Florida Convention Gets Third-String Speakers

Florida Convention Gets Third-String Speakers

The early state pledge signed by the top six Democratic presidential candidates is being solidly honored for at least one event: the Florida state Democratic convention.

Since breaking Democratic National Committee rules with its Jan. 29 primary, the Florida state party has been unable to entice candidates to attend their Oct. 26-28 Orlando event. Writing at Huffington Post, Ron Levitt says spouses have now joined the ban. In contrast to earlier Floridian bragging that they might entice top tier surrogates like former president Bill Clinton or Obama supporter Oprah Winfrey, Levitt writes:

Instead of having the top-tier candidates on the state confab rostrum, convention organizers have been scouting for speakers. So far, the state Democratic party has announced that U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland will deliver the keynote address at the State Convention dinner. Congressman Hoyer, billed as "the second highest-ranking Democrat in the House," will be be joined on the convention program by Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, a luncheon speaker.

Stark contrast to Iowa, where five candidates, a spouse, an Oscar winning surrogate and a former presidential nominee showed up for a Johnson County -- county! -- fundraiser last weekend.

But Floridians may get a last laugh of sorts. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi openly acknowledges the assumption that pretty much everyone is making, telling the Palm Beach Post that the DNC's threat to unseat the Florida delegation for the calendar violation is empty:

"The Democratic National Committee is the ruling authority now ... but the tradition is that the presidential candidate will decide," Pelosi said.

She noted that she had the job in 1984 of reviewing whether states had complied with rules governing the party's presidential primaries and caucuses.

She recalled that when she threatened the states with not seating their delegates if they broke the rules, "they said ha, ha, ha, because no presidential candidate is going to say we're not seating New Hampshire and we're not seating Iowa."