Aug 27, 2007 6:18 pm US/Pacific
For Primaries, It's 'Who's On First'
(CBS News)
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Florida's 210 delegates could be barred from the Democratic National Convention because the state party moved its primary to Jan. 29.
CBS News
What would the Democratic National Convention next summer really look like with all 210 delegates from the critical state of Florida barred from floor?
That's what party officials are threatening.
"I am going to send a message to everybody in Florida that we are going to follow the rules," said Donna Brazile of the Democratic National Committee.
It's the latest and the most serious flareup over a seemingly endless parade of calendar shifts that might end up reshaping both the timing and the outcome of the campaign, reports CBS News chief political analyst Jeff Greenfield.
This year, the Democrats tried to answer the long-term complaint that Iowa and New Hampshire, the states that always get to go first, were not "representative enough" - a euphemism for 'too rural and too white.'" They gave earlier start dates to Nevada and South Carolina, with their large minority populations. Everyone else, they said, would have to wait at least until Feb. 5.
What happened? Some 20 states, including heavyweights like New York, California, New Jersey, Illinois and Florida, all rushed to Feb. 5 - creating a jam that created something like a national primary. It seemed to Democrats like a good idea - at least it would answer a major complaint of big states.
"They're afraid of being shut out of the process that effectively leaves them no voice in who ultimately becomes the party nominee," says Costas Panagopouous of Fordham University.
But when Florida voted to jump the gun a week, the dominoes began to fall: South Carolina said it would move to Jan. 22, which pushed New Hampshire and Iowa to say they'd move to stay out in front.
If that's not enough, Michigan this week may vote to move its primary to Jan. 15, which, New Hampshire official say, could push their primaries into December of this year.
Does any of this matter? It does to the less well-known candidates, like Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.
"It makes this nomination go to the highest bidder; whoever has the most money to engage in wholesale politics of going up on TV in the big cities. It would be a shame if that happens," he said.
Florida Democrats have 30 days to decide whether to comply with the National Committee's mandate to change their primary date. Republicans may decide what to do about Florida next month.
As for the possibility of vacant seats at the Democratic Convention next year: How likely is it that the nominee will want to kick off his or her campaign by shutting out one of the largest states in the land?
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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