Unity?
Posted on Sat May 31, 2008 at 07:23:37 PM EST
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As usual, I have severe criticism for everybody involved in today's fiasco. Let me start with the Clinton camp. You know my beef about the Clinton camp's tactics and strategy on this. Look at their statement just released after the meeting:
Today’s results are a victory for the people of Florida who will have a voice in selecting our Party’s nominee and will see its delegates seated at our party’s convention. The decision by the Rules and Bylaws Committee honors the votes that were cast by the people of Florida and allocates the delegates accordingly. [MORE].
Um what? Florida lost half its delegates when it did NOTHING wrong? Hooray? It is true the Clinton campaign is the only reason even half the delegates were seated. But Florida deserved better. The voters of Florida have been victimized by the Democratic Party. It is that simple. And the Clinton camp decided to throw away that issue in favor of a fight over Michigan, who did break the rules. From the Clinton statement:
We strongly object to the Committee’s decision to undercut its own rules in seating Michigan’s delegates without reflecting the votes of the people of Michigan.
The Committee awarded to Senator Obama not only the delegates won by Uncommitted, but four of the delegates won by Senator Clinton. This decision violates the bedrock principles of our democracy and our Party.
It does more than that, it violates the Rules. And here is my continued criticism of the sanctimonious hypocrisy of the RBC and its nonsensical "rules are rules" BS. There is not a rule the RBC can point to that allows them to do what they did. Indeed, as I wrote, I would have had more respect if they had seated NO delegates from Michigan, holding to their August 25 decision, than what they did today.
If the rules REALLY mattered, then the RBC had three choices. NO delegates for Michigan. Half of the delegates based on the January 15 primary. Or All of the delegates based on the January 15 primary.
The rulebook was completely thrown out on this one. Making a mockery of every single sanctimonious statement ever made by Donna Brazile and her RBC cabal.
But the biggest mistakes today were made by Barack Obama. Why? In my opinion, nothing that happened today could take the nomination away from Obama. Hell, he should have argued for full seating of both delegations based on the primary results, taking the Michigan uncommitted delegates. Even in the unlikely event the RBC would have agreed to that, that would have only cost him 57 delegates net. That was not going to threaten his nomination.
And it would have unified the Party. It would have been a wonderful gesture to the Clinton Wing of the Party. It would have shut everyone up when he wins the nomination. What did Obama do instead? He fought to take 4 delegates from Clinton in Michigan. For what? To piss off every Clinton supporter and keep the Party divided?
All over 4 measly delegates? Incredible.
Barack Obama will be the nominee of the Democratic Party imo, and for four measly delegates, he just made his already difficult task of unifying the Democratic Party that much more difficult.
In short, Democrats have proven yet again how stupid we really are. So what's next? More stupidity probably. Here is what the Clinton camp says:
We reserve the right to challenge this decision before the Credentials Committee and appeal for a fair allocation of Michigan’s delegates that actually reflect the votes as they were cast.
Great, fight for 4 measly delegates from Michigan but let Florida, who played by the rules, get screwed out of half of it delegates. Unity? Not hardly.
By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only
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