some states didn't even have state-wide primaries in the past.

Marc, a responsible reporter-blogger might call an elections law attorney and ask whether these charges are credible. But then...

Posted by bob | August 24, 2007 5:16 PM

Hahahahahahahahaha

Posted by JonE | August 25, 2007 6:21 AM

This is a joke, right?

It's some sick security blanket to convince sad Republicans all is not lost, right?

Nelson's whining is just that, whining. It means nothing, signifies nothing. Trying to desperately conflate it into something else, that's grasping at straws. Good luck with that.

In January 2009, you'll see soon enough just what really matters.

Posted by s katz | August 25, 2007 10:23 AM

If the DNC wants to demoralize the Fla Dems and toss the state to the Republicans, so be it. It's called cutting off your nose to spite your face....

Posted by George Hanshaw | August 25, 2007 10:25 AM

Why should I abide by someone else's democracy?

This is a clear case of a small minority wanting to control the rights of the majority. The DNC is attempting to control the order that states Primaries are held so that DNC Insider Special Interests can have more influence than the interests of the Majority of Americans. Always having Iowa go first is not Democratic. The only control that the DNC should have is the ability to set which date a primary should not be before.

The net result will be that every state will move their Primary to be as early as possible. That is because every state should seek fair representation for it's citizens. If that creates a problem then a fair and equitable solution that does not involve Iowa going first every time will have to be worked out and democracy wins.

What the DNC is pursuing is not Democracy but the right to thwart it.

Posted by NotQuiteADemocrat | August 27, 2007 12:51 PM

The Republican Party is getting its moneys worth in dividing the Democratic Party on this issue. The neocons Trotskyite tactics are working beautifully, no doubt they are all happy with themselves and giggling themselves to sleep.

Posted by residentfan | August 27, 2007 3:11 PM