I condemned it when the Democrats did it. Now I fear that my own party may follow them in the same sort of mistake -- even if not nearly as extreme.

The Republican National Committee plans to penalize at least four states holding early primaries, including New Hampshire and Florida, by refusing to seat at least half their delegates at the party’s national convention in 2008, a party official said Tuesday.

Much of the focus in the primary scheduling fight up to now has been on the Democratic National Committee’s moves to penalize Florida by not seating its convention delegates because of the state’s decision to move up its primary. But the Republican rules are even more stringent, and the national party said today that it would not hesitate enforcing them.

I agree that we need to get a better hold on the nominating process, but disenfranchising the voters is not the way to do it. And make no mistake, that is what such penalties do.

To the legislators of the four states involved, I offer the same advice that I offered when the Democrats took action against Florida.

1) Deny access to the November 2008 ballot to any party which holds a national nominating convention which refuses to seat the delegates duly elected on the primary date established by law.

2) Exercise its constitutional power to direct the votes of the state's electors by prohibiting the awarding of any of the state's electoral votes to a candidate nominated at a national nominating convention which refuses to seat the delegates duly elected on the primary date established by law.

Disenfranchisement is wrong when the GOP does it, every bit as much as when the Democrats do it. I urge my party to pull back from the brink of a serious political and moral wrong.

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