I was looking around the net today, and came across an interesting tidbit. Mark Brewer's rationale for the past month of why we would be seated at the DNC was that they were holding hotel rooms for us. Turns out, the DNC just canceled those reservations the other day.
I can only imagine that these hotel rooms go pretty fast. Even if we get delegates seated, where will they stay? Will there be rooms left in Denver, or will Michigan be done a further disservice and forced to stay outside of the city?
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.
This Michigan Primary situation has gone from bad to worse. It was bad enough that the Legislature, fully aware of the candidates' decisions to boycott our state and the censorship from both the Republican and Democratic parties, decided to spend over $10 million of our dollars on this January 15th mistake, and then withhold the information from the very people who put up the money: the public! Now, just as there was beginning to be hope that Michigan delegates would be re-enfranchised with the close race, this issue of another, 'do-over' caucus/primary/who-knows comes up. Should we do one? Will it count? Who will pay? What form will it take? If we do one, how will it be administered: by the state or by the party?
Governor Granholm's got her plan for a 'firehouse' primary: a semi-open primary that would be done at community gathering places with a relatively low cost that would have to be shouldered by the state parties. Some throw out the idea of a party-run caucus. James Carville has publicly stated that he will raise $15 million (if the Obama campaign agrees to do the same thing) to contribute to the primary and cover campaign costs. Obama's people have been non-committal, and Senator Levin (a Clinton supporter) agrees with Senator Clinton that the vote from January 15th should be honored and that's that.
Everyone and their brother seems to have an opinion one way or another, most of them formed not out of reason, but from a feeling of being slighted. So far there are only two progressive ideas I have heard: one, from Marjorie Sarbaugh-Thompson, an associate professor of political science at Wayne State University, is to re-enfranchise our delegates and commit them 50/50 for Obama and Clinton. The other is from Mark Grebner, whereby we would do a mail-in primary, with low costs for everyone involved. This would also eliminate many of the barriers that exist with traditional polling places: harassment, wrongful disenfranchisement, and the inability of low-income citizens and seniors to turn out in as great number as their younger and wealthier counterparts.
I have another idea: IT DOESN'T MATTER. A lesson in DNC politics: all delegates are only bound to their stated preference for the first round of balloting. After that, it's anyone's game. Therefore, if Michigan splits 50/50 for the first round of balloting, or if another proportion is found through a new primary, or if the results of Jan. 15th are upheld, it doesn't matter. There are bound to be multiple rounds of balloting, with an intense floor battle that will render any apportionment we can think of moot. Some may complain that this is un-democratic; if so, it is the system's fault rather than Michigan's. We should not unfairly burden our people for another election that will not hold much water. Grebner's plan is solid and provides the best compromise between the unfortunate reality of the DNC system and the preciousness of our tax dollars, while Mrs. Sarbaugh-Thompson's plan would also be sufficient. Personally, I think the original primary should be honored, as the Uncommitted delegates in Michigan's delegation hold a great deal of power, being able to make up their own minds and give the Superdelegates a small challenge.
Oh, BOY! Yet another national pundit has come up with a plan to fix the problem of Michigan & Florida delegates.
Over at the Huffington Post, Mark Green thinks that we should hold new primaries on April 22 -- along with Pennsylvania -- and create a "Super Tuesday III." He is a bit reserved on the utility of this idea, though, likening it to "Not quite winner-take-all but close to winning the fifth set in the Wimbledon final."
(Quick, bring me my latte!)
It's a little concerning when people start talking about do-overs, being as how this is a presidential election and not a dodgeball game.
Imagine if Edwards and/or Obama had campaigned here & been on the ballot. One of them could very well have won. The resulting support from that win ($$, delegates, free media) could have created a political landscape that's significantly different from the one we see today. Would Edwards still be in the race? Would Obama have even more delegates?
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
Hillary Clinton has issued a statement regarding the seating of delegates at the Convention in Denver, saying that Michigan and Florida are an important part of a Democratic victory in November and that she will ask that her Democratic convention seat the delegations from Florida and Michigan.
"I hear all the time from people in Florida and Michigan that they want their voices heard in selecting the Democratic nominee.
"I believe our nominee will need the enthusiastic support of Democrats in these states to win the general election, and so I will ask my Democratic convention delegates to support seating the delegations from Florida and Michigan. I know not all of my delegates will do so and I fully respect that decision. But I hope to be President of all 50 states and U.S. territories, and that we have all 50 states represented and counted at the Democratic convention.
Sen. Clinton will continue abiding by the four-state pledge and not campaign in states with violating elections.
The Obama campaign is on recording as having said the following:
Our position and the position of the DNC is clear -- neither the Florida nor Michigan primaries are playing any role in deciding the Democratic nominee and we are not campaigning in either state.
And yet, they are airing ads in Florida on cable networks such as CNN and MSNBC, which both illustrates the national scope of the race and the Obama campaign's acknowledgement that Florida is an important race. But the national scope of the race hasn't stopped early state Democratic leaders from protesting Obama's move.
"Words matter, promises matter and pledges matter," said [former Iowa Governor Tom] Vilsack, who ended his own presidential campaign in February 2007 and endorsed Clinton. "It calls into question the promises and pledges he's made on the campaign trail."
The Obama camps decision to air national ads (which include Florida) right before the Primary there is especially interesting because it was the Obama campaign which organized the other campaigns to withdraw their names from Michigan's ballot.
Five individuals connected to five different campaigns have confirmed -- but only under condition of anonymity -- that the situation that developed in connection with the Michigan ballot is not at all as it appears on the surface. The campaign for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, arguably fearing a poor showing in Michigan, reached out to the others with a desire of leaving New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as the only candidate on the ballot. The hope was that such a move would provide one more political obstacle for the Clinton campaign to overcome in Iowa.
According to Grebner's analysis, Hillary Clinton won 73 delegates from Michigan, which she carried with over 55% of the vote.
Sen. Hillary Clinton's full statement below the jump.
This is only a rough approximation, because I'm adding the major counties within the 6th - I don't have the breakdown for the parts of Allegan in and out of the 6th, and I'm neglecting the part of Calhoun in the 6th.
However, the six major counties are reporting 16483 votes for Clinton, 11570 votes for Uncommitted. Since no other candidates passed 15%, this equates to 59% Clinton, 41% Uncommitted. Although the actual results will differ slightly, it is clear that of our five delegates, Clinton won three, and Uncommitted two. By MDP affirmative action rules, the Clinton delegates will be two females and one male, the Uncommitted one female and one male.
(Here's a CQ article with more - promoted by lpackard)
The DNC isn't the only national party threating to yank delegates for states that go against its rules. At its 2004 convention, the RNC voted that all primaries must take place after February 5. The RNC has voted to yank half the delegates in states that hold primaries before that date. New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina, Wyoming and Michigan are defying the RNC and betting the Republican nominee will seat all their delegates at the convetion. To date, none of those five states have backed down and none of the Republican candidates have asked not to participate in their primaries despite the threat by the RNC. As a result, the Republicans, like the Democrats, are faced with a few early rebel states and a very heavily loaded February 5 primary. Clearly, a bi-partisan national solution is needed to this problem well before the 2012 election season.
