Election controversy in Florida – who knew?

In the latest round of asinine gibberish to spew from his mouth, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has endorsed the idea of allowing Michigan and Florida to effectively “redo” their Democratic primaries in light of the close race for that party’s nomination.

As you may recall, Michigan and Florida moved their primaries ahead of the usual Super Tuesday lineup. As a result, they were stripped of their convention delegates by the national parties, as per the guidelines and rules set forth by the respective national parties.

If this sort of double standard — that the rules only apply when convenient – is any sort of indication of the Democrats’ views on related ideas such as the rule of law, then America is in some definite trouble. Given Dean’s current rhetoric, it’s almost surprising that any action was taken against these wayward states to begin with – where was all this talk of voters’ rights and the flowery rhetoric about letting Americans’ voices be heard back when this decision was made in the first place?

The fact of the matter is that, whether that decision was right or fair when it was made, it was still made. The other fact that is readily apparent in light of recent comments by Dean and other high-ranking Democrats is that they have no intention of sticking by their decisions or defending them in any way. How hypocritical and cowardly can they be? Perhaps we Iowans should take more than a little pride in knowing that we almost singlehandedly destroyed this man’s presidential aspirations.

Although it’s true that the current condition of the nomination is a source of some consternation and embarrassment on the Democratic side, rerunning these primaries would serve no other purpose than to further destabilize and possible delegitimize any resulting nominee.

If the primaries in Michigan and Florida were rerun and Hillary Clinton were to win, would Obama’s supporters ever be able to reconcile themselves with the decisions of their party? If Senator Obama were to win, how much litigation would be produced by the Clinton camp? The situation could potentially spiral entirely out of control, resulting in even greater embarrassment and harm to the party at large.

Then again, if their leadership is willing to self-inflict such wounds, who’s to stop them?

Then there’s the price tag.

Are the taxpayers of Michigan and Florida really to be expected to foot the bill just so the Democratic Party can get itself out of a jam? If the Democratic Party or the campaigns want to foot the bill, then fine-but what are the chances of that in an election year? Perhaps the costs will end up killing this hemorrhage of political insanity.

Sen. John McCain’s early capture of the Republican nomination has no doubt put pressure on the Democratic leadership. To go back on their previous decisions, however, calls into serious doubt their ability to govern as a party. It’s the ultimate flip-flop, the ultimate cut-and-run.

Indeed, some of the language used by the higher-ups of the Democratic Party is, to say the least, disturbing, such as former DNC Chairman Don Fowler’s assertion that something must be done, “the rules be damned.” What kind of example is this for America?

– Ryan Frederick is a senior in management from Orient.