Since Christmas we've been talking about the story of Betsie Gallardo, a woman who is dying of cancer in a Florida prison.
When we last met, she was being starved to death, literally, at the direction of the Florida Department of Corrections (DOC), who had decided not only to withhold further treatment for her inoperable cancer, but to withdraw nutritional support as well.
Her adopted mother is fighting to have her discharged from prison so that she can die at home-and the DOC have recommended that she be released.
On December 9th, Florida's Board of Executive Clemency ("the Board") chose to ignore the DOC advice.
Since then, thanks to a whole bunch of outside pressure, things have changed, for the better, which we'll be talking about today.
On January 5th, the Board meets again-and if we do this right, we can bring some closure to this story.
If you were with us on Christmas Day you heard the story of Betsie Gallardo, who, unless something changes quickly, is going to be intentionally starved to death in a Florida prison after being convicted of spitting on a cop.
In fairness, the State did not decide simply to starve her; instead, the Department of Corrections (DOC) first chose to withhold any further treatment for her inoperable cancer...and then they decided to starve her to death.
Her adopted mother is trying to get her released on humanitarian grounds; the DOC recommended in October that she be allowed to go home and die, the Florida Parole Commission refused.
Governor Charlie Crist chairs the Executive Clemency Board, who could also agree to let her go...and so far, they've also refused to take action.
Funny thing is, the Governor and his Board have been more than willing to step in when other Floridians requested pardons and commutations, even in situations that seemed a lot less dire.
Today, we're going to look at that history-and to be honest, as with many things in the Sunshine State, from the outside...it all looks a bit bizarre.
There are many gifts to be given and received this holiday season; some that you can wrap and put under a tree, and some so intangible and ethereal that they cannot be held within the boundaries of paper and ribbon.
Instead, they exist within the boundaries of our hearts.
Among those intangible presents, few matter more than the chance to be with those we love-and at the time of our death, it's the most important thing of all.
We have a chance to bring all of this to a dying woman and her family-but the only way it can happen is if we convince the Florida Department of Corrections not to kill her first.
It's not a tale of light and joy-but if we get lucky, there could still be a happy ending.
Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters Weekly Voting Rights News Update
By Erin Ferns
Monday marked the last day to register to vote before November's presidential election in many states and the conclusion to one of the nation's largest nonpartisan voter registration drives in history. Helping more than 1.3 million of the America's underrepresented young, low-income and minority citizens register to vote, Project Vote and its voter registration drive partner, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), have played a leading role this election cycle in changing the face of the electorate to represent all Americans.
Cross-posted at Project Vote's Voting Matter's Blog Weekly Voting Rights News Update
By Erin Ferns
Partisan political operatives in Michigan are taking voter caging operations to depths that would surprise even the most cynical observers of American elections. If their plans are put into action, thousands of Michigan foreclosure victims may find that they will not only have lost their homes this year, but also their vote.
Today was probably the biggest day in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Race. The Delegates from the State of Michigan and Florida will be seated in full, with each delegate having a half vote. I believe that this was the best possible to way bring Michigan and Florida to Denver. This decision was hard for everyone on both sides, but this is now in the past, and together we must unify for the good of the Democratic Party and for the good of America. As a son of a Rural Blue Collar Middle Class Family, we cannot afford to have another Republican in the White House. No matter if Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama takes it home, I will stand behind the winner 100%! I encourage all people no matter who wins this to support the Democratic Nominee. America and Michigan cannot afford to have four more years of the Republican Agenda running this nation. With the rising costs of gas prices, college, and healthcare, a missed manage war, the threat of our natural resources disappearing, and equal rights for all people, it is time for a Democratic to move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, no matter if that person is younger or older, male or female, black or white, an old timer or a new comer. A DEMOCRAT MUST WIN THE PRESIDENCY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IF WE WANT TO MOVE AMERICA IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. Our Time Is Now My Friends, and with another four years of the Republican Machine, we mind as well go to hell in a hand basket. SUPPORT THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE, WHOM EVER IT SHALL BE!!
It;s over. Hillary just crossed a line--intentionally or not--that goes way, way beyond anything resembling acceptable behavior.
She just invoked Robert Kennedy's assassination in 1968 as one of the main justifications for her not dropping out.
If she chose her words deliberately, it was unforgivable.
If she chose her words in error, it was a gaffe of gargantuan proportions.
Either way, I don't think we need to worry about what's gonna happen on the 31st, because I think Hillary Clinton just ended her Presidential--*or* VICE-Presidential--ambitions forever today.
I was in East Los Angeles on Super Tuesday when the non-partisan election reform organization Why Tuesday? interviewed Dolores Huerta, one of my personal heroes. Huerta, a human rights activist, community organizer, and co-founder (with Cesar E. Chavez) of the United Farm Workers, talked about the need for serious voter reform to ensure that every voice is heard in our democracy.
Dolores Huerta has spent her life fighting the good fight, empowering people of color and other marginalized groups to organize and push for change.
It was in that spirit that today hundreds of Latinos--organized by the United Latin American Citizens—protested outside of the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in Washington, DC.
Latinos came from Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville, and beyond to express their outrage at their disenfranchisement
“This is a civil liberties issue – not a campaign or candidate issue,” said Jose Fernandez, president of the Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida, speaking to the crowd… Another speaker was Anita de Palma, 66, of Clearwater, Fla. She is a past Florida director of the League of United Latin American Citizens… “This is our heritage!” said de Palma, referring to the right to vote and have that vote count. “Our forefathers fought for it, our father’s fought for it, and I’ll be damned if we are going to let it get away from us now!”
And she’s right.
Julian Bond, the chairman of the NAACP, has said that this selective disenfranchisement could remind voters of America’s “sordid history of racially discriminatory primaries."
And it does.
The overriding consensus on MichiganLiberal is to tell the 2 million voters who voted in Michigan and Florida "tough luck," and to blame the MI and FL party leadership.
"Tough luck" is what African-Americans were told when they failed literacy tests.
"Tough luck" is what African-Americans were told when they weren't able to pass the "grandfather tests" in the days before the Voting Rights Act.
"Tough luck" is what my grandparents were told when they tried to buy a house, only to discover there was a "whites only" clause in the deed.
"Tough luck" is what my mother and her black neighbors were told when they wanted to swim in the Los Angeles city pool on "whites only" days.
And "tough luck" is what people of color hear time and time again when whites overlook us for the job, promition, or recognition we've earned.
So excuse me if I think we've had enough of "tough luck."
A few weeks back, I posted about a rally a grasroots "activist" organized in Lansing to raise awareness about the disenfranchisement of Michigan's voters. I also posted about some Michigan and Florida union workers who protested at DNC headquarters.
And although proud of both efforts, the question that lingers in the back of my mind (and in the minds of many of the other people of color I talk to) is why are the rest of our brothers and sisters in the Michigan Democratic Party remaining silent when the votes of hundreds of thousands of are hanging in the balance? We ask ourselves, "Where is their outrage?"
This morning, prominent Democratic women from Massachusetts rallied in front of the State House, where "they threatened to withold support for the party nominee if they felt the nominating process has been bankrupted."
They called on MA superdelegates (which include Sens. Kerry and Kennedy and Governor Patrick Deval -- all three of whom have endorsed Sen. Barack Obama) to push for both a new primary in Michigan and a commitment to including the Florida delegates by seating those already elected or holding a new primary there, as well.
“Without us, there is no party. And if we leave, that wouldn’t be good,” said Senate President Therese Murray, standing at a podium in front of a staircase packed with bold-faced Democratic names. The group circulated a pledge for superdelegates to sign...
Attorney Ellen Zucker said the mechanics of campaigning would be harmed by disillusioning a major bloc of the Democratic coalition. “This is the core of the party,” she said. “These are the people who do the work. And their frustration has to be taken seriously.”
The rally took place around the same time as a meeting between Florida superdelegates and DNC Chairman Howard Dean, resulting in a joint statement, saying, in part:
We are all committed to doing everything we can to ensure that a Florida delegation is seated in Denver. We all agree that whatever the solution, it must have the support of both campaigns... We're committed to working with both campaigns to reach a solution as soon as realistically possible...
Clinton campaign Deputy Communications Director Phil Singer released the following statement in response to the DNC's statement:
We have long maintained that pretending the voters of Florida and Michigan don’t exist is not fair in principle and unwise in practice. This morning’s Quinnipiac poll out of Florida reflects the urgent need for Democrats to get behind our effort to count Florida’s voters and seat its delegation. Chairman Dean is clearly committed to seating the Florida delegation and we urge Senator Obama to join us in calling on the rules and bylaws committee to make this a reality.
Singer is referring to the latest Quinnipiac poll which shows Clinton leading John McCain 44-42, while Obama trails by 9 points. (The poll also has Hillary leading McCain in Ohio 48-39, with Obama's lead over McCain is just 1 point.)
Full news story after the jump.
EDIT: In the original version, I wasn't thinking clearly (blame it on midterms) and put "Michigan" instead of "Massachusetts."
Hillary just sent out the following message encouraging Americans to join her in calling for the voices of Michigan and Florida Democrats to be heard.
Dear Friend,
It is a bedrock American principle: we are all equal in the voting booth. No matter where you were born or how much money you were born into, no matter the color of your skin or where you worship, your vote deserves to count.
But millions of people in Florida and Michigan who went to the polls aren't being heard. The delegates they elected won't be seated at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August -- and that's just not fair to those voters.
The people of Michigan and Florida must have a voice in selecting our nominee for president. I have repeatedly called for seating their delegates.
Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams has released the following statement, urging Sen. Barack Obama to join the Clinton campaign in calling for a party-run primary to ensure that Michigan voters are not disenfranchised.
Michigan will be a key battleground state in November. Disenfranchising Michigan voters today will, in the heat of a general election, provide Senator McCain with a powerful argument to use against the Democratic nominee. We cannot allow this to happen.
The people of Michigan must be counted and their voices finally heard. What the people of Michigan need now is just action, not just words.
The Clinton campaign is calling for a new primary, because as Marc Ambinder notes, the judge's ruling does not necessarily require one.
Judge Nancy Edmonds's ruling DOES NOT order a new primary. She writes that the "the court agrees the issue of severability is beyond the scope of the claims." In other words: the parties themselves ought to figure out whether they need new primaries or not.
Full statement from Maggie Williams below the fold.
Can anyone look at what's going on with this MI/FL vs DNC debacle BEYOND how the outcome will favor/disadvantage their candidate of choice for a moment?
Hillary Clinton, speaking before the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, where she expanded on her Hispanic Agenda -- Una Vida Mejor Para Todos -- spoke about her campaign's efforts to have the voices of voters in Michigan and Florida heard, calling the exclusion of the nearly 2.5 million Americans from the democratic process "wrong."
She outlined two options moving forward, which echo the "Dear David" letter written by Clinton Campaign Manager Maggie Williams to David Plouffe earlier in the morning.
In my view there are two options: Honor the results or hold new primary elections. I don’t see any other solutions that are fair and honor the commitment that two and a half million voters made in the Democratic primaries in those two states.
Regardless of the outcome, Sen. Clinton said we have a "basic obligation to make sure that every vote in America counts."
Sen. Clinton called on Sen. Obama and his campaign to join her to make sure that there ia "non-partisan solution" to the problem.
This comes on the heels of the Obama campaign expressing deep reservations about using the mail-in option in both Michigan and Florida (Florida's Congressional Democrats have issued a statement opposing a re-do of any kind). Despite Sen. Obama's position on mail-in votes in Florida and Michigan, he co-sponsored a bill last June that would establish a vote by mail grant program.
My thinking is that the Obama campaign is in favor of a limited-window caucus (as the Edwards campaign was when it derailed the inclusion of all candidates on the Michigan primary ballot). I haven't seen any studies of it, but would a vote-by-mail operation increase the number of senior citizens (a population that trends HRC) that participate? I would think that the limited-window would function to exclude working-class and blue-collar workers (who also trend to HRC, especially in rust belt states).
Here's a good video explaining the lead-up to Obama's choice to remove his name from the ballot.
I thought I'd post this article in case any of you missed it. It was posted at Real Clear Politics. It basically makes the case that Obama is better off NOT agreeing to any sort of re-do.
Democrats, faced with two candidates nearly three-quarters of the way to the magic number required to secure their party's presidential nomination, face what can be described as a nightmare scenario. Better positioned for victory in November than any party since 1984, Democrats are close to throwing that advantage away, and options for salvaging a unified party by the late August convention are dwindling.
Florida and Michigan, both states who jumped ahead of the party's pre-approved window in which they were allowed to hold nominating contests, are now casting about for a way to have their delegates seated in Denver this summer. That's not the way their gambit was supposed to go.
When both states' legislators moved their contests to January 15, in Michigan, and January 29, in Florida, they thought they knew exactly what they were doing: While the DNC might strip them of delegates, the eventual nominee would instruct credentials committee members to allow the two states' slates to sit n the convention floor. But that plan did not factor in the possibility of a contested convention.
Now, based on delegate allocation, it looks almost certain that votes to seat the delegations in their current iterations - both overwhelmingly favoring Hillary Clinton - will not exist. Examining the 186 members of the DNC's Credentials Committee, which would decide any contested delegations, the deck is heavily stacked against both states.
Of the twenty eight members DNC chair Howard Dean appointed, five have already voted to strip the states' delegates. Committee chairs Alexis Herman and Jim Roosevelt, along with members Ralph Dawson, Tina Flournoy and Janice Griffin, all served on the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee, which decided the punishments for non-compliant states. The remaining twenty three members will likely follow suit and vote to uphold the rules.
Based on results so far, it appears that Barack Obama's team will control at least 68 seats on the credentials committee, after an estimate that is, if anything, generous to Clinton. Clinton's wins have netted her 55 seats, while states that have yet to hold contests -- Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennyslvania, South Dakota, West Virginia and Puerto Rico - have yet to allocate their combined 22 seats. With Dean's selections voting to uphold the rules and Obama's delegates voting in their candidate's interest, 96 delegates would vote to keep Michigan and Florida out.
While the committee is slated to have 186 members casting 183 votes (delegates from the territories are given a quarter of a vote, though all four voted for Obama, suggesting they will cast their combined one committee vote for him), Florida's and Michigan's combined 14 delegates are still allowed at the convention, but they cannot vote on matters involving their own states.
Even assuming Florida votes to seat Michigan's delegates and vice versa, the coalition voting against Clinton's delegations from both states will likely add up to more than half of the remaining 180 votes (with Florida delegates voting) and 178 votes (with Michigan delegates included). Obama can't use that majority to seat a friendlier delegate slate, though, as Clinton would benefit from Dean's contingent, again voting to uphold the rules rather than in her favor, and could block new delegate slates.
In short, the only ways for Florida and Michigan to find their seats on the convention floor would be for the Clinton and Obama camps to reach a deal and together outvote Dean's credentials committee faction; or for the two states to hold some kind of revote, either a primary or a caucus.
A caucus in either state is unlikely to fly. Clinton, who has found herself at a disadvantage in those contests, has already declared she will not accept caucuses. The New York Senator also has an advantage on the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee, through which any new Florida and Michigan plans would have to be approved. Twelve of the 28 committee members are publicly backing Clinton, while seven have said they support Obama. Clinton would need just three additional votes to block a caucus plan, and several committee members are said to back Clinton but are withholding public endorsements.
Too, Clinton and Obama are unlikely to come to an agreement on how to split the delegations fairly. Any agreement that advantages Clinton, she will argue, is only fair, since she won both states. But Obama is still free to walk away from that agreement, and he has no reason to accept a plan that puts him at anything resembling a disadvantage. Clinton would probably veto a plan splitting the delegations evenly, which would only make the magic number climb higher, from 2,025 to slightly north of 2,200, making her overall quest more difficult.
That leaves both states contemplating a primary, something that would cost each tens of millions of dollars. The trouble is that neither state has the resources to pay for the primaries, and barring a massive infusion of soft money from wealthy donors, the DNC or the candidates themselves, they won't be able to afford do-over contests.
The DNC option is off the table: Dean offered to pay for alternate primaries last year, but was refused. In a phone call last week with Senator Bill Nelson, of Florida, Dean told Nelson the party could not afford it now; through January 31, the DNC had just over $3 million in the bank, less than one-tenth what contests in both states would cost.
In short, neither Michigan nor Florida will benefit from taking their cases to the credentials committee. Both states will have difficult times financing new primaries, relying on wealthy donors pouring in millions of dollars of soft money, which state parties can accept under campaign finance laws, or on Clinton and Obama donating toward a do-over.
Democrats already caught bad luck when John McCain won the Republican nomination, as the rival party chose the candidate who would be strongest in November. Now, faced with the option of holding new contests in Florida and Michigan or nominating a presidential nominee without input from two key swing states, Democrats are seemingly losing the choice they would clearly prefer, the revotes.
A party whose fortunes looked so brilliant just months ago could be on the brink of the most public collapse since 1968. After riots in Chicago that year, Democrats rewrote their rules to resemble those they operate under today. The rules are clear, and everyone knows what they are. The trouble is that neither candidate seemed to imagine that the rules would actually have to be enforced.
Arcane political party rules are not what voters looking for change want from their candidates. Thanks to two strong, and stubborn, candidates, the Democratic Party is seriously in danger of taking what was once an embarrassment of riches and turning it into a plain old embarrassment.
Thank You Chris Dodd! It appears the cacophony of voices is moving for a heavily modified version of Mark Grebner's plan for a do over primary through mail-in ballots. Levin, Granholm, and even Bill Nelson of Florida are expected to push this plan to the state Democratic Party pretty soon. However, another voice has joined in with a different view.
In reference to my previous post, http://www.michiganliberal.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11614, I spoke about a Professor at Wayne State who had a great idea: send the delegates, but split them 50/50 for Clinton and Obama. This is possible because delegates are in no way compelled to actually vote as they are originally apportioned, meaning that if we send 100 delegates for “Clinton” and 56 for “Obama”, they may get to Denver, and 100 will vote for Obama while only 56 vote for Clinton.
Today, Chris Dodd endorsed this plan at the International Association of Fire Fighters. He brought up all the key points: it is wrong to put this all on taxpayers’ bill again, it still would ‘punish’ us without totally disenfranchising us, and he is opposed to having any election be funded solely through, “a bunch of fat cats”.
I like Grebner’s plan for its simplicity of funding and the inclusion of a few physical polling stations. The talk I’ve heard about special fundraisers for the do-over and whatnot makes me concerned, let alone the fact that we would have to get the state House and Senate to pass a new law to make any do-over a possibility. This plan is simple, cost effective, and would force people to take a closer look at who they send to the convention, rather than take it for granted.
The article on Chris Dodd’s remarks can be found here: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080311/POLITICS01/803110417/1361/rss41
Turns out that Monday, on the eve of that balloting, marked the reopening of the Blackstone hotel in Chicago, home of the most famous smoke-filled room in American political history. As we reported in an earlier story about politically significant hotels, the Blackstone was the scene of crucial backstage brokering in 1920, then fell idle for years before new owners started renovating recently.
Now here’s the part that Clinton and Obama may be most interested in: With little more than 150 schmoozing days left before the Democrats convene Aug. 25-28, that original smoke-filled suite is now available for a paltry $3,000 nightly (peanuts, if you’re raising tens of millions of dollars every month). It costs the same as the presidential suite, which seems entirely appropriate.
And you know that saying about how one door opens when another closes? Apparently it’s especially true about hotels in convention years. As the skirmishing intensifies over whether the Democratic Party’s leaders will recognize the Florida and Michigan primary results and those states’ delegates’ votes, one of those states has been stripped of its convention hotel assignment and we learn the other has never gotten one at all.
Democratic National Convention Committee spokeswoman Natalie Wyeth said the committee, which controls hotel assignments for all the state delegations, in November billeted the 177-member Michigan delegation (that’s delegates and alternates) at a Red Lion in central Denver. But since then, Wyeth said, the committee has scratched that booking, because party leaders have found the Michiganders “in noncompliance” with the Democrats’ primary rules.
Florida Governor Crist said that he would be open to a “redo” of his state’s Democratic primary.Michigan’s Governor has not been so generous.
The Democratic Party stripped Michigan and Florida of their delegates for moving their primary before February 5th in violation of party rules.
Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan said in February that, “The DNC created this problem by the sanctions they used and unfairly applied. The DNC has to fix this problem.”
As both a Democrat and a resident of Michigan, I have to say she could not be more wrong.Moving the primary ahead to January 15th brought Republicans and Democrats together in Lansing in ways they would not previously.
Have you ever played poker with someone for play money, only to lose and then have them demand that you give them a hundred dollars? Of course you haven't, because you don't hang out with scumbags like that.
That said, I'm sure a number of people who read this site are acquainted with the Clintons or some people who work on Hillary's campaign -- and in light of their trying to get the Michigan and Florida votes to count at the convention (votes which are of course meaningless because the people of Michigan and Florida were told it was just a dummy vote, not to mention that Obama wasn't even on the Michigan ballot), it's entirely possible that you do hang out with people like that.
So much for Bill Clinton's adage about people who work hard and play by the rules.
Max and the Marginalized is the only rock band in the progressive blogosphere, and therefore the best one! They write and record a song a week and post them here. Go to their outposts on Facebook or MySpace for tour dates and downloads.
Two Peninsulas (A song for Hillary's Florida/Michigan power grab)
Two peninsulas pointing off an island sticking out like two sore thumbs One agreement to play within the playbook throw it out when the game's been won When I was younger, a saying i remember "work hard and play by the rules" And though I've always been one of your defenders These accusations might all hold true
So let's play cards just for fun and plastic chips If you bust me will you try to get my money in your grips And I'd really hate to think that this was the plan all along and I know you know it's wrong Two peninsulas we're cut right off the island don't you try to sew them on
Start the efforts to certify the phantoms Under the guise of counting everyone Any victory without a competition Counts for less than Barry Bonds' home runs And to you, i know it's surely not a problem To have an asterisk next to your name And though you've been the victim of some dirty tricksters It's no excuse to be one just the same
So let's play ball in an exhibition match If I rout you can I try to get it added to my stats Drive a rusty stake into questionable ground Looking for a workaround Two peninsulas were cut from the equation don't you try to make them count
'Cause we've grown, old and tired Of willful disregard for the rules So it's high time I object To ambition left unchecked You've got so much more than my respect to lose
Jon is interviewing David Gergen right now on the Daily Show. He is totally trashing the Democrats for being stupid enough not to campaign Michigan and Florida - two of the states Democrats absolutely NEED to win the election (along with Ohio and Pennsylvania).
His quote:
"On the scale of 1 to stupid, how stupid is Dems not campaigning in Michigan and Florida?"
Gergen's response: "I don't know. Sometimes Democrats eat their own."
Leave me alone Brain and Phil, this is Jon Stewart's quote, not mine.
