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Did Hillary Clinton really win in Florida?
She trounced Obama by 17 points -- but in an outlaw primary whose delegates won't count. Or will they? It all depends on Feb. 5 -- and Democratic Party rules.
By Walter Shapiro [2008-01-30]

  • So Florida gets its own rules because of it's population?

    "In absolute and proportional terms, this was a legitimate race."

    No, in absolute terms, this was NOT A PRIMARY and was not legitimate because it was widely known, THIS DOES NOT COUNT.

    In proportional terms, there is nothing to index because there was no previous election in Florida to gauge against. However, assuming you are correct and states vote all alike and you are indexing against the rest of the population, then Florida should be omitted because they can be represented by everyone else quite well, and Florida voters are represented by the rest of the country. That way, the party doesn't get split by a naked attempt to run around the Party rules.

    Now assuming that Florida got screwed, can someone explain to me why the Florida Democratic Leadership went forward with a date that clearly was not going to count? Did they absolutely NEED to hold their Primary the same day as the Republicans? Did they have zero alternatives? Did they fight the Florida Republicans on this? If so, why was the DNC so rigid with Florida?

    -- peeps1
    [Read peeps1's other letters]
    Thursday, January 31, 2008 05:28 AM
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