02/6/08

current event
title:Florida, Michigan seek exit from Democratic penalty box

who:Political leaders

what:Political leaders from Florida and Michigan were busy Wednesday talking about plans to make sure that voters in their states are heard in picking a Democratic nominee.
The discussions unfolded amid a grueling, delegate-by-delegate fight between Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.
The national Democratic Party stripped Florida and Michigan of their delegates to the national convention after the states moved up the dates of their primary elections.
That means votes that were cast in primaries in those states will not translate into delegates awarded to one candidate or the other in the contest for the Democratic nomination for president.

when:02/5/08

where:MIAMI, Florida

why:Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said the states can either come up with a new plan to choose a slate of delegates or appeal to the party's credentials committee when the convention opens in August.
"Out of respect for the presidential campaigns and the states that did not violate party rules, we are not going to change the rules in the middle of the game," Dean said in a written statement Wednesday.

how:The national Democratic Party stripped Florida -- epicenter of the 2000 election debacle -- of its 210 national convention delegates as punishment for the state's decision to move its party primaries to January 29.
Michigan received the same treatment after moving its primary date to January as well, losing its 156 convention delegates.
On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican, and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, called on the Democratic National Committee to seat their states' delegations. They accused the party in a statement of silencing "the voices of 5,163,271 Americans" who voted in their primaries.
"It is intolerable that the national political parties have denied the citizens of Michigan and Florida their votes and voices at their respective national conventions," they wrote.
And at a news conference in Tallahassee, Crist -- who signed the bill that changed Florida's primary date -- pointed fingers outside the state.
"It's unconscionable to me that some party boss in Washington is not going to permit the people to be heard," he said. "That's not what America is all about, and it's wrong."
Wednesday night in Washington, Democratic House members from Florida and Michigan met for about an hour to talk about possibilities that would lead to delegations from those states influencing the outcome of the Democratic nominating contest.
"Both delegations feel very, very strongly -- adamantly -- that our delegations be seated at the national conventions," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz of Florida.
Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan said he's not sure of the best way to resolve the dispute but that voters from Florida and Michigan should have their voters counted.
"I think the key is the voice of Michigan and Florida is heard and there's a procedure that is fair to the residents and fair to the two candidates," he said.
Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan suggested Wednesday that his state could hold caucuses to select its delegates.