Question from viewer

A viewer from Ortega asks why the DNC and RNC are punishing Florida for moving its primary to Jan. 29th and why Florida won't change back to a date that doesn't so irritate the national parties.

Here's the Cliffs Notes answer. Florida traditionally has held its primary in March well after New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina primaries and caucuses. But Florida lawmakers decided the state is important enough to warrant a higher profile primary so they voted to move it to Jan. 29th. Well, here's the problem. Both national parties want IA,NH,SC to preserve their first-in-the-nation votes. Why? The only answer I'm ever given is simply "tradition." And the parties have rules that prohibit most states from holding primaries before Feb. 5. Since Jan. 29th does happen to come before Feb. 5 the parties punished Florida.

The Dems stripped FL of all its delegates to the summer nominating convention. The GOPs took half the delegates away. What's more, all the major Democratic candidates pledged not to campaign in Florida until after votes in those early states.

Florida lawmakers and party officials refused to be bullied by the national parties and stood their ground. That's where we are today.

Since it was a Republican legislature and Republican governor that changed the date to Jan. 29th I figured the state Democratic party had a good argument that it had nothing to do with the change and therefore shouldn't be punished. But the DNC said "rules are rules" and that was that.

You say to yourself, "This is petty inside baseball stuff that really doesn't matter to our state or country so why should there be a chance my vote won't count because of it." You wouldn't be the first to say it.