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Congressional Action Needed To Smooth Primary Process

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 25, 2007

Leaders of Florida's Democratic Party defied the national party last weekend by deciding - finally - to go forward with the Jan. 29 presidential primary that lawmakers approved earlier this year.

After weeks of indecision, Chairwoman Karen Thurman declared the voices of state Democratic voters will be heard, though they won't count toward choosing the Democratic nominee.

The state party made the right call, which cannot be said of the major candidates - Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards - who've pledged to ignore Florida as punishment for moving up its primary. As a result, the candidates will be defined by their critics, leaving voters in a critical battleground state to question the Democrats' commitment to addressing their concerns.

Wisely, the Republican candidates made no such pledges to skip Florida, though they, too, face a penalty for the state having moved up its primary. However, only half of Florida Republican delegates won't be seated at their party's convention, while the Democrats plan to ban them all.

Ultimately, this political quagmire is a failure of Congress, which has an obligation to ensure a fair process for electing an American president. The Constitution may speak only to the general election, but surely some legal footing can be found for addressing the seating of delegates. Antitrust laws prohibit companies that have cornered the market from adopting policies that harm segments of consumers. Why should the two dominant political parties be immune from such oversight? Isn't this a similar restraint of trade?

Last week Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, one of two Democrats elected statewide, proposed legislation to set up a system of regional primaries that would take effect during the 2012 election cycle. His idea merits quick attention.

Nelson's bill provides for six presidential primary dates, with at least one state from six regions of the country represented. The order of the states in each region would rotate every four years.

In the past Congress has failed to act because party politics got in the way.

Nelson's bill offers a chance for our representatives to remove their party hats, stand up for citizens and fix a process that has spun out of control.

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