Let there be no mistake. The only reason why Michigan and Florida are now back in play and causing such heartburn is because the junior Senator from New York, one Hillary Clinton wants to change the rules. There is nothing democratic about this process we are all enduring at this moment. This is not about ensuring that the voters' voices are heard. This is, pure and simple, about breaking the rules (again) in an attempt to change the result.
I remember receiving an email from Hillary Clinton's campaign after the Florida primary back in January, celebrating her "resounding victory" there, and thinking to myself, "what is she on?" Why is she trying to pull the wool over her supporters' eyes? She didn't win in Florida. There was no contest there. And the pundits of the world agreed with me. I distinctly remember John King on CNN absolutely shutting down the possibility that either Florida or Michigan could or would count. As far as I remember he said it was a mute point. John King. He knows what he's talking about. I felt comforted. I also remember having a discussion with a friend about Florida and Michigan back in early February. He was convinced that Hillary would pull some kind of shenanigans and I shut him down, too. "No way," I said, "no way." "Not possible!" "That's idiotic!" Thems were the rules. It was all very clear. Michigan and Florida broke the rules and that was that was that.
Boy, was I ever wrong. I guess I was operating on the (naïve) assumption that those rules would be followed, that clear, logical thought would rule the day. But I was the idiot. The Democratic Party is not operating in a logical world, in a logical way, in a logical fashion. The Democratic Party is kow-towing to the Clintons.
If Howard Dean had any spine at all he would have cracked his whip a long time ago (maybe not the best analogy this week but hey!), and said "no!" Both state parties went in to this with their eyes open. They both knew that they were breaking the rules and chose to break them anyway. It is a bit late now, in hindsight, to cry foul. That is what Howard Dean could have said. And he could have gone on to say something like this: what Hillary and her supporters are trying to do now is akin to going to the ref after the third quarter of a football game and insisting that you get to play the second quarter over because you discovered, in the third quarter, that the opposing team's star player, was, well, better than you expected, and you want to change your tactics. Or, another one, changing the three strikes you're out rule to four strikes in a baseball game at the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded. It's not fair, it's not right, it's not how the game should be played. (I'm not the best sports analogist you will ever find - if you have a better one, please, feel free).
Add to this the news that Puerto Rico is now moving to change it's caucus to a primary because, according to the Clinton supporting Democratic Chair there, the race is so "competitive" and you've got to wonder, should we be calling in the international election monitors? Is this a bastion of Democracy where apparently the rules can change depending on whether or not the Democratic Establishment likes the results?
And that in itself bares the question: How much does the Democratic Establishment want to have Barack Obama in the White House? I've heard him speak ... we all have ... and we know that when he talks about Washington he describes it as a place where "good ideas go to die," a bureaucratic hell hole, where cronyism is rife, where divisive politics is politics as usual, where lobbyists rule the roost and nothing gets done. These are hard truths. These are truths that much of the political establishment does not want to hear from a young idealist from Illinois. They would rather resist his message of change. Who does he think he is, coming in like this, disrupting the status quo? "Stop him now!" they cry. And they are trying in every way they can. Breaking the rules, changing the rules...
If this was the Super Bowl would you stand for it?
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The question is with the DLC, which wants her to win for reasons of its own.
If Obama is nominated without being severely damaged by the dirty campaign that is being waged by his opponents, he is probably going to defeat McCain in the fall.
If Clinton is the nominee, the stench of her victory will probably turn off enough voters to give McCain a win.
But an Obama victory would not only be meaningful to the nation, it would change the Democratic Party drasticall
After all, they are the Republican
Is there much belief in their concern for what is best for the nation?
And for your informatio
To paraphrase
Check the current records, does anyone think she will do as good in a direct contest with Obama as she did when he wasn't even on ballot (MI) and when he didn't campaign in Florida?
In fact, a revote would probably be more of a benefit to him than her!
Would like to hear what others think (please, no off point attacks or promoting virtues of either candidate)
--Thomas Jefferson
(No, not the Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, but another Thomas Jefferson, who loves Democracy and Representa
But had any of the Founding Fathers, Jefferson included, been asked about it, I'm sure they would have said:
"Let's fight to see that the more than 2 million Michigande
You "pro-democ
And by the way, I'm an Obama supporter, and while I would happily vote for Hillary in Nov if she's the nominee, I'm not a huge supporter of Hillary!
Dean is the elected Chair of the DNC, not head of the DNC Rules Committee or the Credential
http://www
There are a number of examples of Clinton surrogates attempting to undermine Dean's authority as the Chair -
Carville http://www
Emanuel & Schumer http://www
If anything, I would submit that Dean has gone out of his way to avoid any sort of favoritism & keep the focus of activists where it should be - defeating Republican
http://www
I heard her say Michigan should be seated based on the vote - where she won 55% against "uncommitt
The Florida situation is largely to blame on the republican
The Puerto Rican change from caucus to primary is very likely a result of the intensity of this campaign thus far. It has been stated (and rightly so), that due to the anticipate
Now, from your article, it did get me to think on something: Obama's recent earmark strategy. This may be a monumental misstep by him. In showing the public that he will indeed strive to be a transparen
But you have to admit that the rest of congress is a little nervous about this and its potential to gain some traction.
Personally
Other than that, I'm running out of hand.
The sad fact that Democrats are forgetting is: the damage has been done. When Clinton threw the kitchen sink at Obama, she gave the Republican
Had Senator Clinton bowed out gracefully after Wisconsin, seeing the uphill climb was nearly impossible
This is already going on until April 22. An eternity from now. And with Florida and Michigan possibly scheduled for June? Are you kidding? McCain may not need to raise any money to beat the Democrat. We will be so exhausted, divided and demoralize
Let me say it again!!
Only 1,864 delegates are needed to clinch the nomination
If Michigan and Florida's delegates are included (in their entirety) that raises the number of delegates required to clinch the nomination to something like 2181 or 2182.
First they'll find a way to engineer the results to "empower" the wealthy suburbs, then they'll come up with a big "We love our cities" bullshit campaign for the general election..
Lip servicing the "vote warehouse" is just SOP for GOP lite... The Limosene Liberals of the suburban commuter class do it all the time. As soon as something looks like it might not suit them it's an "unfair advantage.
Perfect time for the urban Democrats to leave the security moms clinging to the little blue inner tubes floating around in the red sea. We've seen this play out since the security moms bailed on us in the eighties, and gave us the Reagan Democrats and the defunding of everything urban.
Urban America shouldn't get fooled by the same shell-game again.
I'm a Florida voter and I DO NOT feel disenfranc
and the b*tch still ran only 10 points ahead of "Uncommitt