A glimpse into the future: Floridians protest in front of DNC HQ
Roughly 250 angry Floridians, who were predominately Latino, protested today in front of the Democratic National Committee's headquarters today. Click here for the video. See below for the full article from Media General News Service.
Florida Latinos Protest At Nat’l Democratic Party HQ
By Billy House
Media General News Service
April 30 2008
WASHINGTON -- About 250 Floridians – most of them Latino – who are upset with the stalemate over the state’s presidential delegates demonstrated outside of Democratic National Committee headquarters Wednesday.
Peacefully chanting “Florida Must Count!’ and “Count Our Votes!” while carrying placards and miniature Florida flags, many of the demonstrators acknowledged they were backers of Hillary Clinton.
But organizers depicted the event as aimed at a larger issue, and that it was not intended to boost Clinton.
“This is a civil liberties issue – not a campaign or candidate issue,” said Jose Fernandez, the Florida state coordinator for the League of United Latin American Citizens, speaking to the crowd.
Standing in the crowd, Fred Araque, 66, a truck driver from Spring Hill, Fla., pointed to his wife Adela, 65, and said, “She is for Hillary, and I am for Hillary."
“I think most of the people here are for Hillary,” said Araque.
That should not be surprising. Clinton, who trails Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential delegate tally, has been saying her victory in Florida’s Jan. 29 primary should count for some delegates.
And the Obama campaign says publicly that anything other than completely eliminating Clinton's advantage – in other words, splitting the delegates evenly between the two -- is unfair. He contends the Florida primary wasn't fair because the candidates, even though they were on the ballot, didn't campaign here.
The national party decided last year to strip the state of any of delegates because it violated party rules by moving up its primary date.
At the rally Wednesday, among those selected to speak behind a podium set at the entrance of DNC headquarters included Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston, Fla., a national Clinton campaign co-chairwoman, and Kim Gandy, the National Organization for Women president who has endorsed Clinton.
Speaking to the crowd, Wasserman Schultz suggested that disregarding the Jan. 29 primary ballot choices of 1.7 million Florida Democratic primary voters could alienate these voters in a key presidential swing-state.
“We can’t begin this general election with one hand tied behind our back,” Wasserman Schultz said.
Another speaker was Anita de Palma, 66, of Clearwater, Fla. She is a past Florida director of the League of United Latin American Citizens who is now running as a Democratic candidate for the congressional seat now held by Republican Gus Bilirakis of Palm Harbor.
“This is our heritage!” said de Palma, referring to the right to vote and have that vote count. “Our forefathers fought for it, our father’s fought for it, and I’ll be damned if we are going to let it get away from us now!”
Luis Vera, LULAC's national legal advisor, reminded the Florida demonstrators of the 2000 presidential vote recount controversy.
"They (the DNC) need to understand that this is the second time in your lifetime that they've told you your vote doesn't count," said Vera.
Also attending the event was Jim Hannagan, a marketing strategist who has launched an effort from Palm Harbor to petition the DNC to seat Florida’s delegates at the party’s convention in Denver.
Hannagan’s effort, known as “Florida Demands Representation,” has been holding its own rallies across Florida and he says it is well on its way toward collecting a hoped-for 1.5 million signed petitions to deliver to the DNC in June (www.floridademandsrepresentation.org).
Other organizations helping to organize or participating in the event sponsored by LULAC included the Florida Voters League, University of Central Florida, and the Southern Leadership Coalition.
DNC chairman Howard Dean was in Connecticut, and did not address the crowd.
But spokesman Luis Miranda said Dean has already declared that the national party is committed to seating Florida delegates at its nominating convention in Denver.
“The key thing here is that we are committed to seeing that happens,” said Miranda. But so far, the party has been unable to come up with a compromise the two candidates can agree upon as the August convention draws nearer.
During the rally, DNC officials passed out bottles of water. They also handed out fliers reminding the protestors that Dean had stood alongside Florida members of Congress on the same steps outside DNC headquarters in early April to say he is committed to seating a Florida delegation.
The DNC even sought to make lemonade, at least for a day, out of the sour taste the party’s action has left in the mouth of many Floridians.
Even before the Florida protestors had arrived at DNC headquarters, national party staffers put up a banner over the headquarter entrance, sure to be visible in any TV coverage of the event.
It read: “John McCain = 3rd Bush Term.”
Reporter Billy House can be reached at (202) 662-7673 or bhousemediageneral.com
