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Don't woo us later if you don't love us now

By HOWARD TROXLER
Published September 25, 2007

Ilike Iowa just fine. Nice sense of place and identity there.

New Hampshire is okay by me, too, especially the farther you get from Massachusetts.

South Carolina, well, there's gotta be something good about it. Charleston, maybe.

No ill will intended toward those states. It's just weird that the national Democrats are so eager to cater to them.

The national Democrats say that Florida must be punished for holding its presidential primary on Jan. 29, violating the turf of those early states.

So the national Democrats say that Florida won't get any delegates to its national convention next summer.

Dutifully falling into line, the leading Democratic candidates have pledged not to campaign here until later.

They'll keep taking Floridians' money, though.

To which I say:

Phhhffffftttt to you guys.

Why should I vote for any Democrat who takes this pledge?

Frankly, all this worry about Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina (Nevada chooses early, too) is a little pathetic.

How can we expect Hillary or Barack to hang tough with Putin or China if they're terrified of a few corn and hog farmers?

You don't see Republicans boo-hooing. They're losing half their Florida delegates, but they couldn't care less.

You can't turn around in Florida these days without running into Rudy Giuliani. Fred Thompson was just here, as was Mitt Romney.

Anyway, this solicitous concern for Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina is a bunch of hooey. At the precise nanosecond that those states have voted, the candidates will quit them without even leaving a $20 on the dresser.

And then what happens? Well, at some point, Hillary or Barack or John Edwards will show up back in Florida, oohing and cooing and trying to pander on Florida issues.

"Gee, I dunno, Hil," we ought to say then. "Why don't you go back and ask Iowa what it thinks about that hurricane insurance thing? And, hey, maybe you should try out that Everglades speech in Nashua."

Only two Democrats have not taken the no-Florida pledge: Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel. Here's my fantasy headline: "Astounding Florida win propels Kucinich groundswell."

The Florida Democratic Party has decided to stand up to the national party and keep Jan. 29 as its "real" primary, instead of cooking up some scheme to award delegates at a later date. Good.

What we need in this country is a system of regional primaries, rotated among the states. What we've got is a patchwork mess, with Florida and other places always trying to butt in.

But, butt in we have. The question now is how much of a charade the national Democrats want to go through.

I bet that in the end, they don't have the guts to block the Florida delegation - the eventual nominee will make all sweet with Florida once there's no more need to appease the early states.

Then Clinton or Obama or Edwards will show up in Florida wearing a floral shirt like nothing ever happened and will claim to be on a first-name basis with Jimmy Buffett and the manatee. But by then it might be too late.

* * *

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[Last modified September 24, 2007, 23:47:14]