(Mar 31, 2008): "The Untold Story of How the GOP Rigged Florida & Michigan" (Huffinton Post)

[CGP]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wayne-barrett/could-the-republicans-pic_b_94158.html


Imagining a convention without delegations from these large and politically volatile states has become the nightmare of every thinking Democrat. Polls indicate that a nominee who refuses to count the 1.7 million Floridians who voted in a level-playing field primary, or to find a way for them to vote again, will wind up wasting whatever time and money he or she spends there in the general election campaign. As close as the general election vote in Michigan has been in recent years, even a small margin of voters disgruntled by the state's Democratic lockout could push it into the GOP column. Obama's stonewalling about both states may offer short-term advantages, but two delegations denied seating because of his maneuvers may well be seen as contrary to his populist rationale now -- and crippling to his candidacy in November.

Ed Pozzuoli, the Republican chair of Broward County, recalls the Florida showdown of 2000, when he says Democrats taunted Republicans, insisting that they should "let every vote count." He gloats now: "I guess that's changed in eight years." He's hardly the only one chortling over the likely consequence of what he calls the "draconian" Democratic spiking of his state's delegation.

What started out years ago as Howard Dean's 50-state organizing strategy for the national party now looks like a 48-state electoral one. Michigan and Florida could become the Ralph Nader of 2000, the great regret that delivers the country once again to four years of darkness.

[Thekla]

Democratic National Committee (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wayne-barrett/could-the-republicans-pic_b_94158.html) chair Howard Dean came out of hiding last week to announce that there is no reason to rush to resolve the fate of Florida and Michigan. He said he was confident that these delegations, disqualified in 2007 by Dean's own Rules Committee, would be seated at the August convention -- but, apparently, only after a nominee is chosen, which he predicted would occur by July 1. This modern-day Metternich, whose two-fisted handling of this two-state controversy has already had more impact on the 2008 race than his candidacy did on the race in 2004, is promising to mediate the dispute once it's already settled.

The Dean plan is that these two swing states -- big enough to decide the nomination or general election -- will eventually be granted "virtual" seats at the convention because, as Dean imaginatively put it in an AP interview, "the campaigns believe that kind of deal is premature right now." Since one campaign (Hillary Clinton's) was amenable to redoes, even financing Michigan's, and the other campaign (Barack Obama's) opposed every feasible proposition, it is, in a strange way, true that the two sides weren't collectively ready for a deal.

In all the buzz about the media's pro-Obama tilt, its indifference to his resistance to including these states in the "actual" nominating process is its most disturbing favor, especially since this brand of "conventional politics," as Obama would put it, flies in the face of his contention that "the people" should pick the nominee. Obama's only proposal so far has been to split the delegates evenly, just like he and Michelle parcel out Christmas presents to their two daughters.

Of course, the column inches and moments of air time spent on how and why these two states and their 366 delegates have been banished adds up to less than the attention devoted to, say, the Wyoming caucus, where a 2,066-vote Obama margin gave him a big enough delegate boost to virtually cancel out Hillary Clinton's 329,000-vote margin in the five March races.

The body count that the mainstream media has regurgitated out of Florida and Michigan is that 2.3 million Democrats voted in primaries that broke the rules, leaving the DNC with no choice but to level both villages, even if the collateral damage might include the party's prospects of carrying those disenfranchised states in November. The DNC and the MSM appear to have simultaneously concluded that even Clinton's 300,000-vote win in Florida, where both candidates competed on a level playing field, shouldn't be counted in the popular vote tally, a calculation that appears nowhere in DNC rules and turns 1.7 million Democratic voters into ghosts.

The irony is that the drumbeat for Clinton's withdrawal -- coming on the heels of her recent wins and right before what may be her biggest in Pennsylvania -- is rooted in the collapse of the effort to redo Michigan and Florida. The theory is that she should quit because there is no way she can win, and that there is no way she can win because two states she could win, at least one of which she actually did win, will not be counted until she gets out. Barack Obama would thus become the nominee -- not because of an honestly earned if precariously narrow lead in the final national vote, but because of two elections he would not let happen.

If that sounds like a curious way to end a nominating contest that 30 million to 33 million voters will participate in before it's done, even stranger is that the DNC is following only some of its rules -- and that the real culprits who caused this debacle are Republicans, who are now relishing the catfight they provoked.

Much More Here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wayne-barrett/could-the-republicans-pic_b_94158.html)

[tcbwriter]

This is the third posting of this article . . . .

[CGP]

This is the third posting of this article . . . .

Found 2...where is the 3rd?

This is why headlines/titles/dates need to be added to thread titles - so they can be identified and merged quickly!

[swannyj]

Well, we know this will not be picked up by main stream media. But I am going to send the link to DNC with message, count them and count them NOW, you have already screwed up royally. DNC you are a discrace and are actively participating in rigging an election.

Thanks for posting this, hopefully all who read it will send to DNC.

[LadyLuck]

I've never seen this. This Floridian thanks you for your redundancy ;)

[freethinker]

Of course Repub FL is going to do whatever it can to upset the apple cart. Its Dean's job and the DNC's job to make sure it stays on track despite! I have no sympathy. Let FL and Michigan count or revote! No wonder the republicans laugh at dems!

[tcbwriter]

Found 2...where is the 3rd?

This is why headlines/titles/dates need to be added to thread titles - so they can be identified and merged quickly!
http://www.hillaryclintonforum.net/discussion/showthread.php?t=4266

[tcbwriter]

Found 2...where is the 3rd?

This is why headlines/titles/dates need to be added to thread titles - so they can be identified and merged quickly!
Okay, now it's four times . . .

http://www.hillaryclintonforum.net/discussion/showthread.php?t=4293

[foreigner4hillary]

This is such a joke eh. Someone should ask Dean if he's a closet GOP.

In fact, ask all the idiots if they're closet GOP. Pelosi..etc..etc...Might explain why she didn't impeach Bush and Cheney. Goodness knows there's enough reason. Maybe that's why they're so....USELESS.

They're just there to posture and distract.

[pearson]

I think it's OK to repost an important article -- I sometimes miss one the first go, and a different subject line might catch my attention.

This quote raise eyebrows for me:

Of course, the column inches and moments of air time spent on how and why these two states [FL, MI] and their 366 delegates have been banished adds up to less than the attention devoted to, say, the Wyoming caucus, where a 2,066-vote Obama margin gave him a big enough delegate boost to virtually cancel out Hillary Clinton's 329,000-vote margin in the five March races.

Yikes, it is distressing that a state like Wyoming could have so much impact on the primaries when its significance in the general for the Dems will be minor!

[Jayling]

Wyoming has voted Republican for the last 44 years (http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/index.html), except in 1964 for Lyndon Johnson. Very doubtful we'll see WY turning Blue in the General Election anytime soon!

[SD]

i had not seen this article, that i can remember, so i am happy to see it now.


The irony is that the drumbeat for Clinton's withdrawal -- coming on the heels of her recent wins and right before what may be her biggest in Pennsylvania -- is rooted in the collapse of the effort to redo Michigan and Florida. The theory is that she should quit because there is no way she can win, and that there is no way she can win because two states she could win, at least one of which she actually did win, will not be counted until she gets out. Barack Obama would thus become the nominee -- not because of an honestly earned if precariously narrow lead in the final national vote, but because of two elections he would not let happen.

this is exactly what angers us in florida. the dnc seems oblivious. they keep saying "your vote will count in november". not good enough! i refuse to vote for ob. we had a fair election. count us, now. obama is a disgrace and i cannot understand why every person i point this out to can only say "well, you broke the rules. deal with it". yet, these same people call for hillary to drop out, then they will seat florida.

i want to know, in theory, if hillary were to drop out, and then florida is seated, what will our delegates do? swing to obama, who lost here? pelosi won't accept my email, dean doesn't reply, and the dnc just asks for money. i want an answer.

[AlexG]

Not just Red states always voted Red. And, minimal number of people voted in Democrat Primary. ex. In Mississippi, only 150,000 people voted and the state resident is 1.8 MILLION. It is not even 10% of the people voted. It is crazy....

Today, I got together with a bunch of my Republican friends who always voted Republicans and voted in Republican primaries. They told me that they have hard time deciding Hillary or McCain. They said Hillary would be better for their economy concern and McCain whether vote McCain this year. They all said hands down that they are concerned of ECONOMY and they all believe everything else Hillary and McCain stand for are just so identical which won't matter who wins. So, if the choice is between Hillary and McCain, they are leaning toward HILLARY. However, they all said that they do not even consider Obama as a candidate. They said, "he(Obama) is only a good speaker and that there is no substance or real (positive) change that will come if he is elected." They believe that "it should be a race between Hillary and McCain."

So... In fact, Hillary may even get a number of votes from Republican voters because everybody is so concerned about ECONOMY. There are a number of voters who voted Obama in the primary and are not Democrats, they are just voting Obama out of spite.