In My Opinion

Democrats lite... Half the votes, half the credibility

By RUTH FLOWERS-WORTHINGTON

Democratic party officials approved a deal Saturday to seat delegates from the Florida and Michigan primaries with half a vote each. Why?

Why would the Democratic National Committee fall prey to political pressure after saying the votes would not count at all? Those were the rules, Florida and Michigan, and you both knew it ahead of time.

Both states were in violation of party rules and were punished by the DNC for moving their primaries ahead of the dates set by the committee. The party had refused to recognize the votes.

Both candidates, Clinton and Obama had agreed to the party's decision to penalize Florida and Michigan by disallowing their delegates, but now that the votes are close (NOT), the Clinton camp (especially) has been challenging that agreement.

In September 2007, the crowd of Democrats running for president signed a pledge not to campaign in Florida or Michigan. The Democratic Party had punished those states for shifting their primaries and diluting the importance of early-voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.

At the time, Clinton was the front-runner, and she signed the pledge. Most of the other candidates, including Obama and Edwards, even took their names off the ballot in Michigan.

Surprise! Clinton won Michigan's primary even though (or in spite of) her rivals' names not appearing on the ballot.

Clinton's campaign now says she has won the most votes, a debatable claim for a number of reasons, including the fact that she ran virtually unopposed in Michigan and several state caucus vote totals aren’t calculated.

No longer the front-runner, she now needs every state she can get.

While claiming to speak for the disenfranchised voters in Florida and Michigan, Clinton fails to note the obvious: These major rule changes benefit her and her alone.

What's at stake here is the credibility of a major political party who set the rules in the first place. Rules not meant for just one or two candidates, or just one or two states, but for all. Their "half-assed" retreat exposes the committee's own rule-making and enforcing abilities as meaningless and their orginal punishment as just posturing.

This sums it up with a quote from the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting:

"My momma taught me to play by the rules and respect those rules. My mother taught me, and I'm sure your mother taught you, that when you decide to change the rules, middle of the game, end of the game, that is referred to as cheatin.'" -- Donna Brazile to former Michigan Gov. Jim Blanchard, who was making the case for the Clinton campaign.