Florida, Michigan and the Jackass That Overreached

The Florida and Michigan Democratic Parties tried to improve their positions in the presidential primaries knowing full well the consequences. Now they’re scrambling to get their delegates reinstated with “do-over” primaries that would give both states an unfair advantage.

Maybe both state parties should pay a price for setting in motion this scramble to be among the first states to vote. Violating rules that you agreed to in order to go early shouldn’t be rewarded with the privilege of going last.

The irony is that going early wouldn’t necessarily have helped either state influence the nomination; look at the influence voters in Ohio and Texas have had, while many Iowans and New Hampshirites voted for candidates who are no longer even in the race.

The voters in Florida and Michigan have been screwed, but not by the DNC. They were screwed by their shortsighted state party leaders.

With apologies to Aesop:

A donkey with an apple in its mouth once walked across a bridge. In the pond below, it thought it saw another donkey with a bigger, redder apple. The donkey reached down for the reflection of its apple, and dropped the real apple instead.

Moral: that’s what happens when jackasses overreach.

Newsprism