applesanity
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/31/dems.delegates/index.html
(Story continues, but it's really boring)
I suppose, as their own institution with their own crazy rules, the DNC can do whatever the... heck they want with their votes. Although I feel the voters in Michigan and Florida won't like the fact that in the eyes of the DNC (and because the MI and FL state dem parties messed up so much), they now count as half a vote.
This solution is going to lead to a lot of resentment among dem primary voters in FL and MI. Either they'll tow the line come November (it's such a long time away) or they'll sit home. Maybe if they're really pissed, the FL voters will spite the DNC by voting for Pat Buchanan! Anyway, I just love how if the DNC went by RNC rules for primary voting, Hillary would have won a long time ago. It's just too bad that the divisiveness in amongst the Dems isn't really helping McCain as much as I'd like, because he's being squeezed out of the headlines.
My first thought about this weekend's ruling was really wrong. But I can't resist. So here goes:
Well, it's not really fair to Hillary and the MI and FL voters that they only count as half a vote each. However, the DNC can't really give them a full vote each because Obama would never agree to it, thus leading to stalemate and no resolution. How about this compromise: Michigan and Florida Democratic primary voters should count as three-fifths.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After a day of wrangling in front of a sometimes unruly crowd, the Democratic National Committee's rules and bylaws committee reinstated all of Florida and Michigan's delegates to its party convention, with each getting a half-vote to penalize the states for moving their primaries earlier than the party had approved.
The move will leave front-runner Sen. Barack Obama's lead over rival Sen. Hillary Clinton intact.
"This results in Sen. Clinton obtaining a substantial number of additional pledged delegates, but I also understand that many members of the Florida and Michigan delegations feel satisfied that the decision was fair," Obama said after a campaign event in Aberdeen, South Dakota. "Our main goal is to get this resolved so we can immediately turn the focus of the entire party on winning Florida and Michigan and delivering on the needs of the people in Florida and Michigan -- states that are enormously important, states where a lot of people are struggling."
The Florida decision, which follows the pro-Clinton results of that state's primary, was greeted by virtually all sides as an acceptable compromise on a thorny issue. But Clinton backers vowed to fight the Michigan decision, which gave the New York senator a 10-delegate edge over Obama in a state where his name didn't appear on the primary ballot.
"Today's results are a victory for the people of Florida, who will have a voice in selecting our party's nominee and will see its delegates seated at our party's convention," said a joint-statement from Clinton advisers Harold Ickes and Tina Flournoy. "[But] we strongly object to the committee's decision to undercut its own rules in seating Michigan's delegates without reflecting the votes of the people of Michigan."
With no Michigan or Florida delegates included, Obama led Clinton by 202 delegates.
The committee's ruling gave Clinton 105 pledged delegates from Florida and 69 from Michigan, with a total of 87 votes.
Obama received 67 pledged delegates from Florida and 59 from Michigan, casting a total of 63 votes.
That tally leaves Obama ahead by the equivalent of 174 delegates.
If each delegate had been granted a full vote, Clinton still would have trailed Obama.
(Story continues, but it's really boring)
I suppose, as their own institution with their own crazy rules, the DNC can do whatever the... heck they want with their votes. Although I feel the voters in Michigan and Florida won't like the fact that in the eyes of the DNC (and because the MI and FL state dem parties messed up so much), they now count as half a vote.
This solution is going to lead to a lot of resentment among dem primary voters in FL and MI. Either they'll tow the line come November (it's such a long time away) or they'll sit home. Maybe if they're really pissed, the FL voters will spite the DNC by voting for Pat Buchanan! Anyway, I just love how if the DNC went by RNC rules for primary voting, Hillary would have won a long time ago. It's just too bad that the divisiveness in amongst the Dems isn't really helping McCain as much as I'd like, because he's being squeezed out of the headlines.
My first thought about this weekend's ruling was really wrong. But I can't resist. So here goes:
Well, it's not really fair to Hillary and the MI and FL voters that they only count as half a vote each. However, the DNC can't really give them a full vote each because Obama would never agree to it, thus leading to stalemate and no resolution. How about this compromise: Michigan and Florida Democratic primary voters should count as three-fifths.