Florida KNEW they could lose ALL their delegates if they voted yes to move the primary.

[madfloridian]

They knew it, the rules say that there is an AUTOMATIC penalty of 50%, but the rules committee has latitude to strip ALL of them. Florida knew that.

Here are the rules from the DNC Charter:

Under the DNC delegate selection rules, if a state party’s plan violates the rule with respect to timing, the number of its pledged delegates—those delegates awarded proportionally to candidates based on the primary or caucus results—is automatically reduced 50%(without any action by the RBC or DNC); no member of the DNC can attend the Convention as a delegate; no Member of Congress can attend the Convention as a delegate; and if applicable, the state’s Democratic governor can not attend the Convention as a delegate. In addition, any presidential candidate who campaigns in the state for the event in violation of the rules cannot receive any pledged delegates from that state. In addition to these automatic sanctions, the DNC the RBC has authority under the rules to impose additional sanctions, including further reductions in the state’s delegation.
At its meeting on August 25, 2007, the DNC RBC found Florida’s plan in noncompliance with the DNC rules, and voted to increase the sanctions against Florida by reducing the state’s delegation by 100% unless the state party, within the 30-day period allowed by the
Committee’s regulations, submitted a plan for an alternative, state party-run process on or after February 5 that would be used to allocate delegate positions.

Here is the link, courtesy of Maine Dem. It is in pdf format.

Testimony given before the Rules committee in September 18,2007

Did you get that? Florida had 30 days in which to keep all the delegates from being stripped. They refused to submit a plan that followed the rules.

Jane Hamsher had a great article last year about how the Florida Democrats KNEW what would happen. There was no doubt in their minds.

DNC to Florida Democrats: Not So Fast

Basically, here's what happened: last summer, the DNC approved a plan by which Iowa and New Hampshire remained in January, with Nevada and South Carolina also wedged into the early schedule to ensure that states in the South and West, with larger Black and Latino representation, had significance in the early primary process. (States had the ability to apply to the DNC to lobby for their selection as an early state; Florida did not seek such a move at the time.)

All the other states were told -- and my understanding is that even Florida voted for this -- that no one else got to hold a delegate-selecting primary before February 5. If they did, it would be mandatory and automatic that half their delegates would be eliminated from the Convention, with additional penalties possible including the loss of the entire delegation and -- believe me when I tell you this is pretty serious -- having the state bumped to the back of the Denver hotel selection pool.

Except Florida's legislature wasn't hearing that, and a bipartisan vote led to their attempts to claim a January 29 primary. So now Florida's Democratic leaders have a choice: convince the legislature to move the date altogether; convert the primary from a meaningful delegate allocation process into a "straw poll" or "beauty contest"; or stay put and accept the consequences. (Oh, or sue the DNC. Great.)

There is more at this link, including a letter to the DNC from Florida that they might investigate the DNC for voter suppression.

Florida congressional delegate threatens Dean in letter

Yet it was reported just today the DNC still appears poised to assault this basic right. According to ABC News and other news publications, the DNC may sanction Florida if the state's Democratic Party doesn't make the new primary a nonbinding straw poll - or in effect, a "meaningless . . . beauty contest."

If true - and, if the DNC strips Florida of all or some of its delegates to the national convention - we would ask the appropriate legal officials to determine whether this could violate any state or federal laws governing and protecting individual voting rights.

No more Steve Gellers telling Dean that there will be "mutual destruction." No more Corrine Browns saying that Dean should resign.

It is time for the leaders in Florida who KNEW EXACTLY what would happen, that they had 30 days to comply or ALL the delegates would be stripped....it is time to hush and let the party heal.