Tell Gov. Dean what you think!

Under Democratic National Committee rules, any state that moved its primary to earlier than Feb. 5 would forfeit half of its delegates to the convention. Also, candidates who campaign or raise money in that state also would lose delegates they won there. Howard Dean has said that Florida's primary "essentially won't count."


Tell Gov. Dean What You Think!

Regarding the candidates, Hillary Clinton says she will campaign in Florida anyway. While other candidates haven't released a statement on the matter, I imagine if Clinton campaigns in Florida the other candidates will as well. Also, I doubt that whoever becomes the nominee at the National Convention would refuse to seat all of Florida's delegates. The question is whether the will of the people, as expressed in their votes on January 29th, will be binding or not.

Florida Democrats met with Chairman Dean last Thursday in hopes of reaching a compromise. While no decision has been reached yet, the St. Petersburg Times reported that the Florida delegation appeared hopeful:

Representative Robert Wexler

"I'm both hopeful and confident that when all is said and done, there will be a compromise that is acceptable to the Florida Democrats and to the national Democratic Party, " Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, said afterward.

"There's a realization on both sides that we're all on the same team, and that the goal is identical - to elect the Democratic nominee president."

Representative Kathy Castor

"He's going to be listening and talking to other states, and try to work out a solution, " Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, said as she left.
...
Castor said she hoped for a compromise before Aug. 25, when the party's rules committee meets to decide whether Florida's primary schedule breaks the party rules.

Washington Dateline also reported:

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz

"It was a good conversation," was all Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston would say as she left the Democratic National Committee headquarters and quickly walked away from reporters outside. "We are moving forward trying to make sure that Florida’s voters are not disenfranchised."

The Florida Democratic Leadership has told Gov. Howard Dean what they think.

Tell Gov. Dean What You Think!