Dean: "It's a very small blip" that Fla. Dem's prez primary vote won't count

DNC chairman Howard Dean appeared in Tallahassee to take a few dollars for the Dem party and a few questions from the press corps over plans to all but cancel the full effect of the Democrats' Jan. 29 presidential primary vote because the early ballot date violated party calendar rules.

Michigan, too, is in the same boat. And worse. Candidates are pulling their names from the ballot.

Dean: "Do I wish this fight weren't happening? Yes,'' Dean said. "In the big picture, of what really matters in the country, this is a very small blip. This is a fight among politicians."

Q: Will South Carolina be punished if it moves its vote up?

Dean: "It's an if, if, if.... In the end, this is a spat between politicians.... It's a very small disagreement compared to families whose kids are dying in Iraq because this president has taken us in the wrong direction."

Dean, standing next to state House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber, acknowledged he and Gelber disagree on the DNC's punishment for Florida, but said they would be united on all the issues by November.

After the presser, as Dean boarded an elevator, he would talk no more. Asked if it were hypocritical for the party to do this after raising concerns about Florida voting irregularities in 2000 and 2006, Dean wouldn't comment.

His handler, Luis Miranda, bought Dean time by asking a reporter for a business card as Dean looked away, smiling.

The exchange here: Download Dean.wav 

Miranda later pointed out that federal courts have upheld a political party's rights to enforce its primary voting rules.

But just because it's a rule, does it make it right? After all, the Constitution once had a three-fifths clause and voting bans were legal for decades. Miranda said the point was "insulting" and said the Democratic Party consistently fought for voting rights.

Comments

Marc - by far your my favorite cap. press corps reporter!

Well, there goes Gelber running for U.S. Senate again. Unfortunately for him, he's pissed off all the Florida Dems time and time again. I can't wait to elect any Dem other than him.