Michigan and Florida Have Democrats in a State

Hillary Clinton is now calling for a solution to be found to the problem of what to do concerning the voters of Florida and Michigan whose votes were discounted after their states voted earlier than the national Democratic party rules allowed.

Clinton won both disputed primaries, and she has called for the delegations to be seated. Clinton officials estimate that she would add about 180 pledged delegates to her total if the delegates were awarded on the basis of her vote percentages. Because Obama was not on the Michigan ballot, there is no way to estimate how many he would receive.

Obama campaign officials have insisted just as vociferously that, unless the DNC finds a solution, neither delegation should be seated. To simply seat the delegates, they argue, would amount to changing the rules midstream.

This is simply another example of the spectacular cynicism Hillary has brought to this campaign. Firstly, neither Obama nor John Edwards campaigned in Florida as everyone knew that the votes from there would not be counted. Indeed, in Michigan they had gone as far as to take their names off the ballot.

Secondly, it's a bit rich to listen to Hillary express her concern that these voters should not be disenfranchised when we all know that one of her plans is to aim for the Super Delegates who she thinks should be allowed to vote on the basis of who they think will win the election rather than be tied to how their constituency voted. It really does appear as if Hillary is a fan of the democratic process only when it works in her favour.

The simple fact is that even holding new elections in Florida and Michigan - whether one is for or against the idea - is changing the rules midstream. Both Florida and Michigan knew that their votes would be discounted if they held their elections early, and yet they went ahead and did so. The Hillary camp are now screaming for Florida and Michigan to be included simply because she feels this might finally be a way for her to beat Obama.

And then there is the inevitable question of who is going to pay for these new elections?

Michigan and Florida officials are confronting the obstacles to scheduling and organizing new contests and, especially, finding a way to pay for them. Elected officials in both states have resolved that taxpayers would not be asked to foot the bill, while Dean has told them not to look to the national party for support.

Florida officials have thrown out a variety of estimates for what it would cost to run a new primary, including a high of $25 million. Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm (D) said yesterday that redoing her state's primary could cost as much as $10 million.

"Although there have been a lot of conversations about how to assure that our delegation is seated, the logistics and cost of any firehouse primary may simply be insurmountable," said Liz Boyd, Granholm's press secretary.

Dean has a point. Florida and Michigan, having defied the national Democratic party by voting earlier than the rules allowed, can hardly now ask that same party to stump up the bill for their flouting of party rules.

And as Dean has also pointed out, the national party need all the money they have for an election battle against John McCain, they can hardly be expected to use that cash to bail out Florida and Michigan for their deliberate rule breaking.

The simple fact is that the rules were made clear and the Democratic party stated that no delegates from Michigan or Florida would be seated at the convention if either of these states held early elections.

On that basis Obama had his name removed from the Michigan ballot and neither Obama nor Clinton campaigned in Florida.

It is changing the rules half way through the game to say that "a solution must be found" to the Michigan and Florida problem. The solution was made perfectly clear before Florida and Michigan moved the date of their elections. It was that their delegates would not count.

And it's simply too much that the person who is now concerned that their votes must count is the same person who thinks that millions of voters wishes can be discarded at the whim of a Super Delegate.

The reaction to her tactics inside the Obama camp has been revealed by a comment from Samantha Power, Obama's key foreign policy aide, to the Scotsman newspaper:

"She is a monster, too – that is off the record – she is stooping to anything," Ms Power said, hastily trying to withdraw her remark.

She's not only stooping to anything, but her arguments - and her concern for the democratic principle - changes according to one premise: will this aid or hinder my chances of the presidency?

It really is becoming harder and harder to watch this without wincing.

Click title for full article.

Tags: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, US presidential election 2008, Democratic presidential nominee, Michigan, Florida