Democrats to Avoid Florida and Michigan -- Four Early-Primary States Get Candidates to Sign Pledge.
According to The Washington Post:
The Democratic candidates have signed a pledge that would forbid them from campaigning in states such as Michigan and Florida that have sought to move their presidential primaries into January 2008.
Democratic leaders in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, the four states that had been designated by the Democratic National Committee to hold early primaries, demanded in letters Friday that the candidates not participate in the early primaries of other states. The candidates either had to sign the pledge or risk annoying officials in those key states.
Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) and Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.), along with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, signed the pledge within hours on Friday. By yesterday, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.), and former senator John Edwards of North Carolina, had joined them.
On Aug. 25, the DNC told Florida that its primary would have to be held on or after Feb. 5, or it would lose its delegates to the party's convention in Denver next year. The Republican National Committee has issued similar warnings.
The Democratic candidates signed the pledge after getting caught in the middle of a dispute involving states such as Michigan that have long been frustrated by Iowa and New Hampshire's influence in the primaries.
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I did a post entitled "Don't do it Clinton, Obama & Edwards; don't sign the Four State Pledge Letter 2008" on this topic on 8-31-07 that I updated on Saturday and this morning.
The Democratic candidates have signed a pledge that would forbid them from campaigning in states such as Michigan and Florida that have sought to move their presidential primaries into January 2008.
Democratic leaders in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, the four states that had been designated by the Democratic National Committee to hold early primaries, demanded in letters Friday that the candidates not participate in the early primaries of other states. The candidates either had to sign the pledge or risk annoying officials in those key states.
Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) and Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.), along with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, signed the pledge within hours on Friday. By yesterday, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.), and former senator John Edwards of North Carolina, had joined them.
On Aug. 25, the DNC told Florida that its primary would have to be held on or after Feb. 5, or it would lose its delegates to the party's convention in Denver next year. The Republican National Committee has issued similar warnings.
The Democratic candidates signed the pledge after getting caught in the middle of a dispute involving states such as Michigan that have long been frustrated by Iowa and New Hampshire's influence in the primaries.
_______________
I did a post entitled "Don't do it Clinton, Obama & Edwards; don't sign the Four State Pledge Letter 2008" on this topic on 8-31-07 that I updated on Saturday and this morning.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 8:35 AM
1 Comments:
This is just a crazy decision and is likely to guarantee that Florida goes into the Republican column in 2008.
Florida was an early primary state long before Nevada and South Carolina. If you look at the 1972 Presidential primary schedule, Florida was right after New Hampshire. Over the past 35 years or so, Florida has consistently held one of the earlier primaries
although the impact was diminished by the "Super Tuesday" fad.
I have nothing against the folks in Iowa or New Hampshire but they certainly don't have the greatest track record in terms of picking winning nominees for our party.
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