Democrats return to Florida
Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton plan to be in Florida on Wednesday, but for very different reasons.
Obama, who plans a rally in Tampa and other events Thursday and Friday, is visiting a crucial battleground for the fall election -- the state that decided the 2000 presidential race. Getting within sight of clinching the Democratic nomination, he is already touring key states for the fall. He was in Missouri and Michigan last week.
Clinton, whose campaign just announced her visit, is trying to get Florida's votes and delegates counted to keep alive her hopes for the nomination. She won the Florida primary in January, but the national Democratic Party is not counting the results because the state went out of turn in the nomination calendar.
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While Barack throw-your-gramma-and-pastor-under-the-bus Obama tries to convince Florida that he hasn't snipped their votes and done them a terrible injustice, Hillary is going to be fighting for American rights again.
Barack believes in change alright, like the kind that prevents Americans from voting!
Go Hillary!!
I think seating the the Michigan and Florida delegations is a hypocritical move any way you slice it.
From the DNC perspective what message does it send?
From Hillary Clinton's approach what does it say about her? If you can't win by the rules change them?
From Barack Obama's position possible alienation of key constituencies?
I think of all the positions to be in I'd rather be in Barack Obama's, he's got the flexibility in this situation. However he's also got the pressure. I personally don't think the PEOPLE of MI and FL should be neglected because of the actions of selfish, ambitious and arrogant party leaders in those states. Obama may do well to negotiate with respect to Florida's delegation (considering his name was on the ballot), but he should in no way concede anything less than a 50/50 split in Michigan.
The DNC should probably move to immediately fix their nominating process. I would suggest an alternating schedule of three or four successive "waves" of voting. Stage 1 - four to six states get their "influence" as the first primary/caucuses (however, they would go to the last two stages in successive cycles until it was again their turn). Stage 2 - a massive primary event akin to super tuesday where 40% or more of states hold their primaries / caucuses on the same day. Stage 3 (and or 4) the remaining states vote 6 weeks later. Over and done with, fair and revolving (almost like proportional allocation).
Senator Clinton however occupies the worst position in this conflict. She essentially turns herself into a hypocrite and puts her "say and do anything" approach to politics on very public (and I think humiliating if not self-deprecating) display. It really doesnt help her appeal in succeeding elections. I really think that we should take a step back and evaluate Senator Clinton's integrity in light of her about face on the DNC's action.
I agree with senator clinton that the delegates should be seated. But I think it's pretty clear that her only reasoning for it is because it helps her, not because the people of Michigan and Florida deserve representation. She wouldn't be sining this tune if the results favored Obama (I don't think Obama would sing it either)However, you cannot deny the argument that the results were skewed because of the ruling. Voters DID stay home, Obama and Edwards' names were NOT on the ballots in Michigan. She didn't really win, considering their wasn't a real contest (and her move to keep her name on the ballot in MI was an attempt to rig the outcome).
My opinion is that only way the FL and MI delegates should be seated is in such a way that it does not provide either candidate with an advantage. This should be especially true with regards to Michigan. Florida is a slightly different story but I think that the argument about people not voting still holds water. The only negotiating going on should be with regards to Florida. Michigan should be 50/50 hands down. Give the people representation, but the "superdelegates" in MI and FL (those who probably had more to do with causing this problem) ought to remain duly chastised.
I don't understand why the democratic party makes the primary so complicated. What's with the super delegates? If Florida and Michigan knowingly, deliberatly broke the rules why should those votes be counted ? Let the people of those two states put pressure on the party to not let it ever happen again.
I have a solution: Count ONLY the popular votes, have all states vote at the same time, Friday noon til Monday noon, some week in January with NO media coverage untill all voting is done and counted.
If the votes in Florida and Michigan were disallowed by the NDP then how in the world did Hillary win them? The wordings of press articles are fueling this debate. Was the Florida and Michigan votes legitimate by the NDP rules or not? If not then a solution agreeable to both candidates should be evolved to enfranchise the voters there.
But stop blaming one side for the debacle that both candidates signed onto. It is only fair to play by the rules. Hillary should do everything that is fair to clinch the nomination. She should also be fair to her rival.
And by the way stop declaring her a winner when she and her campaign clearly signed onto the DNP rules of the game.
Forget it, Obama. You won't recognize us now because you don't like the results of our primary. In your eyes, we don't count. But, you want to campaign for our votes in the fall? I, for one, will not be voting for you..
Obama is like the wizard of Oz.... a small man (in so many ways) whose smoke-and-mirrors self-promotion and vague, fairytale statements about "change" has convinced the masses of his greatness. Please - someone go get Toto to pull back the curtain...