« Racism and the allegory of the Boston Red Sox | Main | Sexism in Trade Professions » Half and Half29 May 2008 11:22 am [Matt] The DNC's lawyers rule against Hillary Clinton and in favor of the rules. It continues to be the case that the easiest way to resolve this situation in a way that doesn't alienate Michigan and Florida voters in November is for Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race. Comments (25)
this post is so sexist. 
You mean and not laying the groundwork for a convention fight, ultimately disenfranchising those of us who voted for Obama? The latest cognitive dissonance from the Clintonistas is to argue against the very possibility of the caucuses as a legitimate way of choosing a nominee. Because party-building activities in states where Democrats could use some party-building are totally to be avoided.
Having grown up in Iowa, this whole 'primaries count more than caucuses' thing is starting to really piss me off.
It is not the responsibility of any candidate to "drop out of the race" before the race is over. No candidate has the required number of delegates to be nominated, counting Michigan and Florida or not. The DNC has selectively enforced their rules by practicing capital punishment on Michigan and Florida's delegations, but allowing New Hampshire off without any consequences for scheduling their primary out of sequence.
Listening to the radio earlier today, I heard a local political pundit expressing the opinion that "Michigan needs to be included in the nominating process." I couldn't help but wonder, though, whether the nominating process really needs Michigan... They knew what the consequences were of moving the primary date, and they did it anyway, thinking they could intimidate the party into changing the rules. That's not the sort of thinking that needs to be rewarded.
True. That's what the DNC counted on moving this to post-February. And it's lent a particular flair to Clinton's battle on the states' behalf, when it's been clear for months that nothing would speed this to a resolution like Clinton dropping out of the race and removing any pretense that the votes were decisive. The whole mess was created in the fall--the DNC should have given them, say, 1/4 or less delegations and allowed campaigning. Then they would have watched their former prime, full-count real estate slip on by in the calendar a few weeks later. Primaries that don't count/might count/we don't have anything else but they shouldn't totally count are bound to leave everyone unhappy. But lacking a time machine we need to just plug along, seat some sort of delegation in a way that discourages other states from bolting. The Clintons will be wailing regardless of the outcome. Any outcome. Even the Lanny Davis position won't save her. So work over them, resting assured that if a) primaries are over; b) the balance of SDs come out to put Obama over the top June 3rd (preferable) or 4th, so the party unites--then covering what Bill, Hillary, and Lanny have to say will rapidly become the territory of cub reporters caught doing embarassing things with the photocopier. Any "oh no what will Hillary do???!!!" position will, perforce, focus attention on what she does.
Tim K - Capital punishment? Hyperbolize much? There is no way HRC can get more pledged delegates than Obama, no matter what happens to FL and MI. And no matter what, the DNC will be disenfranchising voters somehow. Because if you Do count FL and MI, you disenfranchise all of those voters of didn’t vote because they thought their votes wouldn’t count and even worse, wanted to vote for Obama in MI but couldn’t because his name wasn’t on the ballot. If HRC would just drop out after June 3rd, a more harmonious solution could probably be found. As it stands now, the only way to end this mess is for the Superdelegates to en mass come out and choose Obama as has been rumored for weeks.
TimK: Exactly. It't not the responsibility of any knight to stop tilting at anything vaguelly windmillish. Even if it's hurting all the other knights. TimK Too bad Hillary's team negotiated that arrangement and voted for it, and she repeatedly supported it. Until it became inconvenient for Hillary Clinton. She was for these rules before she was against them. You may believe her that it's a "civil rights issue" along the lines of Jim Crow and Zimbabwe, but there's not enough KoolAid in the world for that position to carry the day. It couldn't be craven political expedience that would make her vote for something and now change her mind to insist that what she voted for is Mugabe-like. Nah.
Ricky Martin has endorsed Senator Clinton: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hMKH-aRkIczSfhvhikSv0-VTvjoQ Obviously he sees something you clowns don't.
Tim K - keep us posted when Gary Coleman comes out for the Clinton machine. I am sure that will turn the tide...
"Ricky Martin has endorsed Senator Clinton: Obviously he sees something you clowns don't." This is a prank, right? Someone more familar with his music can make some hay out of this, I'm sure.
"Ricky Martin has endorsed Senator Clinton: Obviously he sees something you clowns don't." This is a prank, right? This is really Tim K? Someone more familar with his music can make some hay out of this, I'm sure.
Hillary has been livin la vida loca ever since she placed third in Iowa. There must be at least one sane person in the Clinton campaign and I feel sorry for that person.
She's into superstitions black cats and voodoo dolls.
She's into superstitions black cats and voodoo dolls. LMAO!!!
Wow, you know your campaign is dead when you begin touting a Ricky Martin endorsment.
Raindog: Of course that comment about Ricky Martin wasn't from me. I couldn't care less who that guy supports, or Tim Robbins, or Chuck Norris, Elton John, Ben Affleck or Oprah. The reference to capital punishment is what some people call a metaphor. The DNC chose to use the maximum available sanction against Florida and Michigan by removing ALL of their delegates, while it chose to use no sanction against New Hampshire ad actually granted them a waiver to the rules.
Tim K: "No candidate has the required number of delegates to be nominated, counting Michigan and Florida or not." As the Vietnamese officer said, "That is true. It is also irrelevant." Who's closer, Tim? What evidence do you have that Clinton has ANY chance of regaining the difference? None. Nothing but your mouth. Thought so.
"...wanted to vote for Obama in MI but couldn't because his name wasn't on the ballot..." Wrong! Obama's inner polling indicated he would lose in MI by big numbers. He removed his name from the ballot but made an arrangement with Michigan's Democratic Party that his name would be represented in the race by the word "uncommitted" and to have that advertised. Other candidates such as Edwards joined the uncommitted box. Voters in MI knew that a vote for Obama or Edwards meant you voted uncommitted. What's the evidence? The uncommitted received 40.7%, while Clinton received 56%. The other candidates received the rest of the votes. "The uninformed journalists and Obama supporters have often said Clinton was the only name on the ballot. Not so."
The DNC has selectively enforced their rules by practicing capital punishment on Michigan and Florida's delegations, but allowing New Hampshire off without any consequences for scheduling their primary out of sequence. I didn't spend much time on the internet today but this is by far the greatest thing I've read all day. 1) Isn't NH always next after Iowa? I love it. More trolls like this, please.
"The reference to capital punishment is what some people call a metaphor." Yes, as the proud bearer of a BA in History and an MA in Education, (from actual accredited Universities, not clown colleges or something), I'm vaguely familiar with the notion of a metaphor. In my opinion, it was a hyperbolic metaphor.
"The DNC has selectively enforced their rules by practicing capital punishment on Michigan and Florida's delegations, but allowing New Hampshire off without any consequences for scheduling their primary out of sequence. I didn't spend much time on the internet today but this is by far the greatest thing I've read all day. 1) Isn't NH always next after Iowa? I love it. More trolls like this, please." Yeah, I totally missed this the first time around. What the hell.
The funniest thing about this post is Matt Yglesias does not have a clue if the DNC stood up for the DNC Rules or not. But he proclaims the DNC stands up for the "rules." Which rules Matt? Can you even intelligently discuss even one of them?
Matt; Take the time to actually read the rules before posting any meretricious tripe. I know it's your blog, but someone with your "intellect" ought to know what he is authoritatively writing about.
Comments closed June 12, 2008. |
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Heads in the Sand
Clinton Motto: Don't Disenfranchise Voters; Let the Superdelegates Do It.
Posted by Ryan S | May 29, 2008 11:50 AM