The final results of today’s Rules and Bylaws Committee all-day deathmatch were to fully seat the delegation of both Florida and Michigan as they were voted, but count their vote as a half vote each. If there has ever been a valid case asserting that the Democratic party is wishy-washy and lacks conviction this will surely be cited. House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi in a moment of clarity said…
The American people have to know that the Democratic party can run its own delegate selection process… if they want to govern America.”
To completely back-pedal on such clear and firmly established rules does nothing to build confidence in the party’s ability to do this. After months of intense debate we have finally arrived at an agreement that the Republicans had established from the get-go.
To fully grasp the ridiculousness of this much inflated event, however, is to understand what’s actually at stake. If Hillary Clinton were to be awarded all that she has demanded in these flawed election results, she would pick up an additional 50 delegates which does very little to make up her 200 delegate deficit. All of this contention, all of the divisiveness, the unjust vilification of her opponent and her own party, and the grandiose oration pretending to champion human rights, all for this?
In another show of willing disassociation from reality, Clinton’s stalwart representative, Harold Ickes, demanded a “fair reflection” by which he means a total concession to that which most benefits Clinton. His response to a decision just short of that was…
one final word: Mrs. Clinton has instructed me to reserve her right to take this to the Credentials Committee.”
If party unity is of common interest there is nothing quite like rejecting any form of compromise and ending the night with an ominous threat.
L.Arnell
I just randomly found this blog – quite interesting. L.Arnell – what you say makes sense…about Hillary’s sudden interest in the disenfranchisement of Michigan and Florida voters and about wanting to change the rules in the middle of the game. But in light of everything that’s happened since – mainly, her loss to Obama – I kind of feel a bit sorry for her. She seems really broken and uncharacteristically humble about everything. I guess I should have seen that all of her shenanigans of late were nothing more than a last tantrum. Sort of like how a flame gets bigger right before it goes out (sorry for the cheese). Sigh. Don’t you think?
Shinasa, Im a big fan of analogies and cheese is always welcome!! Your frenzied flame-out parallel certainly seems appropriate, but feeling sorry for Senator Clinton somehow doesn’t. She’s a very strong, smart, and self aware politician and this is an election. She ran a comparatively poor campaign strategically, mired with conceit and tacitcs that were in no way benign to her opponent, her party, or the changes she advocates. I don’t mean to come off as cold, I can definitely relate to the emotional loss felt by her and all of her supporters that had invested so much of themselves. I thought her concession speech was great, not just because it was a concession speech, but because she was able to shed the contrived anger and victimization that had turned off so many and projected a calm certainty in her qualifications and the historical context of her candidacy. That uncharacteristic humility that you mention is what I wish we would have seen more of. Those truly dedicated to the policies of Senator Clinton should find solace in a nominee who agrees with her 90% of the way and if Obama is the uniter we have built him up to be, solidifying the Democratic party should be a successful test of this.
L.Arnell