"I will be sending a letter to Sen. Obama and to [Democratic National Committee] Chairman [Howard] Dean expressing my strong belief that this issue about the voters in Florida and Michigan is a civil rights issue," Clinton said.
"We need to stand up and say the Democratic Party is smart enough to figure out how to be sure we don't disenfranchise two states we have to win when it comes to the November election."
Let me ask you an honest question, do you think that Hillary would be making these claims if she had won the nomination by now? Would it be a civil rights issue then?
3 comments:
I'm assuming that question is rhetorical?
I have a comment and a question. Let's first get two things out of the way. 1 - I voted for Clinton, but 2 - I'm a Democrat first and will vote for Obama if he's our candidate. Everyone continues to say that Hillary can not reach the 2,025 delegates needed to win the nomination, but no one is talking about Obama not being able to get there either. The rules clearly state that if no one is able to get to 2,025 then the Superdelegates chose the nominee. Why then is it that he should automatically get the nomination because he's slightly ahead? The math as it stands right now is Obama at 49% of the popular vote and Hillary at 47%. Out of the 3,531 delegates already committed to one party or the other, Obama leads by just 150 or so. All the numbers are very close. If no one gets to 2,025 then it is the responsibility of the Superdelegates to pick the candidate with the best chance of winning in Novemember. Am I wrong here? I will support Obama, but I'm afraid he will not beat McCain in November, where I believe Clinton will. Another thing, please don't raise the Florida & Michigan debate. Those are 2 states we need if we're going to take the White House in November. The Obama camp should not argue against them not getting counted, but try to come to an agreement on how to include them, because believe me, if Obama wins the nomination, but he's looked at as the party responsible for not counting their votes we will be in trouble come November as the GOP will be sure to remind Florida and Michigan who didn't want their votes counted.
Jose, first off, thanks for your comment and for getting the conversation going here on my blog. I appreciate it!
Second, I too am planning no voting for the Democratic nominee, regardless of who that is.
I agree that it looks like neither Clinton nor Obama will get to the 2,025 delegates. You are right that the rules state that the Superdelegates get to choose the nominee if neither make it to 2,025. (By the way, I hate that rule, and I think it should be changed... but that is the rule no doubt, and I believe that both Barack and Hillary realize and plan on going by that rule.) You are correct that the numbers are very close.
I disagree with you that Hillary has a better chance against McCain, but I guess that's a disagreement we just have to be OK with.
As far as the Florida and Michigan debacle, I totally disagree with you. There is absolutely no way their votes should count (or have a re-vote), per the rules of the DNC. You spoke earlier that the rules should be followed with the Superdelegates, then why shouldn't they be followed here? Those two states ignored the DNC's rules and where punished for that. All the Democratic Presidential hopefuls agreed to these rules at the onset, and now that Hillary needs those votes she is making it a "civil rights" issue. She didn't stand up for them before hand, when she didn't think it would matter. This, to me, is Hillary "playing politics." (Which is a huge reason why I am not supporting her... she plays politics.)
Those two states should have their delegates split at the convention for disregarding the rules of the DNC. Why should they be rewarded by making a huge decision for doing something wrong? If the democrats of those states have a problem with that, they should contact their local democratic offices and let the officials there know how upset they are for breaking the DNC rules.
I look forward to your, and others', response as I love the dialouge!
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