Sorry but I just can’t let this one go guys – my family are all back home in the Great Lake State and it’s absolutely mind-blowing that a guy running for the right to represent DEMOCRATS in the general election is working so hard to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of fellow Democrats in my home state.
Yeah – I get it. This is politics and a contest for each and every delegate out there. But in the heat of the battle Obama’s forgetting that each one of those delegates represents thousands upon thousands of people just like you – and just like me. Is this election so important to him that he could become this SELFISH as to say to my family that their voice doesn’t count in this election?
Is he so obsessed with winning that he’s willing to write off a state (2 with Florida) that will be absolutely crucial in the general election?
The state legislature’s gone on recess for 2 weeks and during that time I’m sure we’ll get the full court press from BO on splitting up the delegates in a way that benefits him but that does NOT represent the will of the people. My parents. My brother and his family and my sister and hers. My uncles, aunts and cousins all turned out to vote in Michigan’s primary and THIS is the message that BO’s sending to them?
Well I’ve got a few choice words for that underhanded, smack-down Chicago pol but I won’t post them here. Instead I’ll let Hillary do the talking. Take a look at a couple of press statements her campaign put out earlier today…
Clinton Calls on Sen. Obama to Support Counting the Voices and Voters of Michigan and Florida
Hillary Clinton gave the following statement at a press availability earlier today in Terre Haute, IN:
“It’s really important that we try to get as many people here to participate in this important primary election.
“That’s why it’s critical that we figure out a way for the people of Michigan and Florida to have their votes and their voices count. As you know, I went to Michigan yesterday because I feel so strongly that it is not in the best interest of our party or our chances for victory in November to deny the rights of the people of Florida and Michigan .
“I do not see how two of our largest and most significant states can be disenfranchised and left out of the process of picking our nominee without raising serious questions about the legitimacy of that nominee.
“So again, I would call on Senator Obama to join me in supporting the rights of the people of Michigan and Florida to have their voices and their votes counted. I have, as the Democratic National Committee has, come out in favor of an effort for a re-vote in Michigan .
“I do not understand what Senator Obama is afraid of, but it is going to hurt our party and our chances in November and so I would call on him, once again, to join me in giving the people of Florida and Michigan the chance to be counted as we move forward in this nominating process. We’d be glad to take your questions.”
And then later today, when it was clear that BO had dragged his feet long enough to make sure they couldn’t act upon Governor Granholm’s proposal…
Clinton Campaign Statement on Michigan
The following is a statement from Deputy Communications Director Phil Singer in response to reports that efforts to hold a new vote in Michigan have stalled:
When it comes to the Michigan and Florida primaries, Senator Obama seems to only be capable of saying no: No to honoring the January elections, no to holding a new primary vote, no to a vote by mail. The only thing he seems to be for is divvying up delegates in a way that doesn't reflect the will of the electorate.
Senator Clinton disagrees with solutions that exclude voters and believes there should be new primary elections in Florida and Michigan if the January votes can't be honored. It is unacceptable to disenfranchise the voters who participated in January and if Senator Obama allows that to happen, there will be implications for Democrats in the general election.
Ok I do have one word for Obama and I hope to hell he hears it…
Coward.
He’s trying to steal this election one delegate at a time and it is absolutely unacceptable to anyone who cares about democracy, one person one vote, and sending up a nominee who’ll NOT piss off millions of voters in Michigan and Florida.
He may win the nomination but if he goes about it in this underhanded way he will insure that we lose in November.
4 comments:
i thought the democratic agenda included winning in november. hillary's does. by his actions with the michigan and florida disenfranchisement, obama is showing that he would rather win the nomination and lose the general than lose the nomination and have hillary win the general. he's playing a spoiler role from here on out in the campaign.
Obama doesn't want a revote in FL and MI because he knows he'll lose net delegates in the process (at this point, perhaps even more than he would have if he'd let the original votes stand).
He's hoping the delegates will either be excluded or at the very least seated as "uncommitted" so he can try and woo more of them to his side than he would get if the voters had their say.
If they are excluded, we most likely lose those states in the GE. If they are allocated in some other way than that which reflects the voters, then it's a 55% chance or better (my guess) that we lose where those would otherwise have been wins.
Sergei Rostov
Thanks Alegre, for another great diary.
Coward.
Perfect description of a candidate who doesn't want all of the votes counted.
But for Kerry's winning caucus strategy (I know how he did it in Iowa in 2004 because I worked in his DC HQ), Obama would've faded away early.
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