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Floridians Take Primary Protest To Democrats' Leaders In D.C.
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Published: May 1, 2008
Updated:
WASHINGTON - Tampa Bay area residents and about 250 other Floridians - most of them Latino - upset with the stalemate over the state's presidential delegates demonstrated outside of Democratic National Committee headquarters Wednesday.
Peacefully chanting, "Florida Must Count!" and "Count Our Votes!" and carrying placards and miniature Florida flags, many of the demonstrators acknowledged they were backers of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
Organizers, however, depicted the event as aimed at a larger issue, and not intended to boost Clinton.
"This is a civil liberties issue, not a campaign or candidate issue," said Jose Fernandez, Florida state coordinator for the League of United Latin American Citizens, speaking to the crowd.
Standing in the crowd, Fred Araque, 66, a truck driver from Spring Hill, pointed to his wife Adela, 65, and said, "She is for Hillary, and I am for Hillary.
"I think most of the people here are for Hillary," Araque said.
That should not be surprising. Clinton, who trails Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in the Democratic presidential delegate tally, has been saying that her victory in Florida's Jan. 29 primary should count for some delegates.
The Obama campaign says publicly that anything other than completely eliminating Clinton's advantage - in other words, splitting the delegates evenly between the two - is unfair. He contends the Florida primary wasn't fair because the candidates, even though they were on the ballot, didn't campaign here.
The national party decided last year to strip the state of any delegates because it violated party rules by moving up its primary date.
At the rally Wednesday, among those selected to speak at the entrance of DNC headquarters were Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston, a national Clinton campaign co-chairwoman, and Kim Gandy, the National Organization for Women president who has endorsed Clinton.
Speaking to the crowd, Wasserman Schultz suggested that disregarding the primary ballot choices of 1.7 million Florida Democratic primary voters could alienate these voters in a key presidential swing state.
"We can't begin this general election with one hand tied behind our back," Wasserman Schultz said.
Another speaker was Anita de Palma, 66, of Clearwater. She is a past Florida director of the League of United Latin American Citizens who is running as a Democratic candidate for the congressional seat now held by Republican Gus Bilirakis of Palm Harbor.
"This is our heritage!" said de Palma, referring to the right to vote and have that vote count. "Our forefathers fought for it, our fathers fought for it, and I'll be damned if we are going to let it get away from us now!"
Also attending the event was Jim Hannagan, a marketing strategist who has launched an effort from Palm Harbor to petition the DNC to seat Florida's delegates at the party's convention in Denver.
Hannagan's effort, known as "Florida Demands Representation," has been holding its own rallies across Florida and he says it is well on its way toward collecting a hoped-for 1.5 million signed petitions to deliver to the DNC in June For information, go to www.floridademands representation.org.
Other organizations helping to organize or participating in the event sponsored by LULAC included the Florida Voters League, University of Central Florida, and the Southern Leadership Coalition.
DNC Chairman Howard Dean was in Connecticut and did not address the crowd.
Spokesman Luis Miranda said Dean has already declared that the national party is committed to seating Florida delegates at its convention in Denver.
"The key thing here is that we are committed to seeing that happens," Miranda said.
So far, however, the party has been unable to come up with a compromise that the two candidates can agree upon as the August convention draws nearer.
During the rally, DNC officials passed out bottles of water and fliers reminding the protesters that Dean had stood alongside Florida members of Congress on the same steps in early April to say he is committed to seating a Florida delegation.
The DNC even sought to make lemonade out of the sour taste the party's action has left in the mouth of many Floridians.
Even before the protesters arrived at DNC headquarters, national party staffers put up a banner over the entrance, sure to be visible in any TV coverage of the event.
It read: "John McCain = 3rd Bush Term."
Reporter Billy House can be reached at (202) 662-7673 or bhouse@tampatrib.com.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( zteam55 ) on May 1, 2008 at 6:30 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
You just have to love democrats fighting democrats to have their votes counted...
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Posted by ( scbrownsr ) on May 1, 2008 at 8:11 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Its good that people are getting involved and fighting for their beliefs. I wish we were more diligent with other things such as gas, power, and materialism.
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Posted by ( Claylisa ) on May 1, 2008 at 8:38 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
scbrownsr, we are diligent with the other things you mentioned...but as usual ONE thing ALWAYS stands in the way, just like they are with this primary thing.
THE DAM POLITICIANS.
They won't listen to cries about gas prices. They cater to the power companies, giving them anything they want. (just google "requested power increases in florida", and that's just our state!) As for materialism, well, who's more materialistic than a fat-cat senator?
We are a country of haves and have-nots. 5% make the decisions for the other 95.
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Posted by ( Jabarten ) on May 1, 2008 at 8:54 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Florida broke the rules....
Florida therefore must pay....
They were warned not to move their primary, but they did....some people just do not want to accept responsibility for their actions...
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Posted by ( Old_FL_Crab ) on May 1, 2008 at 8:58 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Dean is now committed to fixing what he caused?
I think that I smell 'waffles' AGAIN!
'course the Democratic party is famous for that lately.
Afraid of Bush 3rd term? Get us a candidate! Oops, to late.
Old_FL_Democrat heading to Waffle House, "Can I get bacon with that?"
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