On this the day of the Rules and Bylaws Committee hearing on the seating of Florida and Michigan delegates I am forced to pivot the conversation from the involved complexity of America’s foreign policy principles and other matters of weight and consequence to make what I would have otherwise thought to be a wholly unnecessary declaration….. The controversy over seating the delegates from Florida and Michigan is NOT the same as the Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Suffrage, the 2000 Presidential Election, or the fraudulent elections in Zimbabwe!!! Seriously. Hillary Clinton’s shamelessly self-serving and completely incongruous historic analogies have escalated her argument to a level well beyond silly.
The outline of this predicament is incredibly straight-forward. Howard Dean sent this letter to all the presidential candidates early on…
As the leader of the Democratic Party, I strongly urge you to adhere to the 2008 Delegate Selections Rules…
The 2008 Delegate Selection Rules adopted by the full DNC, at its August 2006 meeting clearly provide that only 4 states – Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina – may hold their respective contests prior to February 5, 2008. The [Rules and Bylaws Committee's] finding of Non-Compliance included a 100% loss of pledged and unpledged delegates.
The decision to enforce this punishment was reached unanimously by the same Rules and Bylaws Committee convening today (15 out of 30 by the way were Clinton representatives). Michigan held its primary on January 15th and Florida held its primary on January 29th. So how can a discussion based on reason and fairness sanely challenge the inevitable fate of these two states?
I am completely in chorus with those saying the Democratic Primary is way too complex. Giving almost 800 super-delegates such disproportionate voting power; the ridiculous system of primaries, caucuses and hybrids; and the whole primary calendar awarding certain states uneven influence and attention are all fine examples of why the Democratic party could benefit from some serious refining. I even disagree with the ruling to punish states like Florida and Michigan by taking away 100% of their representation, but the time to reflect and reassess the fairness and of the entire system and its rulings is not in the middle of the game, any grade school kid on the playground can attest to this.
Had Clinton launched her righteous crusade against voter disenfranchisement prior to the DNC’s rulings or even challenged the decision of the Florida and Michigan representatives to push their contests earlier than allowed at a time that it would have made a difference, it would have painted her argument in a much more genuine light.
But she was complacent. Not only did she sign Howard Dean’s pledge but added…
We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process. And we believe the DNC’s rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role. Thus we will be signing the pledge to adhere to the DNC approved nominating calendar.
These are in no uncertain terms. In assessing the significance of the Michigan contest at the time, she said.. “You know, its clear, this election their having is not going to count for anything.” This hardly sounds like the role of the outraged voter advocate that she assumes today. Furthermore, when Clinton representative Harold Ickes, who voted in favor of this Delegate Selection Rule, was asked what had changed, he responded honestly, “What has changed is that now we are behind.” This all leads me to call this the only way that I can see it, flagrantly insincere opportunism.
Though this insults my sense of reason, I realize that its unfortunately inbounds with what we have come to expect from politicians. But what is unacceptable is equating the weak case for picking up a few more delegates to hundreds of years of disenfranchising minority groups and women, the despotic actions of an African dictator, or the shady election that gave us America’s worst president. To manipulate and exploit the emotions of our nations collective memory in this way is nothing short of divisive and cheap. The villains in this affair are not the DNC, Barack Obama, or the voters of Florida and Michigan, but its the select few that decided to break the rules who should be held accountable. This is not part of some epic struggle for human equality its a simple case of rules being established, broken, and enforced.
L.Arnell
