McAuliffe in Florida Vote Count Flip-flop

Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe seldom misses a chance to invoke the 2000 Florida recount fiasco, where he claims Team Bush didn't want to count all the votes.

But Florida Democrats say now that it's McAuliffe who doesn't want to count all the votes. In fact, when it comes to the Democratic Party's upcoming convention in December, McAuliffe doesn't want to count any votes at all.

Congressional Quarterly's Craig Crawford reports that the DNC chairman is threatening to have all nine presidential candidates boycott the Florida convention, scheduled for Orlando on Dec. 5-7, unless state party officials agree to abandon its traditional straw ballot.

McAuliffe argues that the straw vote would be another "must do" event for candidates that would drain their campaign resources so close to the first primaries and caucuses. The Democratic candidates themselves have agreed to sign a letter circulated by McAuliffe threatening to snub the convention if the vote is on the agenda.

The boycott threat isn't sitting well with former state party chairman Bob Poe, who lamented to Crawford, "I don't know how the candidates [could] boycott this convention and have it do them any good."

"There will still be a straw ballot," he insisted. "It's still going to be reported. Some of these candidates are going to work it anyway, regardless."

Poe told CQ that McAuliffe's boycott letter is "hardening feelings" among Florida Democrats, who are now looking forward to the straw ballot more than ever.

Current Florida Democratic chairman Scott Maddox said the boycott threat won't stop the straw ballot. According to CQ, at least three candidates have told him they will attend, with or without a boycott: former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark.

Warns Crawford: "The candidates and national party leaders are playing a dangerous game. Florida could be just as pivotal next year as it was in 2000. And the December convention will attract the partisan activists who must do the work to get out the party's vote on Election Day 2004."

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