The Florida Democratic Party has The Florida Democratic Party has abandoned their plan for a mail-in vote, after state party leaders expressed concerns with the proposal. In a letter sent to the press last night, Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman asserted that the state would not vote again and expressed disgust with the way they have been treated by the DNC:
Does ‘537' ring a bell? It should. It's the number of votes that separated Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore in Florida in 2000. It's the number that sent this country and this world in a terrible direction. We can't let 537 – or the Republicans – determine our future again. President Bush plans to stop in Florida tomorrow to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Republican National Committee's efforts to elect his successor in November. The last thing America needs is a third Bush term.
Despite the widespread anxiety that working families feel, not to mention the broad agreement among economists that we are in a recession, President Bush and John McCain blindly believe that the economy is strong. And let me remind you that John McCain endorsed President Bush's decision to deny health care to thousands of Florida children by vetoing an expansion of the successful SCHIP program. McCain also promises to jeopardize the financial security of Florida seniors by privatizing Social Security. He continually threatens to push Florida's military families to the brink by keeping American troops in Iraq for “100 years” or more.
This is why we are Democrats, and this is why we must stick together, no matter where this ongoing delegate debate takes us. Last week, the Florida Democratic Party laid out the only existing way that we can comply with DNC Rules – a statewide revote run by the Party – and asked for input. Thousands of people responded. We spent the weekend reviewing your messages, and while your reasons vary widely, the consensus is clear: Florida doesn't want to vote again. So we won't.
Thurman went on to argue that a solution to the state's delegate issue will have to come from the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee, which is scheduled to meet again in April. Which means we're not at all closer to a solution for the state.
--Kate Sheppard
