It is official: Democrats who voted in Florida's January 29 primary were pretty much wasting their time. On the bright side, no one is required to return that "I Voted" sticker.
This is getting a bit embarrassing. To quote the British Broadcasting Network's standard British deadpan, Florida "once again finds itself in controversial electoral waters."
If you prefer the American melodramatic assessment, lament with Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Arthur Anderson. In a BBC article he said, "It's a big mess - that's the only way to describe the situation." Thanks for the insight Arthur.
Anderson's quote is part of a growing hysteria on this issue, legally expressed in the lawsuit that breathed its last gasp yesterday. In that lawsuit, Florida legislators accused the Democratic National Committee of "wholesale disenfranchisement" of Florida Democrats.
That statement was ridiculous, and the DNC was absolutely right to ignore the lawsuit altogether.
The only remotely compelling charge of the suit was that a Republican-controlled Florida legislature plotted to get the Democratic primary nullified by moving it forward, which would have been serious foul play.
Of course, the accusation remains compelling only if it was not examined. Our State House of Representatives passed the bill to move the primary unanimously, which does not lend itself to the Republican-conniving claim, unless they threatened to stuff the Democrats into their lockers if they did not go along. Pending that revelation, it is clear that the push to move Florida's primary up was bipartisan.
Some have argued that the legislature should not have the right to make such decisions, but that argument basically says: My elected representatives can only represent me on the issues where they agree with me. If you don't see anything wrong with that, I encourage you to vote this November.
Speaking in strictly legal terms, our state government thought it would be a good idea to set the tone of the races by being one of the first primaries, and they got burnt.
A revote was not economically viable, not to mention a questionable improvisation on the DNC's rules.
To put it bluntly, the people we elected to make big decisions for us screwed up, and Florida's Democrats have to suffer for it. What can be learned from this?
I cannot overstate this: We have to learn that every right has a corresponding duty. And when that duty is ignored, the right does not last long.
In this case, the right of Florida Democrats was to participate with the rest of their party members throughout the country in selecting their candidate.The corresponding duty, an infinitely reasonable one, was to follow the rules of their party. This did not come out of nowhere.
The DNC stripped Florida of its delegates way back in August of last year. They even gave a 30-day grace period before enforcing the decision.
That was when Democratic duty called in a loud and clear voice, but went unanswered. The Florida Capitol should have been swamped with indignant calls, but I suspect its secretaries had average weeks.
Who would have thought six months ago that Florida would be irrelevant to the selection of the Democratic candidate? But that is now the ugly reality.
To borrow from the British again, may that fact serve to kick all Floridians in the butt long before the general election in November - if we want our votes to count.
Gerald Liles is a history and religion senior. His column appears on Tuesdays.
