DNC’s big rules/bylaws panel meeting: The final countdown continues
C-SPAN will go live tomorrow morning with the Democratic National Committee’s rules and bylaws panel meeting set to open at 9:30am Eastern. USA Today has a useful FAQ on what’s at stake with the Florida and Michigan delegates and what will (or won’t) be resolved.
Q: How is the committee going to vote?
A: That’s hard to tell. A memo from DNC lawyers said party rules call for the two states to lose at least half of their delegate votes. It outlined two options: seat only half the delegates or seat them all and give each a half vote.
The DNC however, says that legal analysis isn’t binding. There’s incentive to reach a deal. Party leaders, such as DNC Chairman Howard Dean and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, would like to see the nomination fight end long before the convention. It’s important for the party to avoid alienating Democrats in Michigan and Florida, states that will be battlegrounds in the general-election fight against Republican presumptive nominee John McCain. Both candidates have allies on the committee. Thirteen have endorsed Clinton; eight have backed Obama. Nine have not declared a preference.
Q: Is the committee’s decision the final word?
A: Not necessarily.
The panel’s decision can be appealed to the DNC committee that awards credentials to the convention. Ickes has not ruled out a legal challenge.
The DNC has banned protests at the meeting (crushing of dissent!), but look for a circus of Obama and Hillary supporters to turn out for the never-ending final countdown. Hillary’s mad woman brigade is organizing a rally. Obama’s Kossack contingent will show up to counter the livid ladies.
Party leaders are dreading the mob scene to come:
Here’s part of what has party leaders worried: “On Saturday they may have a new image problem on their hands: the specter of angry hordes of Clinton supporters showing up at the Washington meeting of the Democratic National Committee’s Rules & Bylaws Committee to protest against the disenfranchisement of 2.3 million voters in Florida and Michigan,” Time’s Jay Newton-Small reports. “One generally doesn’t protest something that one expects to win. And that should give a pretty good hint of the likely outcome on Saturday.”
Get more popcorn ready. Who needs Indiana Jones?
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- Around The Campaign 2008 Sphere May 30, 2008
- Around The Campaign 2008 Sphere May 30, 2008
- Clinton Supporters Fight To Deny Delegates Being Seated
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What they do with Florida and Michigan will speak volumes on the Democrat’s ability to abide by the rule of law.
Other states wanting to jump the gun next time around will be watching.
Algore showed the way. If it goes bad for Hillary I hope she runs to court and sues. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch.
Seriously, isn’t this the most overused word in America today? Sort of like last year’s word: surreal.
Rules, what rules…We don’t need no stinking rules….
Sounds like loads of fun!!!!! Must see TV.
Caught a bit of HANNITY radio yesterday. Had JAMES CARVILLE on. He said they had 30 million in funds strictly for re-dos in MI and FL for there primaries. No one interested yet. Just wonder what are the DEMS afraid of. Maybe OLD HILL could beat B. HUSSEIN soundly in 2 states that really have a BIG STAKE to the candidates. HMMMM, makes one wonder….
Don’t forget draconian.
So, who can say preview of Denver?
It’s not about the rules or right or wrong. It’s about what feels good and accomplishes your personal goals. The liberal way has no standards, no morals - just whatever gives them power over others.
Look for this practice to become national policy if they win the Presidency and Congress. Protests may only be used by Democrats against others.
This is becoming “the stick in the anthill”. What a disorganized group of sh*!heels they truly are. How can ANYONE seriously vote fools like them into power, when its so obvious they don’t know what to do most of the time ?
democrats can’t stick by their own rules.
Dean, which tends to be typical of democrats for some reason, operated the DNC as if it were the politboro. under what theory were the democrats operating when they took all of FL and MI’s votes away? as if, even if there wasn’t a tight race, those two states would be perfectly fine with being disenfranchised.
spo-con,
amen.
#2 marshallruss…….Hillery is a LAWYER ! You know shes going to court. It ain’t over til the fat ankled lady sings !
The DNC would be stupid to try to get them seated. They have no idea how much it would split the party. For once, there is a strong youth vote, and if they want to mess with us, we’ll be happy to give it to the Republicans.
I wonder….
If Senator Clinton doesn’t get the Democratic nomination, what would be the chances of her breaking with the party and running as an independent?
I just read the funniest head line on Drudge: “Dem convention short of cash, considering spending cuts”. I guess they can’t dig into the taxpayers wallet at the convention as they do in congress for cash. On Fox last night they had a hc gal on and she said if hc wasn’t nominated, she would vote for jm. This is getting fun.
L
Several dozen protesters left Jacksonville this morning, planning to meet similar protesters from across the state. They say there will be several thousand protesters from Florida alone, and they don’t care about Howard Dean’s no protest rules.
As for running as an independent, post-convention is far, far too late. The states have ballot access rules that must be complied with. They are very complex, require months of petitioning, and most require completion earlier than the end of the conventions.
I defintely see Hillary running as an Independent with the hope of getting enough Electoral College votes from both Obama and McCain to get the vote into the House. Then in the House, she uses the FBI file data to broker her election as President. What a Hollywood script that would be!
No! Say it isn’t so! Not in the Democratic Party.
What makes the DNC panel get to forego the shenanigans the the likes of Code Pink and others pull at Congressional hearings?
Ahhhh. Loopholes. You have to love ‘em.
I am far from being a Hillary fan but even I will give her credit enough not to be that stupid. She hasn’t been able to muster enough, so it seems, to win the Democrats’ nomination. And, if she split with her party, she would likely alienate many that did vote for her that are loyal Democrats. And, any votes she would draw off McCain would be almost nonexistent. And, there is a snowball’s chance in you know where that she will bleed any votes off Obama in the general.
While I do understand that post-convention assertion of “independent party” status would have major roadblocks to deal with, I would bet that “Billary Inc.” could find a way to deal with them should they choose that route.
I just don’t see her meekly toeing the line and going away should Senator Obama gain the Democratic nomination. Which looks like the most likely scenario at this point.
Howard”the duck” Dean has lost complete control of the DNC. He can’t raise enough cash, he disenfranchised two states voters, now the protesters are ready to wipe their collective feet on him. BWWAAAAAHAAAAAA! A real HERO that boy………
OK, maybe it wasn’t broken but at least we tried to fix it.
OK, maybe it’s worse now, we’ll call another meeting.
OK, OK, lets have another meeting. Maybe someone will think of something besides “have another meeting.”
As far as party loyalty goes, I don’t think that’s a factor. After all, how many people in the Republican party are saying that rather than vote for McCain they will write in someone else? Hillary is very close to Obama in the popular vote tallies and would probably take a large number of votes with her.
Simcoe, ya got it. You just took a short trip through Howie’s brain ! Now you probably might wanna go shower.
She might take some that voted for her in the primary with her. But, even many of those are hardcore Democrats that will vote for the Party’s nominee. What she would take would be enough to put McCain over-the-top. Now, she might like to see McCain win, so she could run against him in 2012 but she wouldn’t want to aliente the Democratic base by being a spoiler in 2008 to see it happen. Besides, it was pointed out above that after the convention would be too late for her to comply with state requirements to get on many of the ballots as an Independent.
Make that a couple of them…with lye soap.
Karma.
Democrats brought this on themselves through the marvelous leadership Howard Dean. They are reaping what they have sown.
The democrats scheduled their convention for August 25-28, 2008. The Florida primary election is, has been, and still is, scheduled for August 26,2008. Candidates for office both democrat and republican will be chosen on that date for all offices except POTUS. That election was moved to January 29, 2008 and held along with a vote on a Florida constitutional amendment. This was 1 week prior to when Howard Dean’s crybabies wanted it to be held. No one was willing to pay for two elections so close together. Certainly not the taxpayers of Florida. It made no sense.
Now 2 states passed laws that authorized their presidential primary elections and the political parties feel that they are above the law. Their rules superceed the rule of law. Where is that written?
I suppose Florida could invalidate the January 29th election and hold it on August 26th and make the democrats wait on us. Or the state could throw the offending political parties off the ballot and make them appear as write-in candidates. Or level the playing field and treat the two major parties as all the others are treated and make them earn their ballot positions by petition drives.
Too borrow from the commercial ‘who do they think they are
Hertz‘ or in this case maybe Haliburtion is more appropriate.I finally have a reason to vote for McCain. Do you think we could get that vow in writing and get a bunch of other liberal has-beens to sign with her?
I just love being an independent. The nanny state mindset caused the creation of a system to override the public’s choice inorder to nominate the candidate of the party’s choice. When the party splits, I hope the incumbents who created this mess will be voted out.
Papa Louie, I’m still waiting on Babs and Alec Baldwin to move. They promised too but their ugly mugs are still living large in the good old USA.
So much for that pesky freedom of speech and right of assembly guaranteed by the 1st Amendment the fascism of the left has finally been turned against their own. At this rate I wonder if we are going to see another “night of the long knives” in the Democratic Party. Who will win and who will be put up against the wall to face the firing squad, the black shirted SS (Gestapo) of the professional feminist women for “she who must not be named” or the young hip brown shirts SA (Storm Troopers) of the Obamination?
In the liberal party, I have to say it again. It’s just a bridge game. In this bridge game woman trumps man, but black trumps woman. Only black woman trumps black man. This is the great party of freedom for all and true equality for none. The white men (deuces and threes) should leave the Democrat Party in droves for the true party of individual equality. All black men, and all women should also join the conservatives if they want to be treated as equals.
“Who needs Indiana Jones?” Hillary Clinton does, that’s who!! Popcorn won’t do, this is tailgaitin’ party time! You bring the brats, I’ll buy the beer.
On May 30th, 2008 at 9:57 am, spo-con said:
#2 marshallruss…….Hillery is a LAWYER ! You know shes going to court. It ain’t over til the fat ankled lady sings !
Don’t you mean fat cankled lady!
The youth vote will do what the youth vote always does: Talk a lot and sit at home on election day.
For grins, watch this video of an ANGRY Hillbot who was kicked out of the meeting:
http://mikesamerica.blogspot.com/2008/05/hillary-supporter-at-dem-rules-mtg.html
She yells “McCain will be the next President of the United States!”