More than 2,000 of the most active Democratic activists in the largest swing state in the country held a convention a year before the election without a single major Democratic presidential candidate. All the first- and second-tier Democratic candidates are refusing to campaign in Florida because the national Democratic Party doesn't want to anger voters in early voting Iowa and New Hampshire. Instead, the national party is upsetting Florida Democrats:
"There is a lot of residual anger that I personally feel against the candidates. The state of Florida is too important to ignore," said Ann Zucker, president of Broward's Council of Democratic Club Presidents. "I'm furious that we're pandering to far smaller states."[Read on.]
In August, National Democratic Party officials decided to disenfranchise Florida voters because Florida Democratic party decided to hold the Democratic Presidential Primary on January 29, 2008. Democratic Party rules allow only Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, and South Carolina to hold 2008 primary contests before February 5.
Image courtesy of the St. Petersburg Times' blog, The Buzz. Click for a larger image.