Obama's America

by Taylor Marsh

image via bcc

Michigan and Florida count and so do the voters in both of these states.

Does anyone think Clinton can win the nomination without counting the voters of Michigan and Florida? Think again. Obama knows this all too well.

"Some say their votes should be ignored and the popular vote in Michigan and Florida should be discounted. Well, I have a different view," Clinton said at a rally here. "The popular vote in Florida and Michigan has already been counted. It was determined by election results, it was certified by election officials in each state, it's been officially tallied by the secretary of state in each state, and the question is whether those 2.3 million Democrats will be honored and their delegates seated by the Democratic party."

Clinton Ramps Up Call to Count Fla, Mich

The Obama campaign wants a 50/50 split in Michigan, which isn't going to cut it. Their surrogates have also said they want to count both states as long as the count doesn't have an impact in the nomination process. This is just insulting:

"Senator Obama firmly believes that the Michigan delegation should be seated in Denver. A 50/50 split of the delegates is an eminently fair solution, especially since originally Senator Clinton herself said the Michigan primary wouldn't 'count for anything.' It's now up to the Clinton campaign: they can agree to a fair resolution or they can continue trying to score political points and change the rules. It's time to move forward. Senator Clinton should accept an equitable solution that allows Michigan to participate fully in the convention," said Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.

The Clinton campaign fired back:

"The issues and voters of Michigan are too important to be dismissed. Close to 600,000 Michiganians cast ballots in January and these votes cannot be ignored. We urge the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee to take all necessary steps to ensure the voices of the people of Michigan are heard and its delegates are seated at the Democratic convention this summer. Already, over 100,000 people have signed our petition calling on the DNC to seat the delegates from Michigan and Florida. We urge Senator Obama to join our efforts to ensure that the votes of the people of Michigan and Florida are counted."

If Obama thinks he can win the nomination without fully honoring Michigan and Florida, and suffer no blowback from Clinton supporters, he's drunk one glass too many of his own Kool-Aid. Without a real solution, which Senator Obama and his campaign are fighting against, the legitimacy of his nomination will be in question.

And since it's the Democratic nominee's job to unite the party, it's in Barack Obama's own interest to do the right thing by Michigan and Florida. But he won't. So if he's the Democratic nominee he's handing many Clinton voters a reason not to support his candidacy, which we cannot afford.

Democrats simply must defeat Cranky McSame in November, and anything that stands in our way is dangerous, because this country cannot afford a third Bush term.

So what exactly is Barack Obama afraid will happen if Michigan and Florida voters are counted? The answer is obvious.

... .. Crucially, Team Obama doesn't want to count the votes of Michigan and Florida. (And let's note that in a winner-take-all system, Clinton would still be leading in delegates, 1,430 to 1,257, even without Michigan and Florida.) Under the existing system, Obama's current lead in the popular vote would nearly vanish if the results from Michigan and Florida were included in the total, and his lead in pledged delegates would melt almost to nothing. The difference in the popular vote would fall to 94,005 out of nearly 27 million cast thus far -- a difference of a mere four-tenths of 1 percentage point -- and the difference in delegates would plummet to about 30, out of the 2,024 needed to win. Add those states' votes to the totals, and take a sober look at Clinton's popular-vote victories in virtually all other large states, and the electoral dynamic changes. She begins to look like the almost certain nominee. ... ..

If the system made sense, Clinton would be far ahead

Follow Taylor Marsh on Twitter: www.twitter.com/taylormarsh

Comments

[Poustman]

Listen, Hillary has worked hard enough for long enough that she deserves the situation to be set up whatever way benefits her the most.

[Benton]

Have you ever written anything that did not involve being a neo-con hack for Hillary. Do you want to have sex with Obama or someting. He seems to be on your mind constantly.

[Benton]

So basically your are a dishonest hack like your lying candidate. I find your lack of integrity disgusting.

[axisofelvis]

Hillary, or for that matter, Obama or Edwards or any of the other seventeen candidates at the the time could have have said "screw you DNC " we are going for it in MI and FLA, and their opponents would have probably waged campaigns. HRC won those two states on mostly name recognition. Her wins are tainted and don't represent the true will of voters in either state.

[BlondeHans]

Excellent post Taylor. Keep up the good work.

I wish Obamanuts understood that Obama is unlikely to carry Ohio or Florida, and that Hillary is really the stronger contender for the Dems in November. Hillary stands a chance in Florida in the general but Obama does not. Hillary is also much stronger in Ohio. These have been crucial swing states that Democrats have not carried since 1996.

The Wright controversy may not offend liberal elites, but centrist Democrats and Republicans are offended by his beliefs. The church doctrines of the Trinity Church (Obama's church) are also troubling. How Obama could sit in those pews for over 20 years and call himself a progressive is beyond me.

And yes, I am a loyal Democrat. That is why I am supporting Hillary!

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Right on Taylor.

Obanana Republicans: I just looooove how you all practice your "new kind of politics."

If the flag fits...

Cheers.

[Insignificance]

If he's The One as he thinks he is, I don't know what he's afraid of and why he won't join in for a revote in MI and FL. There are people willing to pay for it and then everyone can still PLAY BY THE RULES and the delegates can be seated at the Dem convention. Disenfranchising two states is going to end up with a President McCain. Thank you, Taylor for a great post.

Hillary '08

[tomcj]

I am disappointed The Huffington Post carries taylor Marsh. She has her own pro-Hillary Blog and radio show.

It is my reading that she is a hater and exactly the kind of person Arianna stands against.

I am not calling for Taylor Marsh to be silenced. But why does she get a free ad here for her odious blog?

[Mesaywar]

Ahhhhh Taylor, Taylor,...Taylor;
fighting the tide of common sense, and the flow of logic at every turn.

[utd]

So, Taylor who are you going to support once Hillary loses? I mean you brought up some great "ifs", if people are willing to suspend all reality that is. Or truthfulness for that matter. I kind of doubt they will though.

Will you be like all the other "Hillary or die" people who say they will vote for McCain to snub Obama? Will you feel you have a clean conscience knowing that McCain will appoint the SCJ's who will ultimately overturn Roe - v- Wade? Will you go apologize to the mothers of dead soldiers for the next 10 years of heavy combat, or just wash your hands of it as if you didn't care to begin with?

He is going to win. It's always been hers to lose anyway, and she has. The real question is what are you doing tomorrow? Condemn Obama, even after he wins, or support him and not push feminism back to the stone age by silently supporting McCain.

Love to know. Put up your answers on your totally unbiased website. ttyl

[FogBelter]

Taylor ... if Michigan and Florida can develop a revote strategy that doesn't resemble something that President Robert Mugabe would come up with I'm sure it would be acceptable to all sides ... I know it's fun blaming Obama for the failings of the Democratic Party Leaders in Michigan and Florida, but it would be far more accurate to call Obama a Muslim.

I know it is really hard to wrap your head around this, but the votes that were unsanctioned by the DNC in Michigan and Florida because they broke party rules ... don't count. How can Delegates be sat from an illegitimate contest? Even your candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Taylor agreed to the sanctions ... the disenfranchising of Florida and Michigan, if you will ... Hillary even said the elections in Florida and Michigan didn't count ... and was recorded saying so!

So Taylor, how about bashing Clinton for disenfranchising the voters of Florida and Michigan for a change? ... it's just as accurate as blaming Obama for it.

[BrooklynLager]

Great post. It's really a double-edged sword with Clinton supporters.

If the Florida and Michigan delegations aren't seated, it will anger the supporters Clinton has now.

If they *are* seated, it will anger the people who supported her when she said they wouldn't count and her campaign strategist voted to strip them of their delegates.

I think what the DNC is probably going to do compare her poll numbers before super-tuesday, when she was fine with the DNC's rules, and after, when she wasn't. They should follow whatever she thought was fair at the time she was highest in the polls.

[DeeJax]

If.......If......If.....
If wishes were fishes, we'd all have a fry
If horse turds were biscuits, we'd eat til' we die.

Those who made the rules.....should PLAY by the rules!

[BrooklynLager]

That's what galls me the most - her camp actually had a hand in the rules in the first place. She's banking on her supporters not knowing that.

[SLone08]

Why on Earth should the DNC allow two states who, basically , told them to fuck off the opportunity to decide this election? The delegates will be seated, 50/50. That's it. End of story.

Taylor...you sound more desperate and bitter every day. Thanks for the laughs!

[Fair]

Agreed, Taylor is starting to sound more like a weird Tammy Bruce character everyday.

So scary.

[Laprawler501]

Because a democrat needs to win in November. By not allowing MI or FL to count the DNC is screwing themselves in two states one of which is arguably the most important come Nov. Also by not allowing MI and Fl to count they could potentially destroy Obama's chances. Say Obama makes the argument that he has the popular vote and pledged delegates lead, but minus to states. And Hillary makes the case that she has the popular vote and pledged delegate lead with all the states. You don't think the majority of Hillary supporters would consider Obama illegitimate if he he gets the nomination of 48 states and Hillary gets it with 50? Would that not cause a spilt in the democratic party which is as Dean says the only thing that could make Democrats lose. And the 50/50 thing is a bogus solution I'd rather someone not count my vote than change it thats a bigger slap in the face to MI and FL.

[BrooklynLager]

I think if Hillary cares even the *slightest* about her party and her country, she'll abide by the rules she agreed to in the first place. Which were that she was not going to participate in either election.

Hillary Clinton promised that, you know. Harold Ickes, who's her delegate 'guru', even voted to strip the two states of their delegations.

[lafrance]

michigan and florida were warned several times by the DNC on rules those states voted yes to. They went ahead and defied this anyway. The politicians of these states are the ones who are at fault and not the DNC or anyone else. They were warned and even offered help by the DNC.
If Hillary was winning she could care less about the 'rights' of these states.
The courts found Michigan's primary to be unconstitutional. How is that anyone's fault but Michigans?
Hillary's supporters, like Marsh, need to get in touch with reality.
Right now you are in denial and anger. Then, you will have depression and then acceptance.
But, it still doesn't account for the sheer silliness and embarrassing behavior by Hillary supporters drunk on false daydreams.
Everyone in the real world has come to the conclusion that Obama is the nominee and Hillary lost it.