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Michigan Superdelegates Tense As March 4 Primaries Near
Keith Evenhouse, Cheyna Roczykowski, and John Taylor contributed to this report.
With some wondering aloud how far a campaign can fall before it hits the ground, Michigan superdelegates - many early supporters of Clinton - are in a tense and uncertain situation as they awaits Clinton's "must-win" results in Ohio and Texas on March 4.
After a shot at national prominence backfired in the form of a boycotted, largely meaningless Jan. 15 primary, Michigan Democratic leaders scrambled, retreating back into relative pre-2008 obscurity to lick their wounds, and prepare themselves for a stern "I told you so" - or perhaps a full-out Dean scream - from the Democratic National Committee.
Dean and the DNC had warned Michigan against moving up its primary, and when the Michigan Democratic Party failed to comply, the state was stripped of its representation at the upcoming national convention, and candidates were advised not to campaign in the state. Of the top-tier Democrats, only Clinton remained on the ballot, a controversial but politically convenient move by a campaign backed by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and much of the MDP leadership. Those supporting other candidates - as well as protesting the state party's inept maneuvering - organized campaigns encouraging Michigan voters to vote "Uncommitted" - an alternative which "lost" to Clinton by just 15 points. Principally responsible for the not-so-veiled campaign against Clinton were Rep. John Conyers and his wife, Detroit Councilwoman Monica Conyers, who decried the "disenfranchisement" of those supporting other candidates.
Thus enter the Michigan superdelegates - 26 Democrats who, at this point, aren't even guaranteed a spot at the table in Denver in August.
"They should be seated, along with the delegates from Florida," said Richard Wiener, a superdelegate who served as the Democratic State Party Chair from 1983-89. "The seating of all delegates is important to the continued process of party building."
It's also important to Hillary Clinton, who will likely need all the extra support she can get should the Democratic nomination come to backroom negotiations in Denver. With less than a week to go before Ohio and Texas, where polls show Obama gaining - if not leading - on Clinton, Maggie Williams, Mark Penn and Co. are scrambling in the face of what Obama spinsters are calling "impossible" odds of a pledged-delegate victory for Clinton.
Wiener, who declined to commit to either candidate, has nonetheless donated $2,000 to the Clinton campaign, according to FEC data obtained by the Huffington Post. He additionally contributed to Governor Bill Richardson's campaign in 2007.
Wiener, who works as an attorney at Wiener Associates, a governmental affairs firm he founded in 1989, previously served as chief of staff to Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. Like the governor, it seems likely that he supports Clinton; and yet his story is a familiar one amongst Michigan superdelegates.
In a recent interview with OffTheBus Wiener not only declined to publicly acknowledge a candidate preference, but he also indicated he has not shared his thoughts on the matter with his wife, and does not intend to do so with anyone prior to the convention.
"If the polls are to be believed, this year is a tremendous opportunity for the Democratic Party," he said.
Wiener's decision to take his influence as a superdelegate underground appears to be the norm in Michigan, where Obama's recent successes have Democratic operatives reevaluating their stances. Mark Brewer, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party and vice chair of the DNC, is even more guarded, and did not respond to OTB's request for an interview. He has reason to avoid the spotlight these days: Brewer has been heavily criticized for his organization's bungling of its primary, and, like Gov. Granholm, is quietly resisting calls for a "do-over" - a caucus that analysts predict would heavily favor Obama.
Brewer originally backed John Edwards, whose campaign had been managed by David Bonior, a former congressman with whom Brewer closely associated. He has since urged Michigan Democrats to remain "open-minded."
Michigan Democratic power player Debbie Dingel appears - at least publicly - to be taking the same approach. The former chair of Al Gore's Michigan campaign in 2000 and wife of Rep. John Dingell has yet to publicly endorse a candidate. Yet, following the trend, FEC records indicate Dingell - whose husband supports Clinton - has contributed $1,250 to the New York senator in the fourth quarter, after contributing $250 to John Edwards in the third.
Complicating matters for some Michigan superdelegates is a self-imposed sense of responsibility for creating the chaos in which the state finds itself. In an interview with the Washington Post, Dingell - who was a key player in moving the Michigan primary - confides that "I probably haven't slept since Feb. 4th." Referencing the rise of Obama, she says, "Nobody foresaw this."
Further indicative of the secretly committed nature of these delegates is the revelation that someone of such influence as Richard Wiener has apparently not been courted by either campaign in recent weeks, an exception to the frenzy that suggests his - and potentially others' - support has been privately confirmed.
"I have not been contacted," said Wiener.
That may change this Tuesday. If Clinton lands unlucky loss #13 (or even #12 or, perhaps, 14), expect the phones to be ringing in Michigan.
This piece was produced as part of OffTheBus's Superdelegate Investigation. Click here to read more superdelegate profiles.
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THIS IS NOT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION!!!!
All this talk of rights and disenfranchisement and legitimate election is meaningless fluff.
This is a PRIVATE political party choosing it's nominee. The party sets the rules and the members of the party FOLLOW those rules. The decision to even let people vote for the nominee is a party function. If they changed the rules tomorrow and Howard Dean got up and said John Edwards is the Democratic Party presidential nominee, guess what, John Edwards would be the name on the November ballot with the D next to his name. There would be huge uproar and no turnout and probably 3 independent candidates, but there would be no laws broken.
The reason Michigan and Florida haven't gone to court over this issue is because NO LAWS WERE BROKEN!
The Principle you use is complete nonsensical, or as Obama would say Silly. A vote is a vote whether for mayor, congress, primaries or any other reason. This is the foundational democratic principle the country was built upon.
The DNC is in violation of the very definition of disenfranchisement. This is voter suppression. It is clear and unambiguous. They messed with the process and changed their own rules just before the election. Others now want to change the rules after. The DNC has Rules but the Country has Laws.
Not to count a legally help election that was certified by the state is exactly what they do in Russia and other parts of the world. We protest this behavior. Others and I have protested to count the disenfranchised Black voters in Florida, in the past and change laws designed only enacted to suppress votes that were not Republican.
There is no excuse or explanation that supports the DNC"s decision in any way. When MLB would not police itself the congress stepped in and investigated. Actors from this investigation are likely to be found guilty in violation of the Law.
If the DNC cannot police itself, the justice department can act just like with the Steroid scandal, which was monumentally less important to the country that this primary and this election we are in the middle of.
Our Republican Govenor, Charlie Christ (who is angling for VP or a cabinet position in a Republican administration), and a Republican dominated Fla. legislature, made the decision to have our primary on Jan. 29. Fla. voters didn't have a voice in that decision, nor did the Fla. Democratic Party. The state pays for our primaries and refused to change the date. Voters protested to the Fla. Legislature, the national DNC, and the state Democratic Party to no avail.
The RNC originally threatened not to seat Fla. Republican delegates. However, AFTER the DNC took away our delegates, the RNC decided to seat HALF of the Republican delegates at their convention. That decision meant that the only campaigning in Fla. was by the Republican presidential candidates.
Once again, Florida votes have been manipulated by the RNC, as in 2000, when our vote count was decided by BushCo and the Supreme Court. For many years, Florida has been dominated by a Republican majority. In the last 7 years, former Republicans & Independents have registered as Democrates because of the disastrous policies of the Bush administration.
1.7 million Floridians turned out to vote on Jan. 29th. All Democratic presidential candidates were on the ballot. We feel that our delegates should be seated at the convention. We do not want to be rushed into "fire sale" caucuses, in 600 districts, as proposed by the DNC. We are the 4th largest state by population. The geography of Florida alone, would prohibit the participation of huge numbers of voters-the working poor, older voters, minorities, and middle class workers. A caucus would not be representative of our diverse population.
Michigan is in a different situation, the MDP and the voters will have to decide on a solution.
It is obvious that Mi voters might have been shafted by their heads of the Dem Party in their own state but didn't they let them do it? With it looking a bit top heavy biased top members not really wanting the do over caucus type primary to have their votes/delegates count because they support Hillary how does that serve the people in the state? The thoughts that Barack would win the state if they did caucus is really the deciding factor for them. Sad when just a few impacts the many. For Clintons name to be the only one in MI and simular situation in Fla and for those for clinton holding those for Barack away from valid votes and delegate should have people angry enough to fix the elections and get rid of the top of the states Dem parties in both states. Why did they think they could get away with the too early primaries?
These narcissistic fools that head the Michigan Democratic Party only care about how a revote would make them look. If they cared about the voters in Michigan, they would have never moved our primary in the first place. This entire thing was about Carl Levin, Mark Brewer, Jennifer Granholm, and Debbie Dingell trying to make themselve seem even more important. The letter that I got back from Carl Levin basically said that I was over-reacting and that the nominee (assumed Clinton I'm sure) would seat the delegates. They never imagined a scenario in which Hilary Clinton would not be the nominee. You can bet your ass that they are the ones that told her not to take her name off the ballot because they all assumed that she would win anyway.
The ultimate irony in all of this is that Michigan's primary was originally scheduled for MARCH 9th. If they had left it alone we would have had a HUGE influence and would have gotten tons of campaign time and press coverage of issues that are important to Michigan voters.
I've written to all of my Michigan congressman calling for a public apology from Levin and the resignation of Brewer, I'm not holding my breath.
Michigan has already made their choice. To deny them thier votes is to deny them their freedom. Other states were allowed to change their primary and caucus dates. Michigan and Florida have the same rights as any other state(s). The DNC has made a bad decision and now wants to place the blame for their errors on two states who basically were excercising their constitutional and/or states rights. Dean has screamed before and look what and where it got him-he LOST.
Rights? What rights would you be referring to?
The primaries are PARTY functions, not constitutional ones. Political parties are private entities and as such are governed by their own rules. The rules were clearly defined and the Michigan party leaders made the decision to break those rules and now the voters have to pay the price.
There's no mention of political parties in the constitution.
Before you go touting the constitution, you might want to actually READ it.
The Taxpayers paid for a Primary in Michigan, it's Obama fault that he REMOVED HIS NAME FROM THE BALLOT. Hillary got 55%, "Not Committed" got 40%
Personally, it's a tough call. Why should the "people" of Michigan who have suffered the last 7 years with the rest of us be denied a voice just because their appointed leaders decided to play with the rules. Personally, I would strip Michigan of their "Super Delegates" and either split the delegate count 50/50 or do a caucus (paid for by the arrogant Michigan DNC), they owe their democrats that much.
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Brewer has been heavily criticized for his organization's bungling of its primary, and, like Gov. Granholm, is quietly resisting calls for a "do-over" - a caucus that analysts predict would heavily favor Obama.
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Okay, enough of all this BS we've been hearing on these boards that "Obama is disenfranchising MI and FL". It is the CLINTON SUPPORTERS who are blocking free and fair elections in those states on the off chance they can break the rules and use the unfair results to get Clinton the nomination.
It's bad enough that the Clinton camp wants to break the rules but it is vile that they are trying to disenfranchise MI and FL voters while at the same time lying and blaming the disenfranchisement on Obama.
please read this:
http://www.judicialwatch.org/judicial-watch-announces-list-washington-s-ten-most-wanted-corrupt-politicians-2007
6 out 10 are Democrats, suspiciously, two of them are Obama and Clinton?! Sorry, but 10 out of 10 should be Republicans, starting with Bush/Cheney.
You can't possibly take this list seriously.
The only republicans on it are Larry Craig (Mr. wide stance himself), Rudy Guliani (drag queen mayor extraordinare), Mike Huckabee (not popular with the Republican establishment), and Scooter Libby (indicted felon). I would think, at the very least, it would include Ted Stevens and by all rights would include Tom DeLay.
This list is nothing more than a republican hit list.
Obama is a divider.
Michigan and Florida need to just shut up. You were warned what would happen if you broke the rules and you did so anyway. You have no one to blame but yourselves and should apologize to all those people who braved the weather to vote in a meaningless election.
How can you call an election legitimate when everybody knew that no delegates were at stake? Many possible voters stayed at home in Florida and Michigan because these elections were officially declared useless. The shame is on both the Democratic Party leaders in both states and the DNC leadership. The Republican Party faced a similar problem in several states and decided to deprive those states of half their delegates. That would've been a wiser path for the Democratic Party as well. All candidates would've had the chances to compete fairly and the votes would have counted at least half. Now the situation is a mess. One can only hope that the race is over soon by one candidate conceding, so that Denver can become the usual love fest for the nominee. Including the delegates from Florida and Michigan.
I believe there was a record turnout in Florida, so it appears more voted than stayed at home.
Yes but that was because of an important state issue being voted on which reduces property taxes. That doesn't mean people were all fired up about Hillary (or Barack) and they probably just voted for the most familiar name on the ticket since there was no significant campaigning in the state and it was so early no one thought Obama had a chance or really had gotten to know him.
Do over is the only fair thing.
From a legal standpoint, the DNC will have serious issues ignoring a legitimate election on the grounds they did like that date the election was held. When I say legitimate, it is purely from a certification of the vote count. Frankly, this is all that matters legally.
From a voter disenfranchisement perspective, no third party acted in the candidate"s decision to remove their names. However, a third party has acted not to count the votes as cast, the voice of the people. This is the fault of the DNC themselves, not the Michigan delegates. Indeed it is the DNC behavior alone that needs to be held in account for both Fl and MI, as well as any attempt to corrupt or delegitimize the voting process.
No. The national parties have the sole power to decide who are accredited delegates to their national conventions. There is also an issue of fairness, especially with Michigan. And then there is the question of why Hillary did not take her name off the Michigan ballot, as did every other serious candidate.
Actually, State Partys say who votes in their primary and the manner that primary takes, it could be anything from an election to a caucus to even a State Party Convention deciding for the party members of those states.
State and National Committees are decided by party members at the 'street' level so they are not 'appointed'.
I feel very sorry for the democratic voters in MI and Fl, but the rules as to time were set, their state partys were warned what the consequence would be if then went for the economic benefits from 'going early' and their State Partys decided to ignore them figuring 'we will be seated anyway, the rules don't apply to US.
Changing the rules in the 4th quarter, and with that perhaps who the nominee IS will only give the Republicans a stick with which to beat the Democratic Nominee.
I really can't see any difference between telling people an election doesn't count (then counting the election) and telling people the wrong polling location or voting date.
We call the latter vote fraud or disenfranchisement. The former is called Hillary's strategy to win the nomination.
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Posted February 29, 2008 | 03:48 AM (EST)