Dean in tomorrow's interview with BayNews9...asks cooperation on primaries.

Florida Democrats have generally embraced the push by state GOP leaders to move Florida's March presidential primary earlier in 2008 to increase the Sunshine State's influence in picking presidential nominees. But Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean recommends caution.

"If they move it into January, their delegates won't count in the Democratic convention, so I wouldn't advise that," Dean said in a Political Connections interview airing at 11 a.m. today on Bay News 9.

Florida would risk losing at least half its 208 delegates if it violated the party primary schedule rules by scheduling a primary before Feb. 5. But Dean noted that any candidate who campaigned in a state violating the schedule rules would forfeit any delegates won. Republicans also risk losing half their 114 delegates, but party leaders appear undaunted at this point. State House Speaker Marco Rubio, the main advocate for an early primary, said Florida won't schedule anything before Iowa or New Hampshire, but "after that it's fair game."

Dean's Political Connections interview made national news last week after the Times reported that he said in the interview that the Democratic-controlled Congress should not seat Republican Vern Buchanan in Congressional District 13 without a new election. The DNC tried to clarify that Dean was not trying to tell congressional leaders what to do.

(Actually, someone needs to stand up and tell them what to do. Time to take a stand)

Asked about Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, soon to be his counterpart at the Republican National Committee, Dean described Martinez as "right down the line on Republican doctrine. ... He is probably someone who we're going to have lively debates with over the next couple years because we think the agenda he represents was rejected by American voters."