Don't send party faithful out to pasture for primary date

Ask any Republican — from the rank-and-file grassroots to party leadership — what their No. 1 goal for 2012 is and the answer is always, "Send Obama an eviction notice."

Yet somehow the Republican National Committee, most of its members and its national chairman, Reince Priebus, are hellbent on airing the party's dirty laundry by taking Florida to the woodshed for violating the RNC's "rules" about election dates.

I have what I think is a great idea to solve this "problem." But first, it's important to understand the facts. They are:

The RNC has the right to do whatever it wants regarding the management of its convention, which will be in Tampa in August. This includes everything from the seating of delegates, to assigning hotel rooms for state delegations, to designating seating for delegates on the convention floor, to how many stupid hats, pins and buttons a delegate should be required to wear before plopping themselves in front of a TV camera to make total fools of themselves on national television.

Florida is a sovereign state with the legal right, power, will and authority to schedule its presidential primary election date whenever it chooses.

For years the RNC has recognized the Iowa/New Hampshire "first in the nation" election calendar is flawed and needs to be changed. The committee has failed to find a workable calendar that puts less emphasis on two of the most demographically challenged (that's the politically correct term for nothing but a bunch of white people) states in America.

The Florida Legislature is overwhelmingly dominated by Republicans. The Legislature voted for a Jan. 31 presidential preference primary date knowing full well that the date violates the RNC's preference. (The RNC calls it a rule, but you can't have a rule that tells a sovereign state what to do).

The RNC, using its lawful right, has reduced the number of delegates from Florida by half. The national committee also has voted to penalize the Florida delegation by assigning them hotels in undesirable places, like a Motel 6 next to a cow pasture in rural Pasco County. Or is it Highlands County?

Here is the solution I propose:

Instead of penalizing the hard-working grassroots' activists who seek to become delegates to the national convention, the RNC should refuse to allow any member of the Legislature who voted for the change from obtaining any delegate, alternate, visitor, guest, VIP or any other type of credentials that would allow them on the convention floor.

For good measure, put Gov. Rick Scott on the prohibited-entry list also, since he signed the bill.

Penalizing grassroots activist members of the party who had nothing to do with the decision to change the date is like firing the maître d' for the lousy food the chef cooked. It doesn't make any sense.

If whatever penalty assigned is intended to be a deterrent to other states from violating RNC preferences in the future, keeping Scott and the state lawmakers who voted to change the date off the convention floor and away from the glaring lights of national TV cameras will most certainly send the message.

There is no worse penalty to self-promoting politicians than being denied the chance to get their mug on TV.

So there you have it, Chairman Preibus. If you want to do what's right and do something that will have an impact, punish the people who created the mess, not the grassroots folks the party needs in order to beat President Obama in November.

How much do you want to bet that Scott still gets his pass?

See you at the Motel 6.