Today, the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee met to approve delegate selection plans for the 2008 Presidential nominating process. While it is usually a mundane process about percentages and process, today's meeting held additional significance.
Over the past several years, a process has been underway for Iowa and New Hampshire to share the "pre-window" period, which is the date before which no State Party is allowed to hold its nominating contest. The date for 2008 is January 5 and only Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina are allowed to hold their caucuses and primaries.
South Carolina and Nevada were chosen mainly because they added the voice of minorities to the very important early contests. Nevada has a significant Latino/Hispanic population. In South Carolina, African Americans are expected to make up as much as half of the Primary vote.
However, Florida's legislature passed a law moving their Primary to a date before February 5. I previously wrote that the Florida Democratic Party was a 'rogue' Party. I regret having used such strong language. Florida faces a ballot initiative on January 29, 2008 that the Democratic Party vigorously opposes. It seems as though they were hoping to use the turnout from a Presidential Primary to defeat this initiative.
While I understand the motivations of the Florida Party, that is not justification for violating the generations-old pre-window period. Every State faces its own challenges without the expectation that the Presidential nominating process of its party be altered to meet their specific needs.
Accordingly, the Rules and By-Laws Committee gave the Florida Democratic Party thirty days to amend their delegate selection plan to conform with Party Rules or risk a 100% penalty of their delegates to the 2008 National Convention. This means that, unless they respect the pre-window, no delegates from Florida will be seated at the Convention.
This is significant. Very significant. Today's meeting was about sending a strong message that the Party nominating calendar will be honored. That message was emphatically sent.
The Michigan Democratic Party is the next that could be affected. While their plan today received conditional approval, there is a bill on the way through their legislature to move their Primary to January 15, in violation of Party Rules. Today's actions should put the skids on that effort.
Michigan Democratic Party Chair, Mark Brewer has been playing a dangerous game that could endanger his reputation. While putting out a statement saying the MDP vigorously opposes the "Republican plan" that passed the State Senate, he failed to mention that, on the substantive issue of the date of the primary, all Senate Democrats voted FOR the January 15 date.
Further, Governor Jennifer Granholm's office confirms that Democratic Party officials in Michigan, in a conference call, agreed in principle that Michigan's Presidential Primary should be changed in order to make it a significant part of the the nomination process.
Florida's argument is much stronger than Michigan's as to whether they should receive a waiver to the Rules. Therefore, Chairman Brewer and the Michigan Democratic Party should take notice of the action today by the DNC. They appear to have no patience for the violation of the Primary calendar set by them after years on input.
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see this, DNC? it's my middle finger.
As troops die, Iraqis die, and the world bleeds becuase of America's never ending thirst for Arms and Oil profits, the Democrats fight among themselves.
They let Bush and Cheney of the hook. They flushed America down the toilot.
Disgraceful.
Let's say that Florida doesn't move back its primary and loses the 210 votes it has.
How would that make Dems in that state feel in the general election?? Could you blame them if they didn't vote Democrat? Hey, if they couldn't nominate the candidate, why should they vote for the candidate??
We cannot afford to lose Florida again. With a good candidate like Obama or Clinton, we have a very good chance of picking up Florida. Let's not lose it.
We lost Florida in 2000 because of Republican dishonesty. Now we're going to lose it because of our own stupidness.
By moving these primaries up, and by supporting the idea of the never-ending campaign -- soon to be a full four-year campaign for President -- all that's happening is that the politicians now have more excuses about why they have to take more and more money "contributions" from corporate America. Now they have to fund their campaign for four full years, not just the one year that used to be true.
Never-ending wars, never-ending political campaigns paid for by never-ending bribes. Think of how thoroughly this corrupts our so-called democracy.
And even if you believe the absurd position advanced by the politicians that they are not "influenced" by these millions of dollars paid to them by corporate America, ask yourself this: why should we as a nation waste our money in this manner? We really are just funding a never-ending party for the ultra-rich politicians. Look at how these campaign funds are spent: it's one long party after another, private jets from place to place, hotels, caterers -- the party never ends. For them.
For the rest of us, we sit here watching our jobs sent oversees, seeing real wages frozen, foreclosures up, credit card interest at 30% representing the main "loans" for working people, bankruptcy doors barred to the taxpayers and citizens, and things just getting worse.
Think there's any connection? Is it possible that these escalating bribes to the politicians do influence the politicians? Is that why they encourage their corporate pals to hire slave labor in China and lay off Americans? Is that why they refuse to vote for a law to restrict credit card interest? Think there's any connection? I do.
I understand "the rules," but still believe that the reasoning behind discounting some four million votes is wildly out of touch with core Democratic values. Howard Dean does not own my vote.
Taken to an extreme example, I guess Rosa Parks should have sat in the back of the bus or stood for a white rider because those were the rules.
Iowa and New Hampshire have an inflated sense of entitlement about their right to influence the process. The rules, as such, are wrong and bad for this country. California, Texas, Florida and New York should get together and all vote to move their primary/caucuses up to whenever the first one is held.
The time is long overdue to rescue our Presidential selection process from the undemocratic whims of the past.
It is the idiocy of the primary system that disenfranchices powerful states like Florida and California. Is it not surprising that the governments of these states have had enough? The entire history of the past 20 years of Federal rule is written in the arbitrary and unfunded dictums of the Feds, who expect the States to rule where they should, but cannot because of the paralysed opposition inherint in there incompatable ideologies of the national Democratic or Republican committees.
Anything that may lead us to scrap the ridiculous Presidential nomination and election system we have is good by me.
We should have one national primary/caucus day in the Spring, with direct popular vote of the President in November, and a runoff election in December between the top two candidates if no one receives more than 50% of the vote. If we used the ranked-choice voting method used in Ireland, Australia and increasingly in Britain, we could do it fairly in one round.
Less populous states already get enormously disproportionate representation in the Senate. It is undemocratic and just plain wrong to give them disproportionate influence in nominating and electing the President as well.
We need an electoral system for the 21st Century, not the 19th Century.
Full agreement to eliminate the Electoral College. After reading even a LITTLE bit on run-off elections, its the biggest "DUH" revelation in our nation's election history.
That and their nominee before Granholm for Governor was Jack Kevorkian's attorney Geoffrey Fieger, who is the epitome of the ambulence chasing lawyer. *sigh*
Credit Bushco with part of the change. Some people are actually paying attention to the process of selecting candidates for an election which won’t be held for another 14 months and I would never have thought that possible. More than ever before, people know the major candidates for both parties, and are paying attention enough to be willing and able to express preferences. “Politics” seems to be in the air this time around.
Now we have to be concerned with the impact on this situation of having the top spot all wrapped up before mid February. Does Florida, Michigan, etc. get delegates seated at the Convention whenever it finally does take place? Considering that it’s all going to have been decided for half a year before that, I’m not sure that this is a question of paramount import. Care needs to be taken so that the level of voter burnout gets held to the minimum, and it looks like we can count on Bushco to finish roasting a Republican Party that is already pretty well done.
(And the Democrats have to avoid slaughtering each other in a feeding frenzy that has already not gotten off to a particularly auspicious start.)
Also, is this really a good time to be telling Florida democrats that their votes are insignificant? I seem to recall a time in the not-so-distant past when we were reminded of how dangerously close presidential elections can be.
I really do feel bad about the situation in Florida. But, regardless of the situation right now, it is important to enforce the rules that were approved nearly unanimously by the DNC. Otherwise, we might end up with a free for all that would make a mess out of the nominating process.
Democrats in Florida have been disenfranchised over and over again. This tops the cake, though. One man, one vote ... except in Florida.
IN CASE OF A CAT FIGHT:
Stand back
Let growling proceed.
When growling stops,
Step in immediately
To prevent
Fur from flying.....
ONWARD.
(Jealousy is for juveniles).