It's "plans," Ezra. Not "tries."
But I'm glad that you guys are finally getting up to speed on this.
By Moe Lane Posted in 2008 | Great Netroot Betrayal | I am | Shocked | SHOCKED to find gambling going on at this establishment — Comments (9) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
The title refers to Ezra Klein's sudden revelation that, hey, people are playing games with the Democratic Party's delegate count: he's got the basic outline, but is a little vague on how far it's gone. But that's why we're here, to help: well, help and mock savagely. Anyway:
CLINTON TRIES TO REINSTATE MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA'S DELEGATES.
This is a very, very, very big deal. From the Clinton campaign:
[snip of a missive by Senator Clinton informing the universe that yes, indeed, she will be championing the right of two absolutely vital States - ones that can mean the difference in November - to be given the delegates that they would normally have. It's a bit long, but I suppose that "E.S.A.D., Senator Obama" would have been considered uncouth. - ed.]
This is the sort of decision that has the potential to tear the party apart. In an attempt to retain some control over the process and keep the various states from accelerating their primaries into last Summer, the Democratic National Committee warned Michigan and Florida that if they insisted on advancing their primary debates, their delegates wouldn't be seated and the campaigns would be asked not to participate in their primaries. This was agreed to by all parties (save, of course, the states themselves).
Via Protein Wisdom, who essentially said "Well, duh."
Read on.
First off, sorry that this is going in Friday night, but the Clinton campaign only dropped this sucker this afternoon. That would normally give the folks who froth the weekend to get ready for a nice, big screamfest on Monday - watch this space - except that Monday's SOTU Day, so probably nobody outside the 'sphere is really going to notice. Clever, alas.
Anyway, as Protein Wisdom noted here and here (and I already noted here), this is hardly a surprise. Michigan and Florida are too important to ignore, the DNC is not going to burn its bridges with two State parties that could make the difference between victory and defeat in November, and the delegates are going to mostly belong to the Establishment Democratic candidate anyway. TalkLeft and Josh Marshall can squabble over who is to blame all they like, but this isn't really a gambit; this is the formal announcement preceding a fait accompli.
Now, what makes all of this relevant is that the delegates will not officially count until the convention. That means that the media will not have to report those totals in their delegate counts, if they don't want to. That means that if Clinton doesn't have a clear majority without those delegates but does have a clear majority if she does... well. Better hope that August in Denver this year is unseasonably cold and cloudy, or at least not particularly humid.
No, really. The city of Denver's never done anything to me. Personally, that is.
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It's "plans," Ezra. Not "tries." 9 Comments (0 topical, 9 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
It's quite easy if she is. She will be able to control the rules of the convention. Then they will vote to allow those states delegates to vote for her. Most conventions have actually voted to allow their alternates to vote too.
Ray J. Tuleya
Is it possible that you just said that if she's nominated, she'll be able to fudge the rules to assure her nomination?
Drink Good Coffee. You can sleep when you're dead.
But to win the favor of political machines in two potential swing states - it would force the GOP to seat all their delegates as well.
Whatever yo think of her as a person or her policies, this is the smart tactical move.
to drop this kind of bomb (or any kind of bomb) on a Friday night. Double points if something else really big is happening Monday (holiday, SoTU, etc.).
Can anyone see how samo samo but even more aggressive and corrupt this twoesome will be if they get in? We won't recognize our Republic at the end of it.
Our party needs full battle armor and the will to fight this juggernaut. I'm not seeing it yet.
You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.
That was my impression as soon as I saw the headline.
Did anyone at all think the Clintons were not going to do exactly that?
These are the people that use Chinese immigrants as money laundering fronts. The people who do illegal fund raising in temples and churches.
This is where Obama's inexperience really shows.
Obama is a political dead man walking. He dared pretend he is not stuck on the democrat plantation, and he was naive to believe that the Clintons would not do everything possible to force him back.
Someone who was disgusted with this completely predictable Clinton behavior said that "she's a Republican in Democratic clothing: power by any means."
I've long failed to understand why otherwise intelligent people vote Democratic against their own self-interest. That comment lays it bare.
Democratic voters hate the same things we hate. They're just too blind or too idealistic to see that their own people are as craven as they think ours are.
They do not hate the same things we do, they only hate them when such tactics are used against their own by their own. The quote says a lot the power of political zeal, The Clinton's have been what they are for years and now, only in 2007, are a few Democrats waking up to the fact. The tactics and verbiage were fine when used against Republicans but the comment about power and the Republicans, given what the Clinton's are. is a scream.
You could say that it's the power of politics over intelligence, where and if it exists.
"a man's admiration for absolute government is proportinate to the contempt he feels for those around him". Tocqueville
To its guns and following through on the 1/2 total delegate penalty.
______________________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777