McAuliffe in Florida Vote-Count Flip-flop
Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe seldom
misses a chance to invoke the 2000 Florida recount fiasco, where he claims Team
Bush didn't want to count all the votes.
But Florida Democrats say now that it's McAuliffe who doesn't want to count
all the votes. In fact, when it comes to the Democratic Party's upcoming
convention in December, McAuliffe doesn't want to count any votes at all.
Congressional Quarterly's Craig Crawford reports that the DNC chairman is
threatening to have all nine presidential candidates boycott the Florida
convention, scheduled for Orlando on Dec. 5-7, unless state party officials
agree to abandon its traditional straw ballot.
McAuliffe argues that the straw vote would be another "must-do" event for
candidates that would drain their campaign resources so close to the first
primaries and caucuses. The Democratic candidates themselves have agreed to sign
a letter circulated by McAuliffe threatening to snub the convention if the vote
is on the agenda.
The boycott threat isn't sitting well with former state party chairman Bob
Poe, who lamented to Crawford, "I don't know how the candidates boycott this
convention and have it do them any good."
"There will still be a straw ballot," he insisted. "It's still going to be
reported. Some of these candidates are going to work it anyway, regardless."
Poe told CQ that McAuliffe's boycott letter is "hardening feelings" among
Florida Democrats who are now looking forward to the straw ballot more than
ever.
Current Florida Democratic chairman, Scott Maddox, said the boycott threat
won't stop the straw ballot. According to CQ, at least three candidates have
told him they will attend, with or without a boycott: former Vermont Gov. Howard
Dean, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark.
Warns Crawford, "The candidates and national party leaders are playing a
dangerous game. Florida could be just as pivotal next year as it was in 2000.
And the December convention will attract the partisan activists who must do the
work to get out the party's vote on Election Day 2004."
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