It’s starting to look like a do-over

Vote by mail. OK, that’s the way I already vote. I will do what they say and vote again, differently this time, since I inked John Edwards for the Jan. 29 primary. Or will Edwards be on the ballot again, with Gravel and Kucinich, the big guy from New Mexico, etc etc?

I hate to say it, but I’m detecting a common thread in our two soap operas here in Florida: the primary that “didn’t count,” and the two members of Congress who don’t back their fellow Democrats.

In both cases, Republican political tricksters have steering in their bumper cars, while our cars have none.

It probably was Karl Rove who told the Republicans in the Florida Legislature to advance the primary date so early that there’d be an explosion. And Rove’s boss’s brother Jeb probably drew the gerrymandered districts that make our two Democratic members of the U.S. House so sassy and our three Republicans in the U.S. House so … words fail me. They all lack the good American tonic of competition. All five of them.

If we want to keep our supreme chance of electing a Democratic president in November, we must not be made into fools any more. This new plan must be bulletproof. Some silly way of restaging a primary will make the country laugh at Florida and at our two presidential candidates and at Democrats all over the land. And even if it’s not silly, Rush and Sean and Foxy will make it seem so. They will be able to quote the Miami Herald’s future scathing editorials about our inability to take our medicine.

The ray of hope I see in our situation is that we do have three honestly strong and good candidates for Congress in Annette Taddeo (FL-18), Raul Martinez (FL-21) and Joe Garcia (FL-25). This is a powerful dash of competition to be added to the political mix in Florida. We must work for them flat-out.

Meanwhile, I had the good fortune Wednesday afternoon to be at Miami Beach City Hall when the City Commission passed a resolution that urged the Democratic presidential candidates and all involved to work for a solution to the Florida primary that didn’t count. The draft resolution suggested several methods for a new vote but was amended to leave out all ideas as to how it might be done. Wise choice; passed unanimously. I don’t think a coin flip was one of the abandoned ideas.

Who are YOU fighting with over politics?

This front-pager in Monday’s NY Times is a good roundup of the many families that are split over politics.

Look around the Times also for the interactive photo montage of all the endorsers and their endorsees.

With all this strife, will Super Tuesday Primaries be followed by Super Wednesday Divorce Court?

NY Times looks at FL early voting

The Sunday NY Times has a good rundown of the impact of early voting in Florida this year.

Summary: about 350,000 Democrats did it, and so did about 400,000 Republicans. My conclusion (not the NY Times’): We will have to work hard on this for the November general election. The Republicans still are very good at this important aspect of Get Out The Vote. There are more registered Democrats than Republicans in Florida, and we ought to be ahead in early voting.

It’s interesting that we early-voting Dems in Florida already outnumber all the Democrats who voted in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Same for the Republicans. This may not be surprising now, but cast your frame of mind back to before the Iowa caucuses. Were you certain that voting would be heavy? Well, now we are getting used to the idea that our supposedly reluctant voters may actually be inspired – by the candidates, by the war, by the economy – and vote.

And by the way, I just checked and my absentee ballot has been received back at the Miami-Dade Elections Department. Check by logging on to www.miamidade.gov/elections, on the left-hand menu click on Absentee voting, and when prompted enter your zip code and date of birth. Voila.

One point of the Times’ article is that unofficial grass-roots campaigning by backers of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton may have boosted the number of early Democrats who voted. Darn, if it hadn’t been for my walking pneumonia, maybe I’d have gotten John Edwards mentioned in that sentence, too. We have been in the Miami Herald and expect to be in there again Tuesday morning.

One of the Times subheads says, “Democrats are turning out despite penalties by the national committee.”

Now I’d like to contrast that with the way the Sunday Miami Herald covered most of two pages with large-type Q-and-A about the early primary. Did any of this explain that the eventual nominee would seat the delegates?

• In the 4^th Q-and-A we read “The Democratic National Committee made Florida forfeit all of its delegates to the nominating convention.”
• The 6^th Q-and-A : “So does this mean Democratic votes won’t count?” “Yes and no.” The votes will be counted and reported. “However the results will not translated into delegates to the nominating convention. So on paper, Florida’s results won’t put the top vote-getter any closer to the nomination.”
• The 16^th Q-and-A: “Will Florida send delegates to the conventions anyway?” “Both state parties plan to send full slates of delegates to the nominating conventions in August and September. Party leaders say they expect the presumptive nominees to pressure party leaders to include the nation’s largest battleground state.”

In other words, readers of the Miami Herald have to be highly persistent to get even a hint that their delegates will be seated at the convention.

I’ll soon get discouraged and give up trying to convince the Herald otherwise. Best I’ve done so far is to get one of them to deny they ever wrote that our votes won’t count.

More good video, This from Plum

Florida somehow: A primary too early, but campaigning soon to get official

I'm at an early voting site in Miami Beach, the North Shore Regional Library, early Monday

A few weeks ago the Miami Herald was opining that the Florida primary vote wouldn’t count. To HELL with a newspaper’s civic responsibility! Citizens, don’t bother to vote. But that changed. I guess Florida’s flagship newspaper noticed that their darling, Rudy Giuliani, wouldn’t get his anticipated boost from Florida’s primary if the vote doesn’t count.

So the political tune has a new verse, and its title is “Florida still critical for Democrats.” That was the lead headline in Sunday’s Miami Herald, Jan. 13. Flip to the jump inside, and the headline is “Florida is pivotal in general election.” (Don’t ask how they leaped from the impending primary election to the November general election.) Nice photo there of my friend Big Dave Patlak and his wife Maryanne with a cardboard cutout of Barack Obama and a delighted passerby as if they’re doing a honk-and-wave – all gracing a long story to the effect that there is no official campaigning by the candidates in Florida, but it’ll count anyway. Bigtime. Somehow.

We have 10 million registered voters and a primary on Jan. 29. The problem is that the Republican-dominated state legislature passed legislation putting the 2008 primary ahead of the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday – flouting rules of both parties – thereby screwing us addled beach bums out of our seats at the national nominating conventions. Except the rules will change by the time of the conventions. And we’ll be seated. Somehow.

We have a history in Florida of mangling elections, and this is Chapter Umpteen. Plus, we’re already voting: Our early voting started on Monday Jan. 14. I’ll put up a photo of myself trying a honk-and-wave at the early-voting site near my addled beach home. You’ll see that I’m for John Edwards. I even went to Iowa, my birth state, and campaigned for him before the caucuses. Now I’m on a steering committee helping to organize grass-roots campaigning in South Florida – alas, no cardboard cutout of JRE, but we’re doing the best we can. Unofficially. Somehow.

I’m glad we already started, because the pressure is building to let the Democratic campaigns wash over Florida like Global Warming in Al Gore’s wet dream.

My little steering committee is begging John Edwards’ campaign to come and do (permitted under the rules) fund-raisers in Florida. I should know, I wrote the news release and the DailyKos diary about it.

Hillary Clinton is about to do Florida fund-raisers after the Jan. 26 South Carolina primary, and the Obama campaign is complaining loudly. Funny, but wasn’t that Barack Obama raising money like gangbusters in Florida back in the summer? Including a rally for 2,000 people in Miami’s Little Havana to benefit the local Democratic Party? I should know, I wrote some of the news releases for that and organized the media as best I could. Even the Wall Street Journal covered that event – but it wasn’t campaigning, just a little fund-raising.

Others have noticed the logic of campaigning in Florida. Here’s the Orlando Sentinel’s editorial of a few days ago urging the national parties to let up on Florida:

The surprising results and record turnouts in Iowa and New Hampshire show this year's presidential race has lit a fire among voters. So why would national party bosses, of all people, want to pour cold water on that fire in Florida?

Indeed. I saw the enthusiasm in Iowa. Trying to get to a caucus site in Waterloo, where I was working for Edwards, I found myself in a huge traffic jam, and like hundreds of others I never got to the site. They couldn’t caucus; I couldn’t observe, though the view was good when I got to the Irish bar downtown and watched C-span with a jar of well-tended Guinness in hand.

A break here to defend Iowa. The newspapers all call it overwhelmingly white, and therefore, sort of, unAmerican. Well, the Democratic side of the Iowa equation is NOT overwhelmingly white. Maybe the Republicans are, but the Democrats in Iowa are more concentrated in the strongly industrial cities in the east, like Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Dubuque (where I was born), some with sizeable minority populations. I’m not saying it’s like Birmingham, just not lily white. Waterloo has several Mexican restaurants and groceries. And Iowa is where I went on my first civil rights marches, in the late ‘50s, so I like to think Iowans have their hearts in the right place in as high a proportion as anywhere in this country. And their reps in the U.S. House are four Democrats and one Republican, with a Democratic governor. What’s yours, progressive Florida? A lot of ground to make up, huh? Well, Florida and Iowa are tied in the U.S. Senate with one each of Republican and Democrat. The Iowa climate is ahead of Florida’s in suitability for having the occasional jar of Guinness. Enough. Not talking here about the perils of glaze ice on the Waterloo driveway.

Back to voter enthusiasm. It’s cooking in Florida. On Monday over 20,000 Democrats used the early-voting privilege, topping Republican turnout by about 3,000. Democrats also are cutting into the usual Republican advantage in absentee voting. Read about it here on the Democratic Party web site. They’re forecasting almost a doubling of the Democratic absentee vote.

Does that sound like Iowa? Yes, Iowa Democrats also came out in almost double their numbers from the previous cycle. That amounted to about 240,000, while in Florida, maybe one million Democrats will vote. That’s to admire and strive for, to campaign for. And that’s why this observer and participant expects campaigning to start to look almost official in the next week.

Footnote: this analysis doesn’t apply to the Republicans, who are campaigning in Florida like no tomorrow. As usual, they don’t care about rules.

Become a delegate: You WILL be counted

Now it's becoming clear, despite all the Republican misleading. Florida's Jan. 29 primary will have a strong effect on choosing the Democratic nominee for president, and that person will see that Florida's delegates will be welcome at the national convention.

With that in mind, the Miami-Dade Democratic Party wishes to remind that it is time to apply to become a delegate to the Aug. 25-28 convention in Denver. Here are the guidelines:

• Deadline to apply is Noon Jan. 29, the date of the primary.
• Download application forms from the Miami-Dade Democratic Party web site http://www.miamidadedemocrats.com/ or the Florida Democratic Party web site http://www.fladems.com/
• Complete and notarize the loyalty oath, submit the forms to the party.
• Registered Democrats are eligible.
• Delegates will be elected at caucuses in each congressional district on Saturday March 1.
• Florida has a total of 210 delegates and 31 alternates.
  Forms can be mailed to the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, 1200 NW 78th Ave. Suite 214, Doral FL 33126. Call 305 477-4994 with questions.

The mixed results from the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary have awakened even the political reporters at the Miami Herald, whose analysis in Wednesday's paper predicts that Florida will be a "battleground few expected." Well, they didn't expect it. They were telling people their votes wouldn't count. The Florida Democratic Party, meanwhile, beseeched people to vote on Jan. 29 - on the referendum questions, as well as on the presidential primary. But many Floridians did not heed that message and fell for the argument that Florida's delegates would not be seated at the National Convention in Denver because the primary date was too early.

True, it is earlier than permitted. However, here is reality: Once the nominee is known, which may be soon after the nationwide primaries of Feb. 5, that person becomes head of the party with authority to waive rules and seat contested delegations. Voila, Florida's delegates will have full voting powers. Can anyone imagine that a candidate for president would snub Florida?

Please do go and vote on Jan. 29

I am giving Bill Nelson the benefit of the doubt and will consider his lawsuit a publicity stunt. Good. We need all the publicity we can get. Even bad publicity is useful, some say.

In any case, here is the word from Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman following the dismissal of Sen. Nelson's suit against the Democratic National Committee.

It boils down to: Please vote in the Jan. 29 primary.

"The Florida Democratic Party remains committed to participating fully in the state-run Presidential Preference Primary on January 29, 2008. We strongly urge all Florida Democrats to get out and vote in this fair and open election.

"No matter what anybody says, Florida Democrats will make the primary count by going to the polls and casting their votes on January 29th. The nation will be paying attention, and Florida Democrats will have a major impact on the race.

"Accordingly, the Florida Democratic Party will respect the voters' choice on January 29th in determining the allocation of our delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. We are confident that the Democratic Presidential nominee will seat Florida's delegation at the Convention."

There's www.makeitcountflorida.com for further information.

Also relevant is that it's time to start applying if you'd like to be a delegate to the Denver convention. You will be seated.

Vote on Jan. 29 -- the mailers start

I've been reading these emails on the Florida Netroots group complaining about lack of guidance on how to vote on Jan. 29, the primary and all. I've got to agree. Of course we can each decide on the right person to be the presidential nominee, but then there are the property tax measure and -- for us in Miami-Dade County -- a referendum on gambling. Maybe people in other counties have local measures, too. What are we supposed to say?

Clang -- the day that mails started up after Thanksgiving, advice poured into my mailbox, thanks to an outfit called "Vote Yes! For A Greater Miami-Dade."

Vote Yes for Job Creation.

Vote Yes for more School Funding.

So it trumpeted. Of course, the Yes is actually for "limited slot machines at our existing horse track, dog track and jai alai fronton in Miami=Dade County."

The double-sized mailer also has two mail-in forms to request absentee ballots for me and ... my neighbor, I guess.

And there's a website http://www.agreatermiamidade.com/ with nothing there as of Nov. 26. How am I supposed to weigh this advice?

There is a tremendous stack of campaign mailers on my dining table from the Nov. 6 municipal election and Nov. 20 runoff -- probably 80 pieces of mail for Miami Beach mayor and three commission seats. Just think how much mail there would be if our presidential contenders were campaigning in Florida. But wait -- they have sent a lot of mail, too. Guess I chucked it all.

This is one of the odd things about voting. Mind made up early and firmly on the presidential choice. It took longer on the local races where I actually saw the candidates and asked questions.

Judge to Republicans: Stop misleading Florida

There's a refreshing ruling.

A judge in Leon County tossed out the ballot referendum on property tax reform. It was to have been on the Jan. 29 ballot when the presidential primary vote is held. Said the judge, "The summary is just not correct. In fact, it is misleading."

House Speaker Marco Rubio ramped up on CBS4 and declared of the Democrats: "It's the biggest tax cut in Florida's history, and that's why they're against it."

Marco, didn't you hear the judge: Stop misleading Florida.

Here's the PDF file of the judge's ruling, from Miami Herald's Naked Politics blog. Scroll down to p. 6 to see the truly opaque language that gave the judge a migraine.

Debate/forum question

The Univision debate/forum is only three days away. Is that enough time to study up on the issue of trade pacts? Here is a suggestion for a debate question from Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer. This is one reason I'm not running for president: what the heck to say about new trade pacts with this country and that?

Unvision debate coming soon

Here's a post in the Florida Politics blog reminding us how the Republicans are doing their best to shoo away the Latino vote. It quotes from an editorial in the Tampa Tribune remarking how the Republican presidential aspirants all gave up on the Univision debate in Spanish, while the Democrats are booking their tickets to Miami for their debate next Sunday.

And do you have your ticket to the debate? There's a lottery that you can register for at the local party website, www.miamidadedemocrats.com.

The other thing on Saturday

Yes, there will be Democratic news Saturday beyond the fund-raiser that Barack Obama stars in. In Washington, the Democratic National Committee will be considering Florida's perhaps illegal scheduling of the primary election on Jan. 29.

It's been a while since I've seen so much gnashing of the teeth.

Here's a post by Kos on DailyKos that tries, in Markos' infinite wisdom, to cut through the groans of despair.

Earlier, my inbox registered an appeal by the state Democratic Party to back party chair Karen Thurman as she heads to Washington to argue the case for keeping Florida free of sanctions -- such as losing delegates to the national presidential nominating convention next year. Here's the way the Miami Herald summarized it -- more groans: why are we fighting the national party?

Thurman herself broadcast her views by email, and then a further appeal went on DailyKos with a diary posted by the state communications director, Phil Perry. The comments below the diary are truly anguished. If you go into them, don't miss Floridagal's worry that we Dems might be unleashing the Feds on us for an investigation.

This is a very disheartening topic. Politics can be so nasty. And that's why we need to get Republicans out of the majority all over the place and get back to rational legislating and governing. Like good Democrats, right?

Bob Graham analyzes the presidential primaries

Here's a link to Bob Graham's NY Times op-ed on the primaries. Let's change to yet another scheme, he suggests. Credit Naked Politics for putting this one up early.