Howard Dean, head cheese for the DNC was interviewed by CNN last night. The question of the delegates from FL and MI came up. Dean seemed amenable to seating them. This of course would benefit Billary, who I believe is the anointed one by the Party Faithful. Craig Crawford's column over at CQ Politics on this subject is pretty good:
If neither Clinton nor Barack Obama makes it to the convention in Denver this summer with a nominating majority, the battle for Florida's 210 delegates and Michigan's 157 votes could be decisive. Both of those primaries were won by Clinton, although the candidates didn't campaign in either state and Obama took his name off the Michigan ballot.
As Dean said, a convention credentials comprised of Democratic officials elected from around the country will settle the matter. The Clinton camp is on the record, naturally, for restoring the Florida and Michigan delegations in proportion to the vote in those primaries.
This is bullshit. Like the Super Delegates, this is a way to control who becomes the Democratic nominee. It removes the power from the people and puts it squarely in the hands of the idiots that run the DNC, DCCC and of course..the DLC. In a move that will remind of us Chicago's heyday, it will be backroom brawling that decides who gets the nod. Again from Crawford's column:
Outside the backrooms, the Clinton campaign will surely mount a vigorous public relations drive aimed at turning the debate into a question of "voting rights" and "civil rights," hoping to put Obama in the position of seeming to oppose such civil liberties. And the Clinton team will argue that Democrats simply cannot afford to deny entry to two of the nation's biggest swing states in the general election.
One resolution that would avoid such a battle would be for the two states to begin anew and hold party caucuses in the spring. But the Clinton campaign has labored to rally state officials in Florida and Michigan to avoid such a move. That is a major reason why Clinton traveled to Florida on the night of her Jan. 29 primary victory – to fully establish herself as the sole champion for the state's convention voting rights.
The only fair way to settle this would be to hold new caucus's. Five will get ya ten that doesn't happen. Anyone want to take this bet?
I didn't think so..
