Posted on 09/30/2011 11:02:14 AM PDT by pgyanke
TALLAHASSEE — State leaders on Friday set Florida's 2012 presidential primary for Jan. 31, bucking national party rules and ensuring that several other states will leapfrog Florida and set earlier elections.
The move was intended to ensure that America's biggest battleground state has a major voice in picking the Republican nomination, much as it did in 2008 when Florida's late January primary effectively clinched the nomination for John McCain.
"It is more important for states such as Florida not to be on the back end, but to be on the front end of these primaries," said former state Sen. Al Lawson of Tallahassee, a member of the primary committee who initially called for Florida to set its primary for Jan. 3.
(Excerpt) Read more at tampabay.com ...
Don't know if we have to excerpt this one... but better safe than sorry.
Good. No reason for FL to take a back seat to IA and NH. States with substantial populations and diverse economies and demographics deserve their say.
I don’t trust to click on it.
The big question, is, are they okay with reducing their delegation by 50% in exchange for the violation? or are they going to somehow fight that as well?
That will move the early states, Iowa, NH, SC, NV to Dec.
Politics and Christmas don’t go together well.
This is good news. Why let the a northern or mid west state be first. It’s about time to stop letting the GOP control a state’s decision when to have their primary!!!
This isn’t a good move...
While I understand Florida wants to separate itself from Super Tuesday, all this does is force out under-funded candidates early, who can’t compete in such a high-cost state.
This is the exact same mistake we made in 2008. Why are we doing it again?
It’s not the GOP, the States of Iowa and New Hampshire have laws on the books that each party must hold their caucus (IA)/primary (NH) before any other State’s caucus or Primary.
Again, not a GOP issue, but an issue that these States require.
Good grief...sounds like Iowa and NH need to revise their laws. So what will these states do now? What happens with the military ballots now. Aren’t they close to being printed?
“It’s about time to stop letting the GOP control a state’s decision when to have their primary!!!”
You do realize that the national committee is made up of committee members selected by the states, don’t you?
Sad to say, but the underfunded candidates should be forced out early. I like Bachmann, Santorum and even Newt, but at this point all they are is dilluting the anti-Romney vote. I’m not a big fan of Perry - he doesn’t seem to have the intellectual firepower needed - but he seems to be the most realistic, electable alternative to Romney right now.
I’ve never understood why those laws were honored. Those states are effectively reaching beyond their own jurisdictions. What would happen if other states passed laws that their primaries must be held before those of IA and NH?
“It’s not the GOP, the States of Iowa and New Hampshire have laws on the books that each party must hold their caucus (IA)/primary (NH) before any other State’s caucus or Primary.
Again, not a GOP issue, but an issue that these States require.”
I did not know that. Do you know if that law has ever been tested?
LOL
Why not have ALL States have their primaries on the same date, to eliminate the crap of playing games?
I was told it was the state of Iowa and NH has laws that require them to hold their primary before any other state. It wasn’t the GOP. Sorry, I thought the GOP had made the rules for when to hold primaries.
Iowa and NH serve a valuable purpose. They allow candidates with little money to make a splash early. Iowa and NH and I suppose SC will not move their caucuses/primaries up to go before Florida. My guess is Iowa kicks things off in early January like they did four years ago.
A break with tradition?
Upsetting the apple cart?
How about, in your face.
Yeah, me too. Now I’m hearing it was some state commission in Fla. requiring BOTH parties to hold the Fla primary election Jan 31, not the state GOP. I can’t seem to get the full accurate info either.
First, Iowa and New Hampshire will be required by their State laws to move their events forward in the calendar.
Second, this is not an election required by State law. Each party has it’s own rules for who and when people will vote. The Iowa caucus will have no absentee or overseas military vote, because that’s not how a caucus works. New Hampshire may, or may not, depending on the way State Law works concerning party elections.
These laws are very well known and understood in all election circles, so Florida knew that it was accelerating the pace by making this move.
I agree, once again, the Stupid Party lives up to its’ name.
I wouldn’t underestimate Perry or Cain. I think we’re about to see them roast Romney.
I understand ballots for military have to be printed and sent out before long especially Florida. This is probably more my concern since I have 5 active military and 4 will all be in Afghanistan soon.
Does the military get ballots for the Florida primary?
I could see IA, NH, SC, and NV all going first on the same day. But, it makes no sense that people in NH and IA get to meet all the candidates in person while the medium and large states that will actually decide the election have to sit on the sidelines.
I wouldn’t expect Cain to roast Romney...he endorsed him in ‘08 and is coming out against Perry. It’s almost like Cain is in cahoots with Romney against Perry.
YES!!!
But they still will take a back seat. This is a good explanation. http://theiowarepublican.com/2011/get-ready-for-an-early-january-caucus-unless-the-rnc-gets-tough-with-florida/
It’s different in each State so I wasn’t for sure about the laws in Florida.
That “major stake” in the convention was just cut in half. FL was told it would lose half of its delegates, if it violated RNC rules and scheduled a primary “too early.”
Primaries could be grouped on that basis to have several in one day, but the greatest % of GOP votes would rule.
There is no reason to have primaries first in states that the GOP will never carry. The party should be governed by the voters that vote that way, NOT NE liberal puke states that vote for RATS.
anybody on here going to be campaigning in NH IA NV ? Unless it becomes a ‘must’ event for freepers this year, I’ll go to observe the conservative spectators.
Yep, it usually a bunch of conservative spectators and observers watching each other without much campaigning getting done.
anybody on here going to be campaigning in NH IA NV ? Unless it becomes a ‘must’ event for freepers this year, I’ll go to observe the conservative spectators.
Yep, it usually a bunch of conservative spectators and observers watching each other without much campaigning getting done.
All this is going to do is move IA, NH, and SC into January.
This whole early primary thing is insane. The front-loading almost assures that an establishment waste will win, like Romney. He sucks, and I guarantee you that this jamming of sewage down our throats will engender a substantial third party effort. Bob
Well, if it is official, then we will have 5 primary/caucuses before the end of January.
Great.
This is idiotic. And it also gives Romney a near lock.
(Can’t wait to hear the “Reagan didn’t announce till November” points yet again....forgetting that in 1980, the Iowa caucus was FEBRUARY 25. Not, like January 5).
This should put a nail into the “reconsiderations” of both Huckabee and Christie.
That puts Iowa at about 90 days away. And about 30 of those days are more or less “holidays”.
Like it or not, friends, the field is set.
Would that Jindal, Barbour, Daniels, DeMint and many others (and yes, even Huck and Christie) had run and gotten in back in the summer. We would have had more to choose from. Now the calendar is shortening, dramatically, and the field is set. Again, this gives a big advantage for Romney who has been running forever....way to go Florida.
An earlier FL primary clinching it for John McCain wasn’t really a good thing.
Doesn’t give us much time to campaign, my family supports Herman Cain.
Doesn’t give us much time to campaign,
This Florida family supports Herman Cain.
via twitter:
Senior RNC official confirms NH and SC would lose half their delegates by moving into January.
Who benefits from this? Romney. He and the GOP Establishment are playing conservatives for fools, most recently by arguing with a straight face that Romney is more conservative than Perry. Only an utter moron would believe that Romney would be any better on illegal immigration than Perry. All of us conservatives dissatisfied with Perry had better be careful that we are not paving the way for the substantially worse Romney. And moving the Florida primary up hurts the chances of any the other candidates moving up. I smell an Establishment rat (an Establishment, Rockefeller Repubican rat).
If my “Gays for Perry 2012” shirt is done in time, I’m planning on wearing that, a big styrofoam cowboy hat and a pair of chaps to the debate in NH next month.
I agree with you. I don’t know why people have their panties in a twist about this. If any particular candidate can’t get it together and win by then, that’s their problem. I’m tired of NH and Iowa getting to determine who goes on and who doesn’t.
Again you are too funny...
Florida doesn't bother to count military votes unless they help out the democrat. Remember the hanging chads? The painful recount probably would not have been needed if they had counted the Military absentee vote.
For that matter I think, that they won't be counted at all unless it would be expected to change an outcome. I suppose a state could count absentee votes before election day but, I don't know if any state does that.
I doesn’t matter whether they count them or not...they still have to be printed and sent out.
Or maybe that is what we really want, a king who lets us tend his land.
I haven’t got the faintest clue what you are talking about. Nobody is limiting your choices. In fact NH and Iowa limit everybody else choices.
I think all primaries should be held on the same day.
Way to go Florida, looking forward to gracing you with my presence and my dollars very soon...
Cain is underfunded, and Cain would upset Florida if the primary was tomorrow. As it is, it's only four months away, and he's still a good chance to upset.
Whitebread and Cornfed needed to be kicked to the curb. It's all about a CLOSED PRIMARY from a state with a REALISTIC SAMPLE POPULATION prominent in the early going. It's the best thing to happen to the GOP election process since Reagan turned NC on its ear in '76 and took it all the way to the convention...
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