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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 3, 2008

DNC Dismisses Florida

Regarding Joseph Brown's column "Denying Vote Now Part of Party Policy" (Commentary, Jan. 27):

Some say the Democratic National Committee punished Florida voters to "send a message" to other states not to advance their own primary dates. Punishing persons who have done nothing wrong in order to send a message to others who might is fraught with unintended consequences. Some even say it's immoral.

But morality aside, every informed person knows that Florida will be a pivotal state to determine the outcome in 2008.

Florida's final certified vote in 2000 put Bush ahead of Gore by 537 votes out of more than 5.8 million votes cast - that's one one-hundredth of 1 percent! With such a razor-thin margin, any perturbation can invert the outcome. The DNC has provided it and must be held responsible for the outcome.

JOHN CHASE

Palm Harbor

Blame Republicans

I would like to thank the Republican-led Florida state Legislature for disenfranchising my vote on Jan. 29.

The primary could have been moved to Feb. 5 - Super Tuesday - and my vote and millions of other Democratic votes would have counted. I promise to remember who took away my vote when my state senator, in my case Ronda Storms, is up for re-election.

This is not the first time Democratic voters in the state of Florida have had their vote taken away by a Republican. In 2000 then Secretary of State Katherine Harris actually hired a company to "purge" voter rolls of Democratic voters. We must not let this ever happen again.

F. M. YOUNGLOVE

Brandon

Dawning Of A New Day
Regarding "Kennedy Calls Obama 'New Generation Of Leadership' " (Nation/World, Jan. 29):

It wasn't just that my eyes glistened; there was a tear, too. Forty-five years is such a long time to wait for the dawning of a new day to replace that torn to shreds in 1963. But here it was.

It wasn't just the shadow of emotional light cast by Teddy Kennedy on those days long ago or the eloquence of Patrick Kennedy representing a newer generation or the understated commitment from Caroline which were profoundly moving.

More so it was the young people of American University caught up in the ideology of hope showing the same excitement and, undoubtedly, commitment to move mountains for America to become America again. They were like the legions who marched off to JFK's call to duty in the Peace Corps those many years ago.

Revolution is always left to the young. There is no question, no doubt, that Barack Obama is that revolution's standard bearer.

VALD SVEKIS

Sarasota

Voters Make History

If the result of last week's vote has, in fact, chosen the candidates for November, the Florida voters will have made history. For the first time in the history of our democracy two Democrats will be running against each other for the presidency.

LAWSON STEVENSON

Bartow

There's Only One 'District'

Regarding "The Best Way To Represent Hillsborough" (Commentary, Jan.27):

The Oxford Dictionary of the English Language defines gerrymander as "to manipulate the boundaries (of a constituency, etc.) so as to give undue influence to some party or class." This appears to be what has happened to our county.

The rulings of Jim Norman, Brian Blair, Mark Sharpe, Rose Ferlita, Ken Hagan, Kevin White and Al Higginbotham all represent one and only one "district": Hillsborough County. Their rulings affect us all, including the amount and use of our tax money.

Would someone please explain why I, as a resident of Hillsborough County, cannot vote for or against every commissioner, regardless of artificial - gerrymandered - district? This is now forbidden.

This is a regression to taxation without representation which, if memory serves, was the cause of a rather nasty "tea party" in old Boston.

Will our county commissioners ever agree to let the law prevail? Will my fellow Hillsborough County residents?

HENRY POWERS

Lutz

Real Term Limits Needed

Regarding "Should At-Large Seats Be Removed From The County Commission?" (Commentary, Jan. 27):

You left out one of the most important segments of Doris Weatherford's article, which was definitive term limits.

The same commissioners return to the board by only changing districts. This would be eliminated by having seven individual districts and would make it easier for new faces and new ideas to enter the political scene rather than the same old payoffs to the special interests.

D.J. HOLDING

Dover

A Disastrous Throwback

I read Doris Weatherford's article with concern and skepticism.

For her to intimate that the corruption of the 1980s occurred because the Hillsborough County Commission was organized with at-large seats is utter nonsense. Further in her diatribe, to state that ethnic groups reside in the same geography, designated areas and therefore must have "a more defined voice" goes beyond common sense in a nation striving for ethnic conjointness.

And that commissioners are elected because they are personally wealthy is breathtaking nonsense. Apparently Weatherford is a novelist.

In her adjacent column, Jan Platt, a former commissioner, states that "ward politics" would be a disastrous throwback for Hillsborough County and certainly lead to disunion of thought and effort.

FRANK PHELAN

Tampa

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