DNC Saturday Meetup

these are the peeps that will decide how many florida and michigan delegates will be seated. and it is a question of how many not if. obama doesn't have to agree to seat any, but he has ALWAYS contended that they would be seated in a FAIR manner. FAIRNESS, however, isn't something hillary's crowd understands. here's an update. clinton's lawyer is demanding all delegates be seated and not award obama ANY delegates in michigan, so perhaps hillary should get fewer than obama is willing to give. all the drama will be live streamed at cnn.com.

cnn: In a letter addressed to the co-chairs of the committee, Clinton lawyer Lyn Utrecht said both states have already been sufficiently punished because of lack of campaign activity.
Florida Democrats voted 50 percent for Clinton and 33 percent for Obama.
"It is a bedrock principle of our Party that every vote must be counted, and thereby every elected delegate should be seated," Utrecht wrote.
"The States have already been punished because no campaign activity
was conducted in Florida or Michigan. There is no requirement or need to punish
their duly elected delegates who represent the 2.3 million voters in Michigan
and Florida who participated in the nominating process." Read the full letter (pdf)

here's a q&a of how tomorrow's throw down will work.

talking points for obama supporters attending.

Dean's 25 May Decide Michigan and Florida

politico offers a look at 25 individuals who could decide what to do about michigan and florida.

If, as Hillary Rodham Clinton has suggested, her campaign takes the fight to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations all the way to the Democratic National Convention this summer, the fate of her challenge is all but certain to hinge on 25 individuals appointed to the Credentials Committee by party Chairman Howard Dean.

The Credentials Committee, which also includes 161 members selected from the states based on primary and caucus results, is the 186-member body that will help determine whether to seat the two rogue delegations.

Since it appears virtually impossible for Clinton to win enough of the 161 members to vote out a “majority report” supporting her position — and it is unlikely that Barack Obama will win enough of them, either — the Dean 25 are in a position to hold the balance of power on a procedural matter that could play a pivotal role in deciding the Democratic presidential nomination.

Obama: Clinton Disingenuous

clinton has tried to get michigan and florida delegate to count as is. obama calls her out for caring only when it matters to her.
CNN

In the wide-ranging interview, Obama also hit back at rival Clinton's recent claims that he is standing in the way of revotes in Florida and Michigan.

"Sen. Clinton, I have to say on this, has been completely disingenuous. She said when she was still trying to compete with the votes in Iowa and New Hampshire that Michigan and Florida wouldn't count," he said.

"Then, as soon as she got into trouble politically and it looked like she would have no prospects of winning the nomination without having them count, suddenly she's extraordinarily concerned with the voters there."

"I understand the politics of it, but let's be clear that it's politics," he added. "I want the Michigan delegation and the Florida delegation to be seated. And however the Democratic National Committee determines we can get that done, I'm happy to abide by those rules."

Those comments come hours after Clinton made a trip to Michigan and directly urged Obama to join her call to count the Michigan and Florida votes or hold new elections in those states. more

The Good and Bad In All of Us
Poll: Democrats Prefer Obama
Who Can Beat McCain?
On the Minds of Superdelegates 1
On the Minds of Superdelegates 2
On the Minds of Superdelegates 3
On the Minds of Superdelegates 4
On the Minds of Superdelegates 5
On the Minds of Superdelegates 6

Obama on Michigan and Florida

the candidates knew the rules. michigan and florida knew the democratic national convention rules, and they were warned that if they broke the rules, then their delegates wouldn't count.

but both states flaunted the rules and moved up the date of their primaries in order to gain more power in the nomination process. in other words, they got greedy. ironically, if they hadn't gotten greedy they would have had more power.

the democratic party stripped michigan and florida of their delegates.

obama followed the rules and his name wasn't on the ballot in michigan. obama says he didn't campaign in florida or michigan and that's how voters learn about a candidate, so it hardly seems fair to make the votes count.

and now a desperate clinton will do anything to cheat the rules. she says the delegates should stand as is. perhaps she's afraid of the possibility that a do-over would result in an obama win. wouldn't that be sweet.

it isn't fair to the voters, who didn't have anything to do with the power people's lame decision making, so a do-over seems fair.

but how to get a fair do-over?

the governor of florida charlie crist has the gall to argue that there shouldn't be a do-over, that the delegates should be counted as is.

mail-in votes have been nixed by both obama and clinton. here's the latest do-over plans from florida and michigan and a memo from the florida democratic party.


the bottom line is everyone obama, clinton, the DNC, florida and michigan have to agree on a compromise:

To begin with, the framework for any do-over contest would require the consent of the state parties, the DNC, and both Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Both states would have to submit plans for a new contest by June 10 to the DNC.

Who Can Beat McCain?

Obama Up in Polls

Clinton: Win At All Costs

in an interview on NPR's morning edition this morning, hillary clinton restated her intention to win at all costs.
on michigan and florida, she said the delegates need to count because she won those states fair and square. if they don't count then there has to be a redo
fair enough on the redo but counting the delegates?
steve inskeep asked her how could it be fair if obama's name wasn't even on the ballot in michigan?
clinton: "that was his choice."
she said obama chose not to put his name on the ballot. "most people took their name off the ballot. I didn't," she said.
most people were abiding by the rules.
she defended her foreign policy role saying she was "part of a team."
steve asked if obama leads in delegates at the end and the superdelegates vote for you (i'm being blunt in his phrasing) will that be fair?
clinton: yes
she also, once again, dismissed obama's wins in small states.
is this what we want in a president? a political schemer? someone who throws fairness out the window when it comes to getting what she wants?
here is obama's "morning edition" interview
obama says that a compromise is necessary. but no one knows how that will look.
Who Can Beat McCain?
Obama’s Pennsylvania Strategy
It’s Still Over for Clinton
Clinton’s Deliberate Race Baiting

Pelosi: Rules are Rules But Politics are Politics

in a san francisco chronicle story house speaker nancy pelosi asked the clinton and obama camps to stop sniping.

she also said "rules are rules" as far as michigan and florida being tossed because the states didn't abide by the DNC rules. then she said that politics are politics and that michigan and florida will have to be accomodated somehow.

"The rules are the rules. You really can't say, 'OK, well, we had the rules, but never mind,' " Pelosi said. "Having said that, the politics are the politics, and it's going to be up to the Democratic National Committee, the states involved and the campaigns to resolve this issue."

Pelosi said she's staying out of the fracas because, as chair of the party's convention in Denver in August, she may be called upon to referee the dispute.

"As chair of the convention, I want to make sure I can moderate the matter in a fair way," she said. "But I mean, let's face it: Barack Obama wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan, so how can you say that that was an election? I think Florida has a bigger case. But in each of the cases, they are outside the rules and an accommodation is going to have to be made."

No Do Overs in Michigan and Florida

DNC chairman howard dean said sorry michigan and florida, no do overs. both states opted early on in the democratic nomination process not to follow the rules of the game. michigan and florida are one part of clinton's strategy to win at all costs.

Michigan and Florida have two options: either submit a new plan for a process for choosing their convention delegates, or appeal to the Convention Credentials Committee, which resolves issues about the seating of delegates.

"The Democratic Nominee will be determined in accordance with party rules, and out of respect for the presidential campaigns and the states that did not violate party rules, we are not going to change the rules in the middle of the game," he said.

update 3-6: obama's name wasn't even on the ballot in michigan, yet clinton is insisting the votes be counted.

Clinton, the New York senator and former first lady, was the only leading Democrat to appear on ballots in Michigan and made a handful of allowed fund-raising appearances in Florida in the last days before the vote, while other candidates skipped the state. She won both contests.

Now, as she trails Obama by 100-plus delegates, Clinton has called for the Michigan and Florida delegations to be seated at the party's convention in Denver, Colorado. cnn

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