As my colleague has pointed out, I was vague in my statements and left room for criticism. So, I will go through his statement and try to further explain why HIllary is in this race.
My delegate count, as depicted 6 votes separating the parties includes all "super delegates" that have publicly declared their support and vote for one of the parties. For all intensive purposes, this is the likely outcome.
Now, to his points:
First, It is misleading to say that Texas wont put her in the lead, because Texas and Ohio both go to the polls on March 4th. Even without super delegates, a win in both states could put her in the lead. Assuming she wins those states, if we factor in Pennsylvania, she is ahead. Further, when you factor in pledged super delegates, she is well ahead. This means she is not out of the race. Huckabee... he is out of the race.
Second, to suggest that Hillary' campaign strategy is somehow illustrative of her policy/platform is unreasonable. The fact is that Hillary and Obama attract different segment of the Democratic vote. Demographics play a role. Primary strategies don't diminish voting records, initiatives, and plans.
Third, As for Florida, the fact is that 1.2 million people came out and voted for Hillary. That is impressive and should not be diminished. To ignore such a large group of voters doesn't seem very democratic. Even if the delegate votes are withheld, don't think super delegates will ignore these people in justifying their vote for HIllary. As for Michigan, a revote is not beyond possibility. I understand rules are rules, but this is a Democracy, I think its in the Democratic Party's interest to reconsider.
Fourth, its ironic to associate any politician with "slimy creatures." They all associate with rich people that are disliked and I don't think its fair to bash any of the candidates for this. For instance, Obama and McCain are both friendly with George Soro's (convicted of insider trading and a general scumbag).
Fifth, Lets see how it plays out.
Monday, February 18, 2008
The Colvin Report: 5...4...3... Still Waiting
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6 comments:
as a floridan, i cannot agree that florida or michigan delegates should be seated. it is fundamentally unfair to set rules, agree to those rules only to renege when your campaign is in trouble.
the same would be true if obama was trying to seat the FL and MI delegates.
voters should never be disenfranchised; that was a mistake made by the DNC when they made this decision. no candidates were to campaign in those states and none did. of course, the only reason that HRC gave any attention to the FL primary was to divert attention from the SC blowout.
but this mess is not her fault, it is that of the DNC who shouldve taken note of the republicans who cut FL's & MI's delegates in half rather than completely disenfranchising the millions of voters of those states.
still, there is no way to justify seating these delegates.
none.
Well, justification or not, the DNC rules provide that any contested delegates will be voted on at the convention.
I think they need to reach some compromise that does not disenfranchise all these votes who came out regardless of the DNC original vote to ignore their vote. If not, it could turn into a bitter fight.
Even if not, I think the super delegates of FL and MI will be swayed towards HIllary.
Here is a Blog Post By another Floridian who voted.
"As a voters in Florida who did go to the polls and voted, I have no idea why you would feel
our votes should not count just because someone in a political party decides they don't
count. The fact is the state legislature in Florida, which is controlled by the Republicans
decided to move up the primary dates. The Democratic party took it upon themselves
to punish the democratic voters in Florida by stating that the votes would not count.
What you should be asking is how the heck does a political party have the right to void the vote of the citizens of any state. States should be allowed to conduct primaries anytime they want to and the political parties should have absolutely nothing to say about it. Prior to the Florida primary I contacted the DNC and advised them of my outrage concerning their decision in this matter. I am a
registered Independent in Florida so I could not vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary but I have always voted for the Democratic candidate in every Presidential election since I first voted in 1968. I advised the DNC that if the Delegates were not allowed to be seated and their votes counted at the convention then I have no intention of voting for the Democratic candidate in November. I will not vote for McCain but I will just write in another name on my ballot. There are 8 people I know that are all registered Democrats
and they feel the same way I do. Our feeling is that if you don't want or need us now. Don't come looking for our vote in November. This decision by the DNC was as stupid as it can get when you consider they have alienated many of their voters in two of the most important states in the November election.
Not too smart if you ask me."
I can't disagree. The decision was idiotic. Again, under no circumstance do I think voters should be disenfranchised. But they made the rule, and the delegates should not be seated because there is no fair way to do so.
what about the people who didn't vote because they were told that their vote would not count? seating the delegates without a new vote disenfranchises them.
to hold another contest, a caucus as has been discussed, seems unfair to hillary because it's clear that obama does better in caucuses.
personally, i think it'll be a bitter fight anyway. either choice is wrong, and it'll come down to choosing the lesser of two evils.
i'm not sure that i know which that is.
You're right, there may not be any real solution to this, they may have to flip flop around for the good of the people. It sucks that many might not have come to vote, but I think far more voted then did not. 1.7M total is more then usually come out in FL, and that is the case because they allowed weeks for people to send in ballots. I think they either have to offer a period for those who did not vote to vote or its going to get bad at the convention.
At the convention, there is apparently some committee... maybe you know more about it then i do. Apparently, they have the final say and can decide if any contested delegates will be counted.
If it does not get resolved before than, Hillary will either win it with the vote now or it will count for no one.
I have no idea how I would deal with it... its a mess, but I think something needs to be done, no matter the outcome.
I remember FL being a key state in 2000... I think the Dems would be throwing the state if they do nothing.
it's a lose-lose situation. democrats have shot themselves in the foot.
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