by Frank James
If the disputed Democratic delegates from Florida and Michigan are to be seated at this summer's Democratic National Convention, it's up to officials in those states to make it happen, according to Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean.
And don't expect the DNC to kick in any money, he added.
As the Associated Press reports this morning:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean urged Florida and Michigan party officials to come up with plans to repeat their presidential nominating contests so that their delegates can be counted.
"All they have to do is come before us with rules that fit into what they agreed to a year and a half ago, and then they'll be seated," Dean said during a round of interviews Thursday on network and cable TV news programs.
The two state parties will have to find the funds to pay for new contests without help from the national party, Dean said.
"We can't afford to do that. That's not our problem. We need our money to win the presidential race," he said...
Yes, we're sure Florida's Republican Gov. Charlie Crist will be won over by the argument that Dean needs to hold onto his millions to put Senators Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in the Oval Office.
That would be the same Crist who's been mentioned by some as a possible vice presidential pick for Sen. John McCain who has won the nomination.
But Crist has already indicated a willingness to host another Democratic nominating contest in Florida. It's Michigan that has been reluctant heretofore to underwrite another contest in that state.
Some cynics have suspected Crist of wanting to encourage the internecine Democratic bloodletting to continue as long as possible to help his party keep the White House. He wouldn't do that, would he?
Nevertheless, Michigan's Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm joined Crist yesterday in a joint statement demanding that their states' delegates be counted. Dean's indicating that he hears them. He feels their pain, as another politician was known to famously say.
But they made the mess by violating party rules in moving their primaries to earlier dates. He wants them to clean it up. Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?
Here's the rest of that AP story:
Officials in Michigan and Florida are showing renewed interest in holding repeat presidential nominating contests so that their votes will count in the epic Democratic campaign.
The Michigan governor, top officials in Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign, and Florida's state party chair all are now saying they would consider holding a sort of do-over contest by June. That's a change from the previous insistence from officials in both states that the primaries they held in January should determine how their delegates are allocated.
Clinton won both contests, but the results were meaningless because the elections violated national party rules.
The Democratic National Committee stripped both states of all delegates for holding the primaries too early, and all Democratic candidates — including Clinton and rival Barack Obama — agreed not to campaign in either state. Obama's name wasn't even on the Michigan ballot.
Florida and Michigan moved up their dates to protest the party's decision to allow Iowa and New Hampshire to go first, followed by South Carolina and Nevada, giving them a disproportionate influence on the presidential selection process.
But no one predicted the race would still be very close at this point in the year.
"The rules were set a year and a half ago," Dean said. "Florida and Michigan voted for them, then decided that they didn't need to abide by the rules. Well, when you are in a contest you do need to abide by the rules. Everybody has to play by the rules out of respect for both campaigns and the other 48 states."
(Corrected to reflect that Florida's Gov. Charlie Crist hasn't agreed to have the state pay for another primary as was incorrectly stated earlier.)
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Comments
From the wording of this post Frank James isn't even concerned with pretending he's not the PR arm of the DNC, anymore.
It's "reasonable" to revote without support from the national party even though both states don't have the money to hold "do over" elections, after all.
Everything is Charlie Crist's fault, after all, even though the bill to move the primary up passed both houses of the Florida legislature with only 2 votes against it. Even though Jennifer Granholm presides over the people's republic of Michigan with a democratic statehouse and senate. This is laughable.
Posted by: Jeff | March 6, 2008 10:35 AM
Something stinks...and isn't coming from Denmark. Once again, if they signed off on this a year and a half ago, sounds to me like their problem.
Posted by: bill "Hussein" r. | March 6, 2008 10:39 AM
Granholm, this is your mess, and for the sake of the few remaining intelligent people who actually continue to LIVE in your state, FOLLOW THE RULES. Either don't seat your delegates or revote, giving all canidates time to get thier message across.
Good for Dean to stand up for what is right. Michigan knew the consequences of moving up their date and they choose to ignore them. The best part is that now Michigan would have to fund a second election. I'm sure they have that in their budget. HA!
Granholm wanted to draw attention to the problems within her state by moving up the primary - and she's just highlighted herself as the number one problem. So fund a second election with the money the state does not have. Then, in the end, that the only thing that will result is that she will not be re-elected as Governor of what was once, a long time ago, a Great Lake state.
Posted by: FORMER Michigan Resident | March 6, 2008 11:08 AM
These two states shot themselves in the foot. What credibility will the party have if it can't follow its own rules? If all the names were on the ballot, maybe an argument could be made to count the delegates. But right now, it wouldn't be representative or fair.
Posted by: DD | March 6, 2008 11:13 AM
"But they made the mess by violating party rules in moving their primaries to earlier dates. He wants them to clean it up. Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?"
Yes, it certainly does. When the boss tells you not to do something, and you do it anyway, don't be surprised about the reprimand. MI and FL ignored the rules and now they've got to suffer the consequences.
Posted by: weinerdog43 | March 6, 2008 11:21 AM
If Florida and Michigan are forgiven for breaking the rules that they signed off on, you'd better believe that the American people will lose all faith in the political process. This is wrong and if they do this, I can assure you that this Democrat will no longer be a participant in the process. Yes, I will stay home in November. There is no way Dean or the Governor from Florida can justify this. Enough is enough!
Posted by: Deborah | March 6, 2008 11:30 AM
I'm not sure about Crist and Florida, but I don't think Granholm will agree to fund a new election with state money. There's no way she'll be able to justify it with Michigan's lousy economy. And not doing it won't doom her in the state, either, she'll just blame it on Howard and the national party for withholding the money.
Posted by: Jeff | March 6, 2008 11:55 AM
If Florida and Michigan are forgiven for breaking the rules that they signed off on, you'd better believe that the American people will lose all faith in the political process. This is wrong and if they do this, I can assure you that this Democrat will no longer be a participant in the process. Yes, I will stay home in November. There is no way Dean or the Governor from Florida can justify this. Enough is enough!
Posted by: Debmood | March 6, 2008 12:25 PM
I heard something this morning that makes sense: the two states ALREADY have been punished, because they were not part of the process during the primary season. If a way can be found to accommodate the voters in two big states, wouldn't that be the best solution? I heard one person advocate that the campaigns pay for the elections -- heck, they're bringing in huge money, so that could work.
I love how people talk about "playing by the rules." I wonder how many of them actually do? I wonder how, when it comes to their kids, say, and some school rule these people deem ridiculous -- do they make their kids play by the rules? I bet a lot of these people bend rules all the time.
I favor a revote. Not a caucus, with wacky confusing rules, but a revote. Don't disenfranchise 5 million voters. Let their voices be heard, eventhough it's late in the day. The party and the country will be better off.
Posted by: Julie, St. Charles | March 6, 2008 12:26 PM
The Democrats don't believe in Democracy.
Posted by: Alice Palmer | March 6, 2008 12:30 PM
There is no way Dean
Posted by: Debmood | March 6, 2008 12:25 PM
While I agree with you in priciple...I don't know why you would blame Dean. Fl and Mi agreed to this over a year ago, and Dean is holding firm that this is their mess. He too agrees that counting these votes is wrong.
Posted by: bill "Hussein" r. | March 6, 2008 1:11 PM
From the wording of this post Frank James isn't even concerned with pretending he's not the PR arm of the DNC, anymore.
It's "reasonable" to revote without support from the national party even though both states don't have the money to hold "do over" elections, after all.
Everything is Charlie Crist's fault, after all, even though the bill to move the primary up passed both houses of the Florida legislature with only 2 votes against it. Even though Jennifer Granholm presides over the people's republic of Michigan with a democratic statehouse and senate. This is laughable.
Posted by: Jeff | March 6, 2008 10:35 AM
I think Frank James is following the story as it has been reported in the national media all day. I also think Mr Dean has a very good point. I'd say there is a less than 50% chance that a second Michigan will happen.
Posted by: Logic Prisoner | March 6, 2008 1:49 PM
Alice, We don't believe in the Republican's version of democracy where you change the rules in the middle of the game to benefit your candidate. Or was that what you meant?
Posted by: Tom O | March 6, 2008 1:58 PM
Hilary and Barack can each kick in 10 million to let both states have a publicly funded election. It will stop all the kitchen sink/urinal tactics--at least temporarily. It's crap like this that will make me only work in the future on ballot issues, like the 2nd choice/instant runoff ballots.
Posted by: Lisa Barr | March 6, 2008 2:44 PM
I love how people talk about "playing by the rules." I wonder how many of them actually do? I wonder how, when it comes to their kids, say, and some school rule these people deem ridiculous -- do they make their kids play by the rules? I bet a lot of these people bend rules all the time.
Posted by: Julie, St. Charles | March 6, 2008 12:26 PM
You right Julie..rules are only made to be broken. I think I won't pay taxes this year...it's OK with you isn't it. If I get caught..will you defend me?
Posted by: bill "Hussein" r. | March 6, 2008 4:09 PM