LAT
The national Democratic Party won't pay for two states to hold a second set of presidential primaries, National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said this morning.
"We can't afford to do that," Dean said on CBS' "The Early Show," one of several media appearances he made this morning. "That's not our problem. We need our money to win the presidential race."
Dean's comments are the latest salvo in the Democratic presidential nomination battle that is increasingly looking like an arena in which the contestants are all elbows and knees and there are even calls for do-overs.
Millions of people in Florida and Michigan went to the polls in January, but their votes didn't count because the national parties punished the states for improperly moving their primaries to the head of the field. In effect, the voters' efforts didn't count toward choosing the Democratic presidential candidate.
But with about 100 delegate votes separating Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, there is increasing attention on the Florida and Michigan situation, including the possibility of rerunning the races.
Elected officials in Florida and Michigan have mentioned the prospect of holding new primaries, estimated to cost $25 million in Florida alone. Another plan being floated is to hold caucuses, a move that would tend to favor Obama's campaign.
"The rules were set a year and a half ago," Dean said. "Florida and Michigan voted for them, then decided that they didn't need to abide by the rules. Well, when you are in a contest you do need to abide by the rules. Everybody has to play by the rules out of respect for both campaigns and the other 48 states.".........
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