by Tamara Lytle
Democratic party chief Howard Dean this morning stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Florida’s Democratic congressional delegation and said Florida will have a delegation at this summer’s presidential nominating convention.
“We are committed to do everything in our power to seat the Florida delegation,” Dean said on the steps of the Democratic National Committee, where he met with Florida’s nine House Democrats, Sen. Bill Nelson and state party chairwoman Karen Thurman. It was a marked change of tone for Dean, who has repeatedly said Florida would not have a delegation based on its Jan. 29 vote because it broke the rules in having that primary too early.
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The details of how to seat the Florida delegation still must be worked out with the campaigns of Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama. but, he said, “we are confident enough we have reserved hotel rooms,” for Florida. Previously, the DNC had said there were no coveted hotel rooms in Denver reserved for Florida.
“You would not believe the importance of having a hotel,” said Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville. Florida Democrats now can move ahead with planning to attend the August convention. Although logistics of a deal have not been worked out, she said she was pleased that Dean committed to do everything he can to resolve the thorny problem.
Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, agreed. “This is a breakthrough to have the chairman say he’s going to do everything he can.”