Those wacky Democrats!

[Jac Coyne]

I might have screwed myself in Michigan though. Since there wasn't a real contest the first time around, I switched to the GOP so I could hang my chad for Mitt Romney. I heard that you had to have voted on the Democratic side in the first primary to be eligible for a do-over.

Ouch. In the political sense, I believe you would be realizing what Lennon referred to as "instant karma."

In 30 years when you're sitting on your front porch and your great grandkid asks you if you were part of the Obama Revolution, you'll have to slump your shoulders and say, "Nah, I voted for Romney."

I will probably vote Obama if he is the Democrat candidate, he is more conservative on several issues than McCain is.

I'm not sure if it is possible to get to the left of Obama on any issue. With the exception of universal healthcare (which is nothing but a campaign promise) and genitalia, there is little difference between Clinton and McCain.

As for the whole taxpayer thing, I'm pretty sure everyone has a gripe with where some of "their" money is going, whether it be the war, welfare, etc.

[KnoxVegas]

Sonny it is still a pittance compared to what we as Americans have paid over the past 5+ years to KBR, Blackwater and Haliburton for a Republican mistake, now isn't it?

Relevance?

As a Florida taxpayer, I would be livid if the State has to pick up the tab. No way Crist let's this fly and commits political suicide.

Easy. Just read what I typed in response to Sonny's post. Where is the outrage over the Republicans getting us into no-bid contract in a war that has become a quagmire. Where is the outrage over the $9 billion that the US gov't lost in Baghad? But since the Democrats got themselves in a pickle, you as a Florida taxpayer don't want to foot the bill to have a re-vote. You feel the same on a state level, as I do on the national level. That my friend, is relevance. Then again, I got my masters from a state school.

[peterwho]

Sonny it is still a pittance compared to what we as Americans have paid over the past 5+ years to KBR, Blackwater and Haliburton for a Republican mistake, now isn't it?

Relevance?

As a Florida taxpayer, I would be livid if the State has to pick up the tab. No way Crist let's this fly and commits political suicide.

Easy. Just read what I typed in response to Sonny's post. Where is the outrage over the Republicans getting us into no-bid contract in a war that has become a quagmire. Where is the outrage over the $9 billion that the US gov't lost in Baghad? But since the Democrats got themselves in a pickle, you as a Florida taxpayer don't want to foot the bill to have a re-vote. You feel the same on a state level, as I do on the national level. That my friend, is relevance. Then again, I got my masters from a state school.

I completely disagree with your analogy.

The preamble to the United States Constitution specifically states that one of the purposes of the Federal Government is to “provide for the common defense”. While you are free to argue that the War in Iraq has nothing to do with the common defense, for the purpose of this discussion, we’ll side with Ms. Clinton’s original position.

In Florida (and many other states), the primary elections are conducted as a “favor” to the political parties to help them select their candidate. While many of you like to poke fun at the states who caucus, those caucuses are under the control of the political parties, not the state governments. In this case, the Florida legislature decided that they were going to set the date of the primary election early in the primary season with the expectation that Florida would become a major player in the campaign, with candidates focusing on Florida issues. It worked.

Unfortunately, the national political parties didn’t want this kind of help and took action against the state political parties.

So, my attitude towards funding a “do-over” is that I’ve already paid to provide the political parties at the state and national level with a set of results. It’s their business how they use it to select their candidate. If you don’t like their decision, complain to them (I have already provided feedback to my party leadership). If they want to ignore that data set and collect a different set of data, go right ahead, just don’t expect me to pay for it.

While you might not like the way money is spent by the Federal Government or believe they employ horrible accounting practices, the fact remains that it is under their jurisdiction - complain to your congressman.

Sorry if this sounds like a civics review to many of you.

[KnoxVegas]

I completely disagree with your analogy.

The preamble to the United States Constitution specifically states that one of the purposes of the Federal Government is to “provide for the common defense”. While you are free to argue that the War in Iraq has nothing to do with the common defense, for the purpose of this discussion, we’ll side with Ms. Clinton’s original position.

In Florida (and many other states), the primary elections are conducted as a “favor” to the political parties to help them select their candidate. While many of you like to poke fun at the states who caucus, those caucuses are under the control of the political parties, not the state governments. In this case, the Florida legislature decided that they were going to set the date of the primary election early in the primary season with the expectation that Florida would become a major player in the campaign, with candidates focusing on Florida issues. It worked.

Unfortunately, the national political parties didn’t want this kind of help and took action against the state political parties.

So, my attitude towards funding a “do-over” is that I’ve already paid to provide the political parties at the state and national level with a set of results. It’s their business how they use it to select their candidate. If you don’t like their decision, complain to them (I have already provided feedback to my party leadership). If they want to ignore that data set and collect a different set of data, go right ahead, just don’t expect me to pay for it.

While you might not like the way money is spent by the Federal Government or believe they employ horrible accounting practices, the fact remains that it is under their jurisdiction - complain to your congressman.

Sorry if this sounds like a civics review to many of you.

Well done and I do write both my Congressman and my Senators, one of whom happens to be Obama.

I think that it is interesting that Crist has taken the position he has. Both candidates or the DNC should have to pay for it. All I am saying is that this appears to me a NIMBY situation.

I like Charlie Crist and think that eventually he will look for higher office. He seems infinitely more astute than the previous governor. For all the Floridians, what is your opinion on the government money spent on Jeb Bush's daughters legal issues? From the arrests to the trial to the rehab?

[Jolly Roger]

what is your opinion on the government money spent on Jeb Bush's daughters legal issues? From the arrests to the trial to the rehab?

C'mon, anyone can see she's a victim of genetics. I'm certain everyone believes she deserves help and who better to pay it than the government. It isn't her fault after all.

With all apologies to B. Simmons, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

[DanGenck]

There was a Democrat Senator from Florida on the Today Show this morning who said doing the election again would cost 4-6 million dollars. He suggested the DNC or Obama/Clinton pay for the second election.

Seems fair to me.

[peterwho]

I do write both my Congressman and my Senators, one of whom happens to be Obama.

For all the Floridians, what is your opinion on the government money spent on Jeb Bush's daughters legal issues? From the arrests to the trial to the rehab?

I'm not surprised - you don't strike me as a whiner.

As for Jeb's daughter (he only has one), I was glad Jeb didn't try to blame the cops or the prosecutor or the judge or "the system". My opinion is that it is the same waste of time and money as Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan or Al Gore III (drugs in the car and 100 MPH in a Prius!!!).

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

As long as we're discussing "Wacky Democrats". . .

Do any of the Democrats out there have a problem with the Super Delegate situation? It seems crazy to me that someone like Eliot Spitzer's vote equals about 10,000 votes by the average Joe.

Someone who understands this better than me, please explain how this process came to pass? Honestly, I have no idea why the Dems do it this way.

The Democrats claim to be the "party of the people", yet doesn't this support the Republican claim that the Democratic Party is the party of the elite?

[peterwho]

From wikipedia:

After the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the Democratic Party made changes in its delegate selection process, based on the work of the McGovern-Fraser Commission. The purpose of the changes was to make the composition of the convention less subject to control by party leaders and more responsive to the votes cast during the campaign for the nomination.

But some Democrats believed that these changes had unduly diminished the role of party leaders and elected officials, weakening the Democratic tickets of George McGovern and Jimmy Carter. In 1982, a commission chaired by former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt created superdelegates. Under the original Hunt plan, superdelegates were 30% of all delegates, but when it was finally implemented in 1984, they were 14%. The number has steadily increased, and today they are approximately 20%.

In the 1984 election, the major contenders for the Presidential nomination were Gary Hart and Walter Mondale. Each won some primaries and caucuses. Mondale was only slightly ahead of Hart in the total number of votes cast, but won the support of almost all superdelegates and became the nominee.

This explanation clearly communicates that it is the attitude of the party leadership they know better than their members when it comes to selecting their candidate. However, this may be a bias of the author(s).

[OAKS]

Ultimately it's about control - for instance to nullify people from crossing over party lines to stack the vote in favor of someone the other party thinks they have a better shot at beating. There were tens of thousands of Republicans voting for Hillary in Texas.

Also, to keep out people like Stephen Colbert unfortunately.

[StrykerFSU]

Florida is not going to have a DNC revote and it looks as though Michigan will also stick with the original results, what does this mean come November? According to the St. Petersburg Times (a very liberal rag on the O'Reilley scale), 1 in 4 Florida Democrats might sit out if their delegates are not seated at the convention.

Even if many of the Democrats who say they may not back the party nominee in November as a result of the delegate mess eventually soften, the Times poll underscores the serious implications in a state notorious for dead-heat races.

"I would not want to be Howard Dean watching a Florida recount with a thousand-vote (spread) and seeing 23 percent of the Democratic votes having gone to John McCain, (and) meanwhile I refused to compromise to seat the Florida delegation,'' said Eldon. "Because if that happens, Howard Dean will be the new Ralph Nader."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/article423340.ece
My favorite part is that 28% of respondents blame the Republican controlled legislature for their party's mess, never mind that Democratic legislators supported the decision.

The Florida House voted unanimously to move it (the Primary) up (to January 29) on Thursday, a week after the Senate approved the measure.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/us/politics/04florida.html

Now Florida Democrats stand to be the only voters in America whose votes won't count toward picking a presidential nominee. Their leaders are suing the national party. And the Democratic presidential contenders, terrified of antagonizing voters in places like Iowa and New Hampshire, have promised to ignore America's biggest swing state, while Republicans busily campaign here.

There's plenty of blame to go around:

- It was clear as early as March 2006 that Florida's presidential primary was destined to move early, but Democratic leaders in Florida and Washington were oblivious to the coming train wreck.

- When state Democratic leaders finally understood the potential repercussions, hubris prevailed. They believed Florida was too crucial to the national party to suffer any consequences for breaking the rules.

- DNC leaders were clueless about political realities in Florida. They failed to grasp how powerless the minority Democrats are in Tallahassee; the importance of a property tax plan added to the Jan. 29 ballot; and the outrage it would cause to tell rank-and-file Democrats, their memories seared by butterfly ballots and purged voter rolls, that their votes won't count.

Not only did Florida Democrats wrongly assume the national party was bluffing, they didn't see that the strongest hand belonged to those favored by the status quo - the party bosses in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

Steve Geller, the Democratic leader of the state Senate, is still scratching his head. "I don't think any of us thought that the DNC would be stupid enough to punish the biggest swing state in the country to make South Carolina happy."

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/07/State/Florida_faces_a_prima.shtml

[Jac Coyne]

My favorite part is that 28% of respondents blame the Republican controlled legislature for their party's mess, never mind that Democratic legislators supported the decision.

I think it's funny that 2% say it's no one's fault. Florida has simply been caught up in some sort of cosmic anomaly.

[Zeuslax]

I think it's funny that 2% say it's no one's fault. Florida has simply been caught up in some sort of cosmic anomaly.

I thought that was pretty funny too. "Hello, I'm calling from the St. Petersburg Times and I would like to ask you a few questions about the current Democratic voting situation here in Florida. Do you have a few minutes to answer some quick questions?"

"Ahh ACK ACK ACK" Guy as he's sitting his bong down. "Sure, what can I do you for".