Florida Democratic Redo & The Snow Bird Problem

Oy vey, do the Democrats have a problem! And it will all center on some alta cockers from New York and its environs.

Isn't there enough trouble over who will win the nomination? Neither Obama or Clinton can win enough delegates on their own to claim the party's mantle. So, the call has gone out for a redo vote in those two rule breaking states - Michigan & Florida. Sooo, what's the big deal? Plenty!

First, will we go with a caucus (advantage Obama) or a second primary (advantage Clinton). Second, when will these states do the redo? If they get scheduled between May's Pennsylvania vote and the last June primary featuring Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico!!), they will steal all the thunder from the states that have legally placed their dates on the election calendar. If the votes come in late June or into July, well that is where we will have a problem

Enough voters will be on summer vacation that the remaining folks will get to make what could be the ultimate decision. If you had gone in January to your local polling booth and now you were not around in July, have you become disenfranchised?

Let's take this just a bit further and focus on Florida. The most consistent and largest bloc of voters in the Sunshine State are the millions of retired seniors. Primary after primary has shown that this group is the backbone of Clinton's support. Now imagine anywhere from a third to a half of the retirees not being around for the redo. Why? Because these folks will be back in New York, New Jersey, and other points north. The term used in Florida is "Snow Birds". Millions of retirees live in Florida from October through April. The rest of the year they move back to their original homes and neighborhoods to live with their children and grandchildren.

There is no doubt that the vast majority of these Snow Birds voted in the original Florida primary and gave Clinton the large lead she enjoyed. The Clinton campaign would be meshuggener if they don't look into this issue. Why hold a redo when so many of your supporters will not be around? Will Florida pay for millions of absentee ballots to be sent to their summer home? Will the Florida election board even have these addresses on file?

This might be the first posting anyone has written on this key Florida demographic. If it is the last and Florida holds a redo, then the Clinton people will have fallen back to sleep just like they did during this past February, when they allowed Obama to rack up eleven straight election victories.

Mr. Dean and the Democratic Party have created a fine mess with their insane proportional caucus/primary elections. As they look to Florida, all parties better take into account the seriousness of who will and who will not get to participate in the redo.