Status of Democratic votes undecided...again

This article's headline about manipulation of Democrat party voting makes one think of nefarious GOPers deviously at work.

But on account of this being Florida, it is actually Democrat party smartness messing things up.

"Status of Democratic votes undecided," June 21, 2007, BETH REINHARD, Miami Herald

Whether Florida's Democratic votes in the Jan. 29 primary will count remained in limbo Thursday after a closed-door meeting in Washington between members of Congress and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. Dean has said the state's primary ''essentially won't count'' because the date violates national party rules that allow only four smaller states to vote that early. Candidates who campaign in scofflaw states lose any delegates to the national convention that they earn in those states, even if they win the most voters.

Huh? "The state's primary essentially won't count." ←Planned voter suppression, courtesy of Howard Dean! Politicians can flip-flop on policies and ideas, but they should resist the urge to flip-flop the franchise.

Also, I consider it loathsome for Howard Dean and these other suits in D.C. to call the shots for Florida by remote control. Let it be the decision of Florida Democrats: state officers and county executive committees. They like Jan. 29. So does the Republican party of Florida.

Actually, this might work out. Just have Theresa LePore design the ballots for the primary. Hold the primary on Jan. 29. Then start counting. Since they are Theresa LePore ballots, it will take multiple recounts, mutual restraining orders and a chain of federal judges to ensure an "accurate" tabulation of returns, and by that time, Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina voting will be long over with and done, ancient history. So Florida CAN vote early and still meet all DNC party rules.

Shifty-eyed politicians, vote-counting fish stories

Whenever a politician tells you he is an honest man, check quickly that your wallet is still in your back pocket. Abe Lincoln followed that principle.
This article describes the fog of rhetoric surrounding a Florida election recount, with politicians navigating by foghorn. Facts are optional.

Senators seek inquiry into GOP's Duval acts, 6/20/2007, J. Taylor Rushing, Capital Bureau Chief, Florida Times-Union

The U.S. Justice Department has been asked to investigate whether there were intentional efforts by the Republican Party to suppress Jacksonville's African-American vote during the 2004 election. The request, by Democratic U.S. Sens. Edward Kennedy and Sheldon Whitehouse, suggests the Senate Judiciary Committee has uncovered e-mail evidence supporting an investigation. Kennedy and Whitehouse are members of the committee... "It's malicious and absolutely untrue that I tried to do this," said [Tim] Griffin, the former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas who resigned two weeks ago during the controversy over U.S. attorney firings. But Jacksonville's African-American community praised news of the request and eagerly backed an investigation. Juan Gray, board chairman of Jacksonville's chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said black leaders have long suspected Republican foul play in both 2000 and 2004. "I'm delighted that we have congressional oversight," Gray said. "It's way overdue." NAACP Jacksonville Branch President Isaiah Rumlin said he was personally unaware of the specific voter suppression tactic suspected by Kennedy and Whitehouse but said there were "significant problems" before and during the election. "We wouldn't be one bit surprised, and we welcome an investigation," Rumlin said. "If there's evidence out there, that needs to come forth. Just because I don't recall this specific tactic doesn't mean it didn't happen." Kennedy and Whitehouse accuse the Republican National Committee of "vote caging"... Both Hightower and Scheu, who was the interim supervisor of elections during the 2004 election, note they participated in daily meetings with local black leaders in which the subject of caging was never raised.

Trouble:

1. DOJ investigation requested but without evidence from anyone in Jacksonville -- Rumlin: "If there's evidence out there, that needs to come forth."  No offense to Mr. Rumlin, but probable cause is a normal part of an investigation.
2. Community leaders suspected foul play but nobody mentioned it in daily meetings with election supervisors.

Knowing a bit about pollwatching on election days, I would tend to believe the men and women from Jacksonville, not so much Rumlin or Hightower but the people at the polls: clerks, inspectors, deputies plus pollwatchers independent of the government. Unfortunately, nobody bothered asking them; the article mentions no pollworkers or pollwatchers. Least credible are the senators from D.C., neither of which is actually from Florida. What have Senators Nelson and Martinez got to say? That would be nice to know. Who benefits from the investigation? Some bigshots in D.C. or regular voters in Jacksonville? As always, when a politician shifts his gaze toward you, hold onto your wallet.

But Florida being what it is, there is probably a mare's nest of foolishness shared equally by mules and elephants ←the Theresa LePore tradition. If anyone has YouTube footage of a pollworker stuffing secret ballots into his socks or a pollwatcher nagging a voter like somebody's mother in law, then I hope punishment is savage: forcible conscription to work another election!