3 Democratic Candidates Have Signed On To Skip Florida

Delegate heavy Florida which was just punished by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) this past Saturday now is getting punished by some of the candidates. The four states that the DNC allows to have early political contests have sent out a letter urging candidates to not participate in any state that moves it primary up before February 5th. Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden all quickly signed the pledge. This means they will not campaign in Florida, and maybe not Michigan which is considering moving it’s primary up to January 15th. This is a good deal for them since they are cash strapped and campaigning in states like Florida and Michigan is expensive. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both have agreed to look closely at the pledge, but Clinton had earlier promised to campaign anywhere there is a primary. According to Richardson the, “process is completely out of control and only an agreement by the candidates can restore sanity.” “Each candidate for president should do whatever possible to preserve the established rules,” Richardson said. “Anarchy in the nominating process does nothing to further the cause of changing America.” Dodd said the four traditional early states, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina all, “offer a cross section of America and allow for voters to probe the experience and vision of candidates in a meaningful way.” Biden’s campaign said, “it is time to end all the maneuvering around the dates of the early primaries and caucuses. The public despises this kind of maneuvering for political advantage.” Florida Democrats tried to skip in line, and now they are paying for it. They enacted a bill that they knew was in violation of both party rules, and now Michigan is setting the same thing in motion. The DNC felt they had to stop it at some point or we would be starting the nominating process right after Thanksgiving. Iowa and New Hampshire have been first for decades. Florida tried to cut in line, and the DNC just put them at the back of the line. The Florida Democrats thought they could get away with this and lost. They are now trying to blame the Republican controlled Legislature for the vote, but the voting record shows that the measure passed 118-0 Meaning everyone of the Democrats voted for the date change. They brought it on themselves, and now it is their problem to fix it or be disenfranchised. Other states should pay attention, and not jump in line.
Alan Cosgrove