Rules are rules.
The discussion on Face the Nation this morning on how to seat the Florida and Michigan delegates is an important one. Everyone wants the voices of the people in these two states to be heard. But how?
Rules are rules, and the leadership of both parties in Michigan and Florida broke them by moving their primaries to January despite the DNC's warning that their delegates would not be counted. They knew what would happen. As Howard Dean reminds us, the rules were set a year and a half ago, and the states agreed to them. Still, they went ahead with their early primaries and the result is that their voters have been disenfranchised. So now, they have to fix the resulting mess. The question is how to do that in a way that is fair to both candidates.
First, there has to be some opportunity for the people to get to know the candidates. The results of the early contests in those states can not stand, obviously, since the candidates didn't have an opportunity to campaign and Obama's name wasn't even on the Michigan ballot. Hillary tried to 'game' these primaries, by claiming a victory in states she knew were in violation of the rules. Here's what happened in Michigan:
... in August 2007, Clinton, Edwards, Obama, all signed a pledge not to "campaign or participate" in Michigan or Florida. Then, in December, Clinton told New Hampshire Public Radio that the votes of Michigan would not count.In January she refused to remove her name from the Michigan ballot, even though John Edwards and Barack Obama, honoring the pledge all three signed in August, removed their names. On January 15, she "won" the Michigan Democratic primary. On January 25, she released a statement urging that the delegates pledged by Michigan's primary be seated.
Still, not the fault of the Michigan and Florida voters.
However this plays out, it will have to be agreed to by both candidates, the states and the Democratic party, and that's not going to be easy. Of course, we do have to wonder about Sen. Clinton's word and whether or not she'll keep it this time.
On Face the Nation, Senator Kerry and Florida Senator Bill Nelson discussed the options.
Comments (2)
Posted by Sam | March 10, 2008 4:48 PM
On "Face the Nation" John Kerry said that Hillary Clinton was the only one on the Michigan primary ballot. He said that every other candidate removed their name. That's not true. I think he should tell the truth and correct his statement. He probably just didn't know the truth, but if he would check the facts, he should tell the truth. What the American people need is the truth. He should also explain why Barack removed his name from the ballot. Not because it was asked or demanded by anybody. Not because having one's name on the ballot was against the rules or changing the rules. There is a very good reason we will never hear the words President Kerry. We might hear the words President Obama but only if he tells the truth.
Posted by karennj | March 10, 2008 9:34 PM
To Sam,
What Senator Kerry said was essentially true - all the major candidates, other than HRC were not on the ballot. The DNC extracted pledges from the candidates not to participate in the election due to the date change. HRC is even on record saying that it would not count.
Howard Dean wrote a letter on August 31, 2007 asking the campaigns to commit to adhering to the 2008 Delgate Selection Rules. The next day, September 1, 2007, the Clinton campaign issued the foolowing statement. "Clinton Campaign Official, Public Statement on the DNC's Michigan and Florida pledge:
"We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process. And we believe the DNC's rules and its calender provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role. Thus, we will be signing the pledge to adhere to the DNC approved nominating calendar."
By November 2007, the situation was as described in the NYT. "Michigan has been virtually ignored by the Democratic candidates, most of whom have signed a pledge not to campaign there. All of the major candidates, with the exception of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, have officially withdrawn their names from the Michigan ballot."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/22/us/politics/22calendar.html?scp=5&sq=Michigan+vote+2008&st=nyt
By the time Michigan voted the only names on the ballot were Kuchinich, who waited a day to long to request his name be taken off, Gravel, and Dodd, who had already dropped out were on the ballot. There are many quotes of Clinton saying the election won't count - here is a link to her saying it in an NPR show. http://www.nhpr.org/node/13858
Therefore, what Senator Kerry said was essentially true. There was an agreement that Clinton bought into that the MI primary would not count. All the major candidates except Clinton were not on the ballot. Now she is saying the primary should count. The points the Senator made are correct. Going into detail on candidates who never went about 1 percent would only be needless detail.
There is no one in DC who has a stronger reputation for telling the truth than Senator Kerry.