The letter reads, in part -- "[I]f the DNC strips Florida of all or some of its delegates to the national convention -- we would ask the appropriate legal officials to determine whether this could violate any state or federal laws governing and protecting individual voting rights."
By law, the DNC runs the Democratic primaries and caucuses. They legally enforce the rules. The DNC repeatedly warned Florida not to move up the primary. Their fear was states would attempt to move their elections ahead of each other. That is exactly what happened.
It's funny to hear Nelson talk tough. This is the same man that voted to give George W. Bush and Alberto Gonzales more power to torture and wiretap. The former when he was running against Katherine Harris. The latter in a Democratic Senate majority. Does anyone believe Nelson will go to go to the mattress with Howard Dean? Please.
Update: here is the full letter.
The Honorable Howard Dean
Chairman
Democratic National Committee
430 S. Capitol St. SE
Washington, DC 20003
Dear Chairman Dean:
It has been our understanding the Democratic National Committee intended to satisfactorily resolve any potential rules problems arising from the decision by several states to move up their 2008 primary dates.
Florida - as directed by the state Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Charlie Crist - advanced its primary to Jan 29. Our goal now is to protect the right of every citizen to vote and to have that vote count.
Yet it was reported just today the DNC still appears poised to assault this basic right. According to ABC News and other news publications, the DNC may sanction Florida if the state's Democratic Party doesn't make the new primary a nonbinding straw poll - or in effect, a "meaningless . . . beauty contest."
If true - and, if the DNC strips Florida of all or some of its delegates to the national convention - we would ask the appropriate legal officials to determine whether this could violate any state or federal laws governing and protecting individual voting rights.
Furthermore, we would recommend to the chairman and leadership of the Florida Democratic Party that they send the party's entire delegation to the national convention in Denver next year anyway.
It always has been a priority of our party to protect the right of every eligible American to vote. We would hope the DNC will continue to honor this right, when the Rules and Bylaws Committee meets Saturday in Washington.
As has been discussed privately on a couple of previous occasions, there is an easy compromise to resolve this situation: the states with administrative officers legally empowered to do so can move their primaries up seven days from when they were originally planned. This would keep the same sequence and timing for all the states in the presidential selection process.
Sincerely,
Sen. Bill Nelson
Rep. Alcee L. Hastings, Democratic Chair, Florida Congressional Delegation
Rep. Kendrick Meek
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Rep. Kathy Castor
>By law, the DNC runs the Democratic primaries and caucuses. They legally enforce the rules.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure this is consistent with constitutional law. Parties and primaries are extraconstitutional, but it is clear that presidential selection, under the Constitution, is the power of state legislatures and Congress. If this is taken to the Supreme Court, I'd wager that the DNC will lose.