I am REALLY PLEASED because I just heard on CNN, Howard Dean commit to the notion of, “We started this process with a set of rules… and you can’t change the rules after you start” regarding seating the Florida and Michigan delegates. This is absolutely the most appropriate thing, so that the Clinton camp can’t try an end-run and grab delegates from two states where Obama was not even on the ballot.
If you are unfamiliar with the process, Florida and Michigan went early and tried to tie themselves into Super Tuesday by moving their primary dates up. The DNC told them not to, or their delegates would not be counted at the convention. They went ahead and had what are ostensibly useless primaries. Now they want the votes to count. The problem is, in Michigan for example, only Hillary left her name on the ballot – everyone else was removed – so she “won” Michigan because the only other thing you could vote for was “Unassigned.” If you wrote a candidate it then your ballot was eliminated as well.
So MI and FL deserve what they are currently getting – but I REALLY feel for the voters in those states – they effectively lost their democratic voice because the local Democratic party had a hard on and had to blow their load early. The stink of all of it is that there have been rumors that the Clinton camp was trying to get those delegates seated – which is obviously unfair, but since they’re more and more desperate they’re going to probably try every trick they can.
Well done Howard – reasonably Democrats all over applaud your fairness and objectivity. Unfortunate for the voters in MI and FL, but best for the country and the democratic process in general.
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