I am very disappointed that some of our best and brightest bloggers do not understand the source of our resistance. They seem to think this is all about Hillary. On the contrary, we made it clear to Hillary’s campaign back in June before her suspension speech that the resistance to Obama had spiralled far beyond her ability to call it back.
The Obamacans and trolls and newly converted think it is all about gender and identity politics. No, if you want to see an example of identity politics, you need look no further than the 90% of African-Americans who voted for Obama in the primary. We don’t blame them. It’s a natural response. We *do* have an issue with the RBC committee members and other Dolores Umbrage types who can’t seem to see past Obama’s African-American heritage.
We find it very irritating when the Obamacans, trolls and newly converted scream at us like we don’t understand English that we are too stupid to realize that John McCain is using a woman, a conservative woman at that, to fool us into voting for him. That kind of attitude is beyond condescending and offensive. I would like to clear a few things up to the permanently addled on Obama: 1.) Not all of us are voting for McCain. Loyal Democrats such as myself have a very hard time crossing that ideological divide. and 2.) We are quite aware of what John McCain is up to and the people he is playing for fools are the Obamaphiles and DNC who thought they could wrest away the Evangelical base from the Republican party. That he picks up some disaffected Hillary voters is icing on the cake for him.
No, the primary source of our disaffection and resistance to the DNC, Obama and even Hillary herself is that the party has lost its moral authority. In its zeal to select Obama as its nominee, it compromised all that it claimed it believed. It set up a system that favored one outcome, allowed states to pay for sham primaries, duped voters into thinking their votes counted, reapportioned delegates to suit its needs, intimidated and harassed delegates. And all in the name of UNITY, which it most certainly did not get.
But the biggest shame falls on the delegates and superdelegates who succumbed to pressure during a vicious witch hunt. They completely missed the point of Hillary’s brilliant speech which was not to cave but to keep going. Yes, she stood up for Barack Obama but she was exhorting the delegates to stand up for themselves and their voters. But they caved. We know that Obama whips followed them down the hallways of the hotels like dogs at their heels, screaming at them to sign onto Obama or their political careers would be finished. We know how they trapped delegates in hotel rooms and used strong armed tactics to get them to switch. But none of them had to do it. And if they had hung together and resisted, then the machine that looked so powerful would have been stripped of its formidable image. It is nothing if there are no people supporting it.
There was an opportunity last Wednesday for all of the delegates to find the core within that would guide them. That core would have told them what it means to be a loyal Democrat. That core would have said to count every vote, honor every voter, resist fear, put the common good first, keep their eyes on the future. Some did. Most did not.
In those moments on Wednesday, the delegates signed away the name of the Democratic party. It will not have another in my life.
[I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair, Rodgers and Hammerstein]
How true are the words to this song when applied to our current “situation”!!! And how prescient are my old time heroes, Rodgers and Hammerstein in their 1949 broadway musical, South Pacific. Here’s a South Park-inspired version. This post was inspired by myiq2xu’s: http://myiq2xu.wordpress.com/2008/08/19/how-to-turn-win-into-whine/
The most difficult part about writing this was deciding which line to use as the title, because there are a plethora of appropriate choices. I began with the oh-so-eraser-friendly Denver ballot analogy: “rub him out of the roll call.” However, I carefully reconsidered in case it might be misconstrued in Soprano-like terms.
Read the lyrics and see for yourself. What a choice for l’il ole Libra me to have to make! I did it, but pick a line, any line in the song, and you’ve got a winner — I mean a winner about a loser. As for the two pinup men at the end: not up on these things and haven’t a clue — unless they’re the current or ex-boyfriends of the video producer. If they’re famous or sports stars, oops, sorry.
Personally, I’ve got the man I want to wash out of my hair clearly focused in my mind. Oh, no, guess not, he’s gone. Washed up and washed out! From my lips. . . .
I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair
from South Pacific by Rodgers and Hammerstein
I’m gonna wash that man right outta my hair,
I’m gonna wash that man right outta my hair,
I’m gonna wash that man right outta my hair,
And send him on his way.
I’m gonna wave that man right outta my arms,
I’m gonna wave that man right outta my arms,
I’m gonna wave that man right outta my arms,
And send him on his way.
Don’t try to patch it up
Tear it up, tear it up!
Wash him out, dry him out,
Push him out, fly him out,
Cancel him and let him go!
Yea, sister!
I’m gonna wash that man right outta my hair,
I’m gonna wash that man right outta my hair,
I’m gonna wash that man right outta my hair,
And send him on his way.
If a man don’t understand you,
If you fly on separate beams,
Waste no time, make a change,
Ride that man right off your range.
Rub him out of the roll call
And drum him out of your dreams.
Oho!
If you laugh at different comics,
If you root for different teams,
Waste no time, weep no more,
Show him what the door is for.
Rub him out of the roll call
And drum him out of your dreams.
You can’t light a fire when the woods are wet,
No!
You can’t make a butterfly strong,
Hmm, hmm!
You can’t fix an egg when it ain’t quite good,
And you can’t fix a man when he’s wrong!
You can’t put back a petal when it falls from a flower,
Or sweeten up a fellow when he starts turnin’ sour
Oh no! Oh no!
If his eyes get dull and fishy,
When you look for glints and gleams,
Waste no time,
Make a switch,
Drop him in the nearest ditch!
Rub him out of the roll call,
And drum him out of your dreams
Oho! Oho!
I went and washed that man right outta my hair,
I went and washed that man right outta my hair,
I went and washed that man right outta my hair,
And sent him on his way.
She went and washed that man right outta her hair,
She went and washed that man right outta her hair,
She went and washed that man right outta her hair,
And sent him on his way!
And if you haven’t had enough, here’s a karaoke, slightly off-key version from Pequinito. Appropriate, ain’t it? Sing along, enjoy yourself. I hate to be redundant, but this wash bears repeating. In fact, my hair is so dirty from all this DNC, Nobama, Pelosi, Dean grime, that I’ll have to shampoo it twice in order to get it clean.
Besides PUMAs, Just Say No Deal Coalition members, and those who have been paying close attention to the 2008 primary process, everyone in the US and some people abroad think that: Obama won the Democratic Primary; therefore, he secured the nomination; and he is being gracious by allowing Clinton’s name to be placed in nomination at the Democratic Convention.
In fact, the Obama and Clinton campaigns issued a joint statement on August 14, 2008 about it, and we have achieved a small victory. Or as Heidi Li Feldman puts it, we’re where we were in the first place. (Oh, forgive me: as Barbra WaWa might say: Were where we whah in the furst pwace.) The MSM is all over the story, asking if we disgruntled old ladies, gays, and republicrats are satisfied now? They claim that we’re just sore losers, and that we want Clinton’s name on the ballot because of her historic win as a woman. They’re touting it as symbolic. It’s not symbolic; it’s normal!
In fact, we are sore winners! Neither candidate won the requisite number of pledged delegates. Instead (rolling eyes, PUMAs repeating themselves, ad infinitum), Nancy Nine Percent Pelosi and Harry Reticent Reed pressured the Democratic Superdelegates to endorse a candidate prior to Denver. This act in turn defies their true purpose: to nominate the candidate who can win POTUS in November. In 2008, there are 855 Superdelegates with FL and MI according to Connect-the-Dots. CNN says it’s 825. Over 200 are uncommitted. Any SD can change their vote through the first ballot in Denver, no matter who they or their state or district endorsed.
Didn’t Hillary run on the assertion that she was the only Democratic candidate who could win the Electoral College in November? The virtual Nobama/McCain dead heat in the polls proves that she wasn’t lyin’, despite Obamamoneys-raised, European jaunts, and a vacay away from the barely investigative, mostly fawning MSM spotlight.
The Obama/DNC presumption is that it’s all a done deal. To dispel any doubts, Invesco Field/Mile High Stadium was booked as the site for what our movement, (and back in the day, Jesse Jackson) calls a coronation. Let’s be clear:
From CNN’s count, we see that neither candidate had the requisite 2,118 pledged delegates as of June 3 to clinch the nomination. Obama had 1763, Clinton had 1640, a 123 delegate lead for BO. It is difficult to find an accurate vote count that shows Hillary Clinton won the most popular votes of any primary candidate in history. Why? Real Clear Politics has Clinton at 18,046,007, Obama at 17,869,542, including MI and FL, with estimates for IA, NV, ME, and WA. There, Clinton nets +176,465 votes.
1. Why does popular vote matter when everyone keeps hammering on the delegate totals? Delegate counts are inconsistent, uneven reflections of the will of the voters, because they include caucuses. Caucuses represent far fewer voters than primaries, yet delegates selected in that process carry more weight.
Worse yet is the impact on the delegate count. While [as of 5/31/08] 2549 delegates earned in the primaries represent an average of 12,225 voters, in the caucuses each of the 515 delegates elected represents a mere 2,110 votes. Each caucus vote, then, is weighted 5.8 times greater than each primary vote when it comes to allocating delegates.
2. Why don’t PUMAs admit that Obama won more caucuses, which is why he won and Hillary lost, and stop changing the rules? In 2008, there are substantiated reports of caucus fraud. Please read Dr. Lynette Long’s research who concludes: “the Obama campaign willfully and intentionally defrauded the American public by systematically undermining the caucus process.”
3. If Obama now has enough delegates when SDs are included, why isn’t he simply the nominee? Superdelegates are party officials — both elected and un-elected. They can vote for whomever they wish at their Convention, regardless of their states’ vote, to make sure the most-electable Democrat becomes the nominee.
4. Why am I still writing about this, when Obama and Clinton agreed on 8/14/08 that Hillary’s name will be placed on the Convention ballot and up for a roll call vote? Because, it should have been automatic, as in every election since 1884. None of the other candidates came anywhere near Clinton, yet it’s a “negotiation”? Look at all these guys who were nominated, without even coming close to their opponents in delegate count. Courtesy of EdgeOfForever:
1972: Ted Kennedy – 12 votes on first ballot
Kennedy had no chance of winning, but his name was placed in nomination.
1976: Ted Kennedy – 1 vote on first ballot
Kennedy had no chance of winning, but his name was placed in nomination.
1980: Jimmy Carter – 1981 delegates
Ted Kennedy – 1225 delegates
Uncommitted – 122
Kennedy had no chance of winning, but his name was placed in nomination.
1984: Jesse Jackson – 465 votes
Jackson had no chance of winning, but his name was placed in nomination.
1988: Jesse Jackson – 1218 votes
Jackson had no chance of winning, but his name was placed in nomination.
2004: John Kerry: 2192.5 Pledged delegates
Howard Dean: 114.5 Pledged delegates
Dean had already dropped out, with no chance of winning, but his name was placed in nomination.
5. Who are the delegates, and why shouldn’t they just go along with the DNC’s choice, Barack Obama? Delegates are elected by their grassroots supporters to go to the Democratic convention as representatives of the total votes cast in their state’s districts. Although they each may represent thousands of HRC voters, they can just change their votes as if we, the US voters, are not even in the picture! According to CNN,
Pledged delegates are not actually bound to vote for the candidate. Consequently, candidates are allowed on a state-by-state basis to review lists of delegates who have pledged their support and can delete anyone whose support they consider unreliable.
Surprise you? This could account for the DNC’s treatment of Clinton delegate, Sacha Millstone, or even what happened in Florida right after June 3, when Obama’s campaign began replacing his elected delegates with their own. I’m still not getting how someone who represents your, or my, or anyone’s vote could be intimidated into changing it and have that be part of the deal. Our deal. You know, the one we get as citizens. The deal, the one true thing we’ve got in this country that our guys and all those Iraqis are supposedly dying for and about. That democracy one person one vote representative thing.
6. How can the DNC represent the will of the people, if the delegates are pressured to support Obama as if he is the nominee, and they are afraid to publicly declare otherwise? How can there be “unity” if Hillary Clinton is allowed to be booed unchecked at even one of his events? DNC chairs and party officials, and delegates are being intimidated and threatened to not cast THEIR votes for Hillary Clinton. These are not THEIR votes. These votes are OURS. The delegates are merely our proxies. If not us, who DO they represent? How is this representative government?
Whether you agree or disagree, please learn about the process. Watch this three-part series, Democrats ’08: CONNECT-THE-DOTS, with Host Leslie Stevens. The program is sponsored by The Educational Foundation for the Integrity of the Democratic Process, Asheville, North Carolina. Bloggers, please post it! Readers, email it to friends and family.
[Connect-the-Dots Part 1]
[Connect-the-Dots Part 2]
[Connect-the-Dots Part 3]
Have you connected the dots? That’s why we’re not satisfied. It’s about the process being fair and reflecting the will of the voters. And, you can help!!! Call or email your delegates or any that you know TODAY. Ask them to sign the 300 delegate petition to ensure that Hillary’s name is placed in nomination. This petition was created by and for delegates. Email: hrc300delegates@yahoo.com.
Still, we’re not ready to make nice. . . .
[160 Years and Still Waiting — Rise Hillary Rise by DemocracyDame]
h/t to DemocracyDame for “Connect-the-Dots” lead and her video above.
WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham Clinton’s name will be placed in nomination along with nominee-in-waiting Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention, an emblematic move intended to unite the party after a divisive primary.
During the Denver gathering, Democrats will officially choose Obama to run against Republican John McCain this fall, but the state delegations will do a traditional roll call for their nominee’s vanquished primary opponent as well.
….
While Democrats say the mechanics of how that will play out still are being determined, Clinton — herself a superdelegate who gets a vote — is expected to release her delegates to Obama, announce her support for him and ask her backers to do the same.
So the “emblematic” move for the “vanquished” opponent is still expected to “release” her delegates, in a “move intended to unite the party?” How is that Democracy in action? Is that the type of “Unity” that the Neo-Republicanized DNC is pushing? I say M_Fing ditto with whipped cream and a cherry on top to what Riverdaughter said here:
F**k Unity! We’ll have unity after Howard Dean tells the Obama crew to back off the threats and intimidation of the delegates. We’ll have unity when Hillary’s name is put in nomination with no conditions. We’ll have unity when all of the superdelegates hear us say that Obama will lose if this convention is not fair, transparent and open. We’ll have unity when they take their responsibilities to their voters seriously. We’ll have unity when all the speeches and arguments are heard for *both* candidates and the roll call proceeds without twisted arms and ruined lives. Then, when we know who the real People’s Choice is, we’ll have Unity. Until then, we got nothing.
Why is the DNC asking the candidate who has the popular vote lead, who demographically and geographically has the widest voter spread and has the greatest chances of defeating John McCain in November asked to release her delegates after her speech? Well guess what, DNC, I want my Floridian 1/2 vote counted, and until the Credentials meeting on Aug 24, it’s still a 1/2 vote. I want my Florida delegates to argue and discuss and VOTE on the roll call and on the Nomination Ballot according to Democratic Convention traditions. But if the Neo-Republicanized DNC wants to twist Democracy out of the hands of its voters by not allowing Senator Clinton to have her delegates vote for her on a NOMINATION BALLOT as well as the traditional roll call, there will be no Democrat in the White House this November. Not because we’re bitter holdouts, but because you silenced our voices and our votes to push ahead an illegitimate candidate that you chose to scoot across the finish line by stealing 4 delegates and 600,000 “uncommitted” votes, thus breaking the DNC charter rule of Fair Reflection at the RBC meeting on May 31st, 2008.
How can the DNC demand Democracy in November for the General Election, yet won’t allow it in August among members of its own party? A traditional phrase says that “respect must be given in order for it to be attained.” I say the same goes for Democracy.
Despite the DNC stealing and appropriating Clinton delegates just so the DNC can cushion their selected-and-not-elected presumptive candidate’s delegate pile, they still can’t risk the chance that pledged delegates and superdelegates having Obama buyer’s remorse. And as a result of it, Democracy itself is collateral damage just because the Neo-Republicanized DNC suffers from Clenis envy and CDS.
Harold Ickes, PLEASE live up to your word! We want a floor fight!
Bill Bradley and Nita Lowey were on Meet the Press this morning and Tim Russert (aka Pumpkinhead) and Bradley had the following exchange:
TR: What should happen to Michigan and Florida?
BB:Well, I think the rules are the rules. MI and FL both knew that they wouldn’t be seated if they moved their primaries up. They decided to do that anyway. I mean if we want to make sure that MI and Fl are seated, well, then, don’t let that determine the outcome. They get a 50/50 division and go into the convention, everybody will be there.
TR: Are you disenfranchising the voters of MI and Fl with that position?
BB: Well, I think this is not the voters, per se, but the parties of those states made that decision and there are consequences for that decision.
For those of you joining the story late, it appears that Obama is playing Florida: No seating of primary delegates, no redo of primary by mail and if they try it, he’s going to tattle on them to the Bush Administration’s DOJ, you know, the one that tried to load the voting rights division with lawyers who thought that white voters in Mississippi were being oppressed.
Now, he’s decided that there shouldn’t be a do-over in Michigan either. That’s right, he’d be happier if the DNC would just split the votes in Florida and Michigan 50/50 even though Clinton decisively won Florida and won by default in Michigan.
So, how do the good people of Michigan feel about that? Well, why don’t we drop in on some of them and see for oursleves? See this from Michigan Liberal. It’s not looking good for Barry.
(Isn’t Michigan called the Wolverine State? And aren’t they vicious and carniverous when taunted?)
One other thing: If today’s events leave you somehow unsatisfied, make success the best revenge and donate to Hillary’s campaign. Even $5 or $10 bucks can do a lot of work when combined with thousands of others. Click here.
Corrente has a little ditty on the MI and FL delegations and how Obama approves of counting them in, as long as they don’t really count, if you get my drift. And who can blame him? There are a lot of delegates, Hillary delegates, at stake.
But let’s be honest about this: these two states were penalized by a technicality while three other states (IA, NH and SC) were not penalized at all for flouting the rules. And everyone can see through this kabuki. We know that they know that we know that there are forces inside the DNC who are trying their damndest to tip the scales in Obama’s favor.
It doesn’t sound very Democratic to me. But I am not at all surprised that Obama is cool with it.
Note to Vastleft: I’m not at all sure that the Hillary supporters are going to be as sanguine about losing the nomination as you suggest. It’s just that our anger and disappointment will likely not manifest itself in hysterical fits and petulance. It will be a lot more subtle and long lasting than that and party insiders should ask themselves if they really want to go there if they like their current jobs.
Turkana at The Left Coaster has a good post up today about the way that Florida and Michigan are getting the shaft. And let’s make no mistake about this: if they were included in the totals, Clinton wouldn’t look like she’s on the ropes right now and the media would have been forced to cover Florida as a genuine win- and a big one- for Hillary. Instead, they barely mentioned it while they overhyped Obama’s win in South Carolina.
What the absence of MI and FL does is nullify the votes of those of us in the Big D states who voted on SuperTuesday. Our votes combined with MI and FL should have given Hillary more of a boost but they seem to be dangled out there like they don’t count and without their critical mass, we are in virtual dead heat with no one getting a decisive lead and with one candidate benefitting from a deceptive media narrative.
Now, I think maybe Michigan should hold its primary again. It’s only fair since Obama and Edwards were not on the ballot. If it’s too expensive to do a primary and caucuses are *clearly* out of the question because the rabid Obamaphiles are the ones who show up to them and there is no secret ballot, why not have a primary by mail like Oregon has for their general elections? How hard would that be? It takes virtually no time to send out a ballot fo everyone registered and give them until *name a date* to send the sucker back. It’s quick, it’s private and it’s cheap compared to setting up voting precincts and calibrating voting machines. Before you know it, Michigan could seat some valid delegates. No muss, no fuss.
Florida on the other hand, *did* feature multiple candidates on its ballot and more than a million voters turned out to vote. I think Florida’s primary must be taken seriously. In fact, the voters did it without much campaigning on any candidate’s part which, to me, is more important. Except for the cable ad buys that Obama’s camp did and the few fundraising events by Clinton, the voter’s were relatively untainted and could evaluate the candidates based on nationally televised debates. It sounds legit. What good would be served by doing it all over except that due to the momentum that Obama has in the past week or so, the numbers would change in his favor?
Then there’s this: it turns out that South Carolina, NH and Iowa all violate the stated DNC primary timing rules, but they are let off the hook because of tradition. Only Michigan and Florida are punished. From a Left Coaster thread, a commenter notes:
Rule 11.A specifically set the date for the primaries & caucuses for those three states as ,“no earlier than 22 days before the first Tuesday in February” (Iowa), “no earlier than 14 days before the first Tuesday in February” (New Hampshire), and “no earlier than 7 days before the first Tuesday in February” (South Carolina).Iowa held their caucuses on January 3rd. That’s more than 22 days before the first Tuesday in February. New Hampshire held their primary on January 8th. That’s more than 17 days before the first Tuesday in February. And South Carolina held their primary on January 26th. That’s more than 7 days before the first Tuesday in February.
The fact is that, using your words, “the rules of the game” were changed to continue to give Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina preferential treatment in the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination process. Florida, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, all violated Rule 11.A., but only Florida and Michigan were punished for it.If you’re going to enforce the rules, then the rules need to be applied equally and fairly. They weren’t, and as far as I’m concerned, the 2008 Delegate Selection Rules for the Democratic National Convention aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.
Now, I’m not the kind of person who approves of changing the rules of the game while in progress, but when there are three states that started out with a handicap and they are relatively small states, why should they have the power to nullify the votes of more than a million voters from two other states? In fact, I don’t think the number of voters of IA, NH and SC combined exceed the number of primary voters in Florida alone. It looks like we are *still* being held hostage by the same stupid little states as before. IA and SC have made the decision for us in spite of SuperTuesday and more than a million disenfranchised voters in 2 states.
Howard better fix this fast because I am losing my patience. My state’s vote in NJ had better carry some weight and if Florida isn’t included, it most likely won’t.
The Confluence 