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Politics

Yawns amid primary threats

Florida's early primary may draw punishment from national Democrats, but do voters care?

By NICOLE HUTCHESON, Times Staff Writer
Published September 7, 2007

Every first Wednesday of the month, Susan Smith and other members of Democracy for America meet at the Picadilly's Cafeteria in Tampa to discuss the latest in politics and policy.

This week was no different.

They talked about the role of YouTube in the presidential campaign, the comprehensive plan for Hillsborough County and harmful zoning practices.

What this political organization, founded by Howard Dean, did not talk about was the brouhaha over the Florida Legislature's decision to hold the state's presidential primary on Jan. 29, two weeks before national party leaders want it scheduled.

Nor did they discuss the subsequent punishment facing the state political parties because of the early voting date.

"It just didn't come up," said Smith, an organizer with DFA. "To the activist on the ground, it's not that big of a deal."

That may be true, but the Democrats face a hefty toll.

The Democratic National Committee has said it will strip the party of all its delegates for the national convention next August unless it declares the Jan. 29 vote meaningless. That means Florida would have little more than a symbolic say in the Democratic nominee. All of the Democratic candidates have agreed to boycott the state's early primary.

"The focus of so many people I know is getting organized and working and winning," said Smith, who also oversees voting precincts in House District 47.

Smith's words point to a larger sentiment: How much of this primary debacle really matters to the average voter? And just how much credence should be given to having delegates at the national convention when the nominee will have been decided many months before?

"The voters are going to go to the polls and the candidates' names are going to be there and they're going to chose what candidate they want," said Alison Morano, chair of the Pasco County Democratic Party. "That result, whether it goes toward the election of a delegate in August or not, will still headline the papers the next day."

Pinellas community activist Karl Nurse isn't as concerned about the party losing its delegates as he is about the overall fast-forwarding of the election cycle.

"When you jam all the primaries into four or five weeks, face-to-face campaigning doesn't exist anymore," said Nurse, a Democrat and former president of the Council of Neighborhood Associations. "It's like, 'Open your Christmas presents, now go vote.'"

The whole issue seemed not to matter much to a handful of people looking for an afternoon pick-me-up at a downtown St. Petersburg Starbucks. Some weren't aware that the earlier primary had any repercussions.

But Bill Pierce, a 34-year-old masseur, worried that the move might damage a party that he considers a shoo-in for victory.

"We don't need anything that's going to hurt the Democrats," said Pierce. "That's our best hope."

Nicole Hutcheson can be reached at nhutcheson@sptimes.com or 727 893-8828.

[Last modified September 7, 2007, 00:01:29]