File this under HUH? You know this pledged delegate count is going down to the wire. I just saw Obama and Hillary ads last night. We haven't had democratic primary ads since 1988. So that was odd. Well anyway for those of you following this election drama, last spring all the states were in a mad dash to have their primaries and caucuses early so that their citizens could have a say in the presidential nomination process. Back then the group think was that by Super Tuesday the nomination would be decided so if your state fell later in the rounds, the votes there wouldn't matter. We can now see that that did not play out as we are basically at a tie, although Obama is now winning or competitive in every single demographic that there is. He is now beating Hillary across the board so if Texas and Ohio fall his way which is a strong possibility, all this may be a moot point.
Anyway, the DNC has rules about which states can hold their primaries when. Michigan and Florida up and broke the rules and the penalty was that their delegates would not be seated. Each party gets to make up its own rules about how its nomination process will work. Now all the Democratic candidates pulled their names off the ballot in Michigan except Hillary and I want to say that there was an agreement not to campaign in Florida, again, Hillary campaigned anyway. So lo and behold, she won Michigan, as she had no other competition other than "uncommitted" and she won Florida. Now she wants those delegates seated. Mind you the proclamation about the delegates came out MONTHS ago, but now Julian bond from the NAACP is weighing in.
In a Feb. 8 letter to DNC Chairman Howard Dean, NAACP chairman Julian Bond expressed "great concern at the prospect that million of voters in Michigan and Florida could ultimately have their votes completely discounted." Refusing to seat the states' delegations could remind voters of the "sordid history of racially discriminatory primaries," he said.
Since then, facing the prospect of a drawn-out delegate battle with Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign has pushed hard for both states' delegations to be seated. Clinton won Florida's primary Jan. 29 and Michigan's Jan. 15, but was the only candidate to appear on the Michigan ballot after the other candidates removed their names. SOURCE
Voters in Michigan and Florida Were Disenfranchised Months Ago
The voters of Michgan and Florida were disenfranchised when their state parties decided to flout DNC rules and hold their primaries early. I could make an equally strong argument that Minority voters were disenfranchised the moment the DNC announced that it was not going to seat any delegates. Now Hillary was the only Democrat on the ticket in Michigan and I am sure there were a bunch of Black folks ( who by the way are leaning 90% in favor of Obama) who would have voted in both Florida and Michigan had they known that the party wouldn't follow its own pronouncements.
This sounds so much like the poll tests that Black folks had to pass in order to get the right to vote. Black folks conquer one barrier and then the segregationists move the chains. First you need to own property then you needed to be able to read then you needed to pass a ridiculous multiple choice examination then you needed to somehow manage to register to vote without swinging from a tree. Its dangerous to go changing the rules AFTER the election has taken place. Can't you see how that could be used against minority voters?
Why is he coming out NOW?
My biggest HUH is based on the timing of his pronouncement. Now that the states matter, he is coming out. Maybe he spoke out earlier, but I haven't found the quote online. Feel free to post it in the comments. The DNC made this ruling MONTHS ago. I know this means nothing in the world of politics, but this is UNFAIR. You can't change the rules of an election after the fact. Can you say lawuit? There are rumblings about a caucus or something later in the summer. the only way to lay this to rest if for one of the candidates to blow out the other in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania if this thing goes that long.
I don't disagree with his argument that you basically allow the state legislature controlled by another party to make your state meaningless in the opposing party's primary, however, there are not new facts which would warrant this new plea other than the fact that this bad boy was not sewn up on Super Tuesday as predicted. But for the fact that the nomination battle is going to be within a hair, Bond probably wouldn't be sending any letters.
I don't have a problem with allowing the two states to "re-vote", but it looks ridiculous and undermines the party's chances in November because instead of voters deciding the outcome of this election, it looks to be party officials.
Also, this highlights that this may be the last Presidential go round for the Civil Rights Industrial Complex.
On a funny note, y'all remember the Obama Will.I.Am video, "Yes We Can"? Well there is a parody out for John McCain. Hysterical. I can't figure out who gets skewered more- the candidate or the celebs who appeared in the original. I love that some aspects of popular culture are reflecting what the heck is going on in the world.
