The Breathtaking Hypocrisy Over Florida
Tue Apr 01, 2008 at 06:56:29 PM PDT
I know that lately Markos has decided that it's convenient to mock and belittle Florida Democrats lately for the sake of the Obama campaign lately, and likewise, the same position has been taken by many other proponents of the Obama campaign.
Yet I did not honestly expect it to involve such a clear abdication of values which had previously been held dear to these same people. Indeed, almost every plank of the Democratic values system advocated by the likes of Markos, Dean, and Obama, from party unity, to changing the tone, to having every vote count, to the 50-state strategy is compromised in their effort to keep the Florida (and to a lesser extent, Michigan) delegation off of the floor in Denver.
These people need to take a good, hard look at the course of action that they are taking.
Florida House Bill 537
Governor Charlie Crist today signed House Bill 537 that will establish a paper trail for all votes cast in Florida elections. The election-reform legislation will provide optical scan machines for counties that do not already have them for Election Day voting and early voting sites. The legislation also changes the date of Florida's presidential primary to the last Tuesday in January.
In this state in the year 2000, we had huge issues with getting the vote counted and getting it counted accurately. More importantly, there were far too many loopholes and back-door connections between the Diebold corporation, a lack of paper trails, electronic voting machines, and the Republican party, to ensure that free and fair elections occurred in Florida. These problems were blatantly prevalent in 2006, keeping Democrat Christine Jennings out of Congress.
Florida Democrats voted in favor of this bill largely because it included this paper trail provision. I, as a Floridian, would be FAR more upset if they voted against the bill for the sake of following the DNC's inane rules that continuing to leave Florida elections at risk for obstruction. It's disappointing to see Democrats turn against Democrats in an effort to disenfranchise voters because our elected officials were acting in the best interest of free and fair elections--something that's supposed to be a core Democratic value.
Furthermore, I'm disappointed that persons previously so (rightly) opposed to the disproportionate power wielded by Iowa and New Hampshire in the primary would abandon that cause for the short-term political benefit of one single candidate.
I'm disappointed to see many Democrats rushing like lemmings off of a cliff, running to abandon Florida in the general election and with it most all chances of winning in the fall. The St. Petersburg Times, largely recognized as the most respectable newspaper here in Florida, conducted a poll to find out how Floridians felt about the entire primary mess.
More than three out of four Florida Democrats say it’s "very important" that Florida’s delegates count toward the nomination, and one in four said they would be less likely to support the ultimate Democratic nominee if Florida’s delegates don’t count.
Like it or not, most Democrats in Florida are Hillary supporters (as evidenced by her landslide victory), and if the Obama campaign and Washington bigwigs intentionally hand the election over to Barack by refusing to seat the Florida delegates, it will seriously depress the efforts and dedication of many, many Florida Democrats.
The 48-state strategy being pursued by the Obama camp and the DNC works against the values of free and fair elections, the values of counting votes, and the values of standing up for our constituents.
Floridian Democrats want their delegates seated, they do NOT feel that the primary was in any way illegitimate (including the lack of campaigning--and furthermore, the only TV ad I ever saw here was for Obama), and the Democratic Party simply cannot afford to damage its chances in this state the way that Markos, Obama, and Dean are promoting. It's politically irresponsible to the interests of Florida voters and to the Democratic Party in the fall; the proponents of intentionally slighting these voters for the sake of hurting Hillary Clinton ought to be ashamed of their abandonment of their values, their fellow Democrats, and their fellow Americans.
