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Dear Mark, I always watch you and David on Jim Lehrer without failed. Today you mentioned Obama and the word 'typical'. Can you help him in diluting this? I think another speech is not called for and may boomerang. I think he should ignore and let it slight. What do you think?

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I think it is high time for the national party to make rules for the national party and let the state parties make their rules.If chaos is to rule so be it.A little chaos caused by democratic principle would be welcome.

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Dear Mark Shields, I resemble any comment you might care to make about Michigan. If any state were entitled to a split personality, that would be us. We don't know if we are trolls or yupers, or perhaps trupers. Added to the natural indignity of having to be two places at once, we now have to submit to other states hijacking our life blood, in the Great Lakes Water. What do we get for it? Cheeper food? Affordable food? Food we can't afford to drive shopping for? Let me know if you can think of a good reason why we part with water when our glass is half empty. But, we deserve some influence. Everybody does, and the very thing that might crumble: "the party system", we should have taken a hammer to long ago. Is that all it takes; to change your primary to make the primary system crumble? Let us move it up to after the next election. I rejoice that the primary system is as fragile as the economy and the government. If those people who reign over these institution realized how badly they use us they would buy some foreign insurance. The fact isn't advertized, but these things, these monsters who are beyond our influence that are so dependent on trust, are in fact, merely forms of relationship. Is there some reason we should let the economy rob us? Is there some reason we should share our water with a nation that gives us nothing for it when the loss of it costs jobs and ruins whole markets? We let so many people use our lakes for a toilet. Do you believe this abuse would be possible without parties making national issues of local issues? I think we should be forgiven for wanting a say. We may not know where we are. We might not know if we are Michiganians, or Michiganders. I think the general consensus is that we are badly used by parties, commerce, and government. Perhaps, out of kindness, you should consider that if the country is democratic, and if it really has an interest in promoting democracy that it would step in, cover the cost, and set rules for the states; and finally, have a national primary day across the nation. Everyone wants to pick a winner. Michigan should celebrate getting a pick when the race is over like the majority of the country. Instead, we just had to be some body. We should have been more specific.

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Oh Mark. This suggestion makes way too much sense, and of course our self-destructing Democartic Party will have to summarily reject it on that ground alone. Keep plugging away--maybe some day you'll get through to them.

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Mark Shields should check his facts better before he gets on his soapbox about Democrats causing the problem with our Primary in Florida. In case he doesn't read, our Legislature voted to move the date of the Primary and that Legislature is a Republican majority. I personally believe that the Republicans did this primarily to cause the friction, confusion and disarray that has taken place ever since. I believe that Howard Dean should take this into account also, because it wasn't Democrats who created this problem that he is punishing all Democrats for, but Republicans for their own convoluted and egomanaical reasons. After all, look at the shape of the United States since Republicans have been in power! Republicans have created this problem for ALL Democrats, and the DNC is playing into their hands by telling millions of Floridians that their vote won't count. If they succeed, they'll find a way to do this in the other 48 states.

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I rest my case--see comment #2. The Floridians' votes will count enough if the Democratic Party will just invoke some common-sense discipline, follow Mr. Shields' advice, and just let go of this hot-air contest. Nobody is getting punished. We need to nominate a candidate and do it without making ourselves look like a bunch of squabbling idiots.

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Concerning Florida, I was under the impression that the Florida REPUBLICANS set the date for the primaries of both parties because they had control of the process. Is this true? If so, should the Florida Democrats be punished for what the Florida Republicans did?

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Hi Mark - I heard you on J. Lehr's program on friday, March 14. 08 As a Democrat living in Florida, I want to correct one of your statements. The FL Democrat legislators tried to set Florida presidential primary back to February 5 from January 29,08, with proposed amendment to House Bill 537 (this is the number of votes that G.W. bush won in 2000) The Republicans who are in the majority in the Legislature, removed this amendment. The Dem legislators, who are in the minority, had no say in changing the primary to January 29, 08. I hope you will set this straight on Friday, March 2l. Senator Bill Nelson from Florida has been making the statement that Democrats were not at fault for the date change, but I guess the columnists have not been paying attention. I hope you will make this correction.

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Re: Bob Rogers Dear Mr. Rogers, I have always considered chaos as some relation to anarchy, to be closer to the spirit of free enterprise than to the spirit of democracy. The entire object of citizen government is to avoid chance and banish fate. Our animal ancestors had to bet on chance, and count on luck. Explain why we must suffer fate today when nature is so much better understood. Life is not a crap shoot. Government should remember the past and see the future. If they want the people happy; let the people decide, and not just who goes to Washington, but on what gets passed there. Make people suffer stupidity often enough and they will get hard on you.