In an effort to crack down on the presidential primary leapfrogging, the Democratic National Committee has voted to strip Florida of its delegates if the state does not move back its Jan. 29 primary date. This means that, unless they comply, they would have no say in selecting the Democratic nominee in the 2008 presidential election.

The penalty will not take effect for 30 days, and rules committee members urged officials from the nation’s fourth-most-populous state to use the time to schedule a later statewide caucus and thus regain its delegates.

By making an object lesson of Florida, Democrats hope to squelch other states’ efforts to move their voting earlier, which have created chaos in the primary structure that the national party has established. But the decision to sanction such a pivotal, vote-rich state has risks.

The party punished Delaware in 1996 for similar rules violations. But Florida, a mega-state that has played a pivotal role in the past two presidential elections, is different. The clash leaves the presidential candidates in limbo about how to campaign there. [MICHAEL D. SHEAR - Washington Post]

Photo: Karen L. Thurman, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, confers with committee member Terrie Brady, left, while testifying before the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2007. Seven years after Democrats lost a fight over recounting Florida votes in the disputed 2000 election, the national Democratic Party is poised to strip the state of delegate votes in the 2008 nomination battle. The problem: State Democrats want to hold their primary too early. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Charles Dharapak – AP)