The Knuckleheads of the Day award

Today's winners are Howard Dean and Senator Mel Martinez. Dean gets the award for the following.

Sure, Florida is America's biggest political swing state. But don't expect the national Democratic Party to back off punishing Sunshine State Democrats for scheduling an early presidential primary.

"Their primary essentially won't count, " Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean said of Florida. "Anybody who campaigns in Florida is ineligible for delegates."

His comments in New Hampshire were his first public response since Florida Democratic leaders decided Sunday to go ahead and set their presidential primary for Jan. 29, the day state lawmakers had chosen.

Florida voters want a voice in who the Presidential candidates are in November 2008. What the @#%^! is wrong with that?

That's only the Democratic side of it. On the Republican we have a Florida Senator not representing the best interests of the people who elected him.

The Republican National Committee has warned it will strip 50% of Florida's delegates if the state's primary is moved.

The RNC vow to enforce the rules places its general chairman — Florida Sen. Mel Martinez — in an awkward position. Speaking to RNC state chairmen in South Carolina on Friday, Martinez promised his home state will face sanctions.

"The rules are inflexible and it doesn't matter who is running the RNC, those rules will be enforced because they are part of the rules that were crafted at the last convention and they can't be changed," Martinez said.

I said it previouly, Martinez has to make a choice. Either the RNC or the people of Florida. He can't represent both.

For threatening to disenfranchise the voters of Florida, Howard Dean and Mel Martinez are today's Knuckleheads of the Day.

Also blogging on this subject- Poliblog, James Joyner at OTB,
Linked to- Amboy Times, Bright & Early, Cao, Jo, Leaning Straight Up, Maggie, Morewhat, Perri Nelson, Pursuing Holiness, Random Yak, Right Voices, StikNstein, Third World County, Webloggin,