Dean, Florida group meet
Posted: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 12:49 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Democrats
From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
Eleven members of the Florida Democratic contingent met today with DNC Chairman Howard Dean to discuss possible ways to seat the Florida delegation at the national convention in August.
"It was a good meeting," a DNC spokesperson said. "Dean brought them together; all agreed to work together to ensure that a Florida delegation is seated."
In fact, Dean said he'd do everything in his power to make sure the delegation is seated, but any solution would have to be in accordance with the rules, and both campaigns would need to agree.
The sticking point, of course, has been just how to accomplish that. It's been convention wisdom -- even since before the Florida primary -- that any would-be nominee would seat at least a non-voting Florida delegation.
In attendance at the meeting from Florida were Sen. Bill Nelson, Reps. Alcee Hastings, Corrine Brown, Bob Wexler, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Ron Klein, Tim Mahoney, Kathy Castor, Allan Boyd, Kendrick Meek and Karen Thurman.
A joint statement from the group is expected today.
*** UPDATE *** Here's the joint statement: "We are all committed to doing everything we can to ensure that a Florida delegation is seated in Denver. We all agree that whatever the solution, it must have the support of both campaigns. While there may be differences of opinion in how we get there, we are all committed to ensuring that Florida's delegation is seated in Denver. We're committed to working with both campaigns to reach a solution as soon as realistically possible. We are also laying the groundwork to ensure we win in Florida in November and spent time here today talking about how to do just that. We will continue to work towards a solution to ensure delegates are seated and logistics are in place for a Florida delegation in Denver."
