Florida politicians disenfranchise their constituents for campaign-finance reasons

The Florida State Legislature voted a few months ago to move its primary elections up to January of 2008. There's a problem. The DNC only allows 4 states to hold primary elections before Feb 5. The RNC allows only 7. Florida isn't one of them in either case.

For violating party rules, Florida will be sanctioned by both parties, losing half of its delegates to the conventions. Of greater impact, no candidate who campaigns in Florida or raises funds there will be able to recieve delegates from Florida at the conventions. In case you're wondering, this isn't a surprise. Florida legislators knew the rules and new they would be sanctioned for breaking them.

This is bad news for candidates not running in the front of the pack, who desperately need every delegate they can get their hands on if they want the nomination. Now Florida is worth much less to such candidates, can't be campaigned for, and can't be a fund-raising destination for them.

Hillary of course has refused to be deterred. She already has her eyes on the general election and has vowed to campaign and raise funds there anyway. She doesn't need Florida's delegates to the convention. She is free to gear up for a stronger showing in the general election, because she's not hard-pressed for delegates.

In a blatant, yet relatively obscure act of political sabotage, Florida's legislators have weakened the voice of their constituents in the primaries in order to reserve the campaign funding goldmine of Florida for those who decide they don't want or need the votes of Floridians.

On the bright side, we're going to get an honest look at politics here. The candidates have to choose between the votes of the people of Florida, and the dollars of special interest groups in Florida.

Wow, why is it that FLorida just can't get thier stuff together when it comes ot elections.
This doesn't mean that FL gets 1/2 in the presidential election, it just means basicly FL is in a political lockout...? This just is not right... some poeple in the florida goverment should not have thier jobs...

Well I disagree with you.

I think the PR that Florida's early primaries will far outweigh any actual votes they get in the convention.

Florida's vote before the new "tsunami tuesday" will be big news, and help shape the elections far more than if they had just joined in on the "tsunami tuesday" IMO.

DJ, although the importance of Florida's results may increase, that voice is being placed under tighter control.

Not all candidates can afford the consequences of campaigning in Florida. Any added clout that Florida might have by holding an early primary is limited to a narrower field now.

It's really great news for front-runners. More money for them in Florida, plus exclusive access to the voters so that aren't just one voice among many while doing early prep for the general election. An underdog hoping to pull out a narrow win in the primary may be deterred from going there. Then the ones who benefited get to spin it and play the victim after the fact by crying the blues that they were "cheated out of delegates" that they had consciously decided were less important than being one of the candidates who could tap that money.

Bet your hat that Hillary supporters in Florida claim to have been disenfranchised by their Republican legislature, ignoring the fact that it was by no means a party-line vote, and the fact that Hillary gained a net benefit from it all.

What you won't hear nearly as much about is how whoever does take it gets less than they earned, and FAR LESS than they could have earned if they had been allowed access to the voters there, plus the financial sacrifice that comes with that.

Forgive me for being the kind of guy who quotes Metallica when he's talking serious politics but we're talking about "Freedom of Speech with words that they will pen". Here you go guys, we're giving you a louder voice, with strong safeguards against the possibility of you saying anything with it that we don't like.