Obama pushes full vote for Fla., Mich.
Now that Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination for president, he wants convention delegates from Florida and Michigan to have full voting rights at the party's national convention.
Obama sent a letter yesterday to the party's credentials committee, asking members to reinstate the delegates' voting rights when the committee meets at the start of the convention.
The delegates were originally stripped because the two states violated party rules by holding primaries before Feb. 5. The delegates from each state were given half-votes at a contentious party meeting in May, as part of a compromise designed to give two important states some role at the convention.
Obama's former Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, had won both primaries, though Obama's name was not on the Michigan ballot and neither candidate campaigned in Florida.
"I believe party unity calls for the delegates from Florida and Michigan to be able to participate fully alongside the delegates from the other states and territories," Obama said in the letter.
Obama's endorsement virtually guarantees the delegates will have full voting rights.
Clinton, who also has supporters on the credentials committee, had lobbied to reinstate the delegates.
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Rally organizers and police expect the opening day of the four-day convention, Sept. 1-4, to be the biggest - with an antiwar march from the state Capitol to the Xcel Center and back. President Bush is scheduled to speak on the first night. Groups representing labor, immigrants, gays, and lesbians, solidarity with Palestine, and many other causes will take part.
Because of the war, the Republicans are expected to attract more demonstrators than the Democrats, who open their convention Aug. 25 in Denver, said Paula O'Loughlin, an associate professor of political science at the University of Minnesota-Morris.
Democratic conventions have historically attracted more protesters. That tide shifted in 2004, O'Loughlin said, when more than 100,000 people took to the streets of Manhattan for the GOP convention.
Between 3,000 and 3,500 police officers, sheriffs' deputies, and state patrol officers are scheduled to work during the convention. Federal security officials will also be present.
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Edwards, first elected in 1990 and now in his ninth term, represents Texas' 17th District, which includes Waco, College Station, Fort Hood, and the small town of Crawford, where President Bush has a ranch. He is a senior member on the House appropriations and budget committees and has guided funding measures for military veterans.
Pelosi said that amid all the talk about possible running mates from the Senate, she didn't want the House to be left out. Barack Obama has not announced when he will make his pick.
On CNN's "Late Edition," Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri said she had not been asked for any documents as part of vetting.
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