Florida deserves growing political clout

BIZPACReview.com ^ | 1/25/2012 | Kingsley Guy

[SmileRight]

Florida’s decision to buck the national Republican Party and move up its primary to Jan. 31 will cost it half its delegates at the GOP nominating convention in Tampa, but the sacrifice will be worth it. As a bellwether state and the largest swing state, Florida deserves to be near the front of the pack in the process of picking the president.

As many people live in Palm Beach and Broward Counties as in all of Iowa, and nearly as many reside within the city limits of Fort Lauderdale as voted in the Iowa Caucuses. Palm Beach County’s population alone equals New Hampshire’s, and South Florida’s population exceeds South Carolina’s by a million people.

Florida hasn’t upset “time-honored” traditions by advancing its primary, as critics contend. New Hampshire didn’t achieve its first-in-the-nation primary influence until 1952. The Iowa Caucuses didn’t kick off the election season until 1972, and South Carolina didn’t end up third...

[SmileRight]

It will be exciting to see the outcome of next week's Election Day results. Florida is large and diverse, and should give a good representative vote overall.

[Doors]

It irritates me that these tiny little states carry so much weight to decide the nominee. Some Florida counties have higher populations than these states do.