I guess they thought they could buy some influence and expect the DNC to break their own rules?
From Hotline:
A DNC spokeswoman is confirming that the party is returning money, totaling $45K, to three donors. Details will indeed be reported in that April 20 filing. All three are FL donors upset with the ongoing debate about [...]

The Clinton camp will not be pleased.
Here’s an excerpt from the statement:
Last week, the Florida Democratic Party laid out the only existing way that we can comply with DNC Rules - a statewide revote run by the Party - and asked for input.
Thousands of people responded. We spent the weekend reviewing your messages, and while [...]

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TIME has the details…

Florida’s existing delegates would be seated at the Denver convention—but with half a vote each. That would give Clinton a net gain of about 19 elected delegates.
The two states’ superdelegates would then be able to vote in Denver, likely netting Clinton a few more delegates.

The betting: Florida and Michigan delegates, the DNC, [...]

My guess is if they don’t redo the contest, they’ll simply seat the candidates equally. There’s really no other way, aside from trying to get delegates seated based on illegal election results.
From the AP:
The head of Florida’s Democratic Party said Thursday the proposed vote-by-mail presidential primary is unlikely to go forward because of strong opposition [...]

That’s the word from Politico:
Washington, DC – The Members of Florida’s Democratic Delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives issued the following statement regarding the seating of Florida’s delegates at the DNC National Convention this August.
“We are committed to working with the DNC, the Florida State Democratic party, our Democratic leaders in Florida, and our [...]

I guess that’s the solution they’re coming up with because the DNC won’t give them any money.
From TIME:
A solution to the growing controversy over Florida’s disputed Democratic primary may now be in the works. Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson tells NEWSWEEK he has spoken to the Florida Democratic Party about launching a soft-money fund-raising campaign [...]

I said this back in August 2007 when I first heard that the DNC was penalizing Florida because they moved up their primary…
How in the hell does that make sense? Florida is usually one of THE swing states. Doesn’t it make sense for it to be a deciding factor for the Dem nomination?
Now Senator Governor [...]

Looks like do-overs could be in the offing, but only if the states will cooperate.
From AP:
DNC Chairman Howard Dean issued a statement Wednesday that seemed to leave the matter for the states to resolve.
Dean said Michigan and Florida have two options: either submit a new plan for a process for choosing their convention delegates, or [...]

Good luck with that…
From TPM:
Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL) seems to be backing away from a trial balloon that he would support a new Democratic primary in Florida — and he’s joined by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) in standing firm on the January rogue primaries.
Crist and Granholm have put out a joint statement demanding that [...]

Quixotic or shrewd?
From TPM:
In a strongly-worded interview with Texas Monthly, Hillary leaves very little doubt that the campaign is preparing to get serious about getting the Florida and Michigan delegations seated.
“The people of those two states disregarded adamantly the DNC’s decision that they would not seat the delegates. They came out and voted,” Hillary told [...]

Harold Ickes, a guy who voted to strip Michigan and Florida of their delegates, is now arguing they should be seated at the convention. Of course he’s part of the Clinton campaign.
What’s wrong with these people?:
In a conference call Saturday, the longtime Democratic Party member contended the DNC should reconsider its tough sanctions on the [...]

I’m fine with that, as long as they seat the delegates in an even split between the two nominees so the votes don’t mean anything. Otherwise, it’s a no go. Not when those states didn’t have real contests. It doesn’t work that way, and anybody suggesting otherwise doesn’t have their head screwed on straight.
But here’s [...]

Dana Milbank shares the collective sentiment…
[...] in a political stunt worthy of the late Evel Knievel, the Clinton campaign decided to put on an ersatz victory party that, it hoped, would erase memories of Obama’s actual victory Saturday night in South Carolina’s Democratic primary. “Thank you, Florida Democrats!” Clinton shouted to the cheering throng. “I [...]

She won tonight, and her team is pushing for her delegates to be seated.
From Mark Penn:
Most of the voters in Florida fully expect that their votes will not be wasted again — they expect to have a voice at the convention, and Hillary has asked her delegates to support their being seated.
What gets me is [...]

He has opened up a bigger lead, 36% to Romney’s 31%. The networks have called it. And this is good news for McCain because maybe he can’t claim a resounding victory, but whenever you defeat your opponent by 5% it’s certainly not a tie.
From AP:
Returns from 64 percent of the state’s precincts showed McCain, the [...]

With 39% reporting, McCain has a very slight edge.

John McCain: 34%
Mitt Romney: 32%
Rudy Giuliani: 16%
Mike Huckabee: 14%
Ron Paul: 3%

As I said earlier, Florida ain’t deciding squat. This race is going for the long haul, to Super Tuesday and beyond.

First, American Research Group has this poll showing Romney pulling ahead…
Gov. Romney is statistically tied for the lead with 34%. That’s virtually unchanged from 33% in the previous roll.
32% support McCain, unchanged from the last roll, while 12% support Huckabee, a decrease of 2 points from 14% over the same time period. 11% [...]

Interesting doublespeak from Giuliani today…
From LA Times:
In a meeting in the back of his chartered plane en route to St. Petersburg, Fla., a short while ago, the onetime, longtime GOP front-runner told a small group of reporters, including The Times’ Louise Roug: “The winner of Florida will win the nomination.”
He then went on to predict [...]

Looks like the Crist endorsement helped John, but the numbers are identical
From Rasmussen:
For most of the past week, John McCain was slightly behind Mitt Romney in Florida’s Republican Presidential Primary. Then, on Saturday, the Arizona Senator switched the subject of the campaign to his comfort zone–national security issues. Saturday night, the Arizona Senator got another [...]