Could Florida in 2012 once again be at the center of a nasty fight over the primary schedule? Perhaps. Republicans at the national convention Monday decreed that only Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina can hold their 2012 primary or caucus votes before the first Tuesday in March, though a special committee will hammer out more details of the recommended primary in 2010.

Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer says he would "absolutely not" hesitate to buck the schedule again, even though the Florida GOP lost half its voting strength, and some delegates suspect their distant hotel was punishment for the early primary. It could set up an interesting scenario if Democrats in the Legislature fight hard to stop an early primary to avoid DNC penalties (and don't tell us they did that this time, because we don't buy it).

"Clearly at the end of the day Florida played a major role in determining our party's nominee because of the date our our primary. Although we have this one last little issue of I'm only casting 57 electoral votes, I've got a full delegation on the floor, I've got all the alternates here, I've got Florida with premier seating,'' Greer said. "We dominated the process."

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