[colorado tanker]

I'm serious here, not being part of Operation Chaos.

It is simply not acceptable for a major political party to disenfranchise its delegates from two major states, leaving party members in those states with no voice in the Presidential nomination. Something has to be done to give those members representation.

It is not an answer to say the candidates knew the "rules." This isn't a candidate issue, its a voter issue. A "rule" that results in American citizens and registered voters having no say in their party's nomination process should not be a valid rule.

Now that their legislators have ruled out a "do-over" I don't know what the answer is, but they need to do something. Dean and the party leaders should never have been so dumb as to paint themselves into this corner.

It could be an ugly convention and if they don't fix this problem, it should be.

[tet68]

The Kamikaze attack by the Hillery! Cherry Blossom squadron lead by Baka Rodham still won’t hold off the chosen one.
He is positively annointed.

Nice to see that Demorat “UNITY”.

[Eaker]

t is simply not acceptable for a major political party to disenfranchise its delegates from two major states, leaving party members in those states with no voice in the Presidential nomination. Something has to be done to give those members representation.

The States were told what would happen if they moved their primaries up and they did it anyway.

I have no sympathy for them as life just ain't full of do overs.

[Republic If You Can Keep It]

Something has to be done to give those members representation.

No, it doesn't.

There are consequences to breaking rules, as all adults need to learn.

[bt_dooftlook]

IIRC, the parties own the primary process; it has nothing to do with the Constitution. That being the case, the Dems can decide to only run primaries in CA, NY, OH, FL, and PA if they want. If they don't run a primary in your state, presumably you can vote in some other parties primary...However, they did make a rule, which Michigan and Florida violated, and the party punished those states - all of the candidates at the time agreed to this outcome.

As Will rogers once said - "I don't belong to an organized political party...I'm a Democrat"

[EDINVA]

You simply cannot change the rules after the game has been played. Even if you are a Clinton.

The DNC, and to a lesser extent the RNC, made a very bad political decision last year. But so, too, did the Florida and Michigan state parties and legislatures.

Both national parties voted to disquality either all (DNC) or half (RNC) of the delegates selected in pre-Super Tuesday primaries. It is up to the national parties, comprised of members from all the states, to seat delegates at their respective nominating conventions. Delegates elected in defiance of the party rules should be excluded.

The legislatures and parties in Florida and Michigan wanted to be more relevant to the nominating process and defied the party rules. As responsible educated voters, the people in MI and FL knew, or should have known, when they voted in January exactly what the rules and their consequences were.

How many Michiganders and Floridians didn’t vote precisely because they knew the consequencess and that their vote would mean nothing? How many states didn’t move up their primaries/caucuses because of the rules? Which candidates chose not to campaign in Michigan and Florida because of the rules? And how many Democrat candidates had their names removed from the Michigan ballot because of the party rule?

If people in MI/FL feel disenfranchised, they should look to electing new state party leaders and new state legislators. If the DNC caves on this rule, it is not fair to the states that chose to play by the rules, nor to the candidates who chose not to run in Florida or Michigan.

It’s sort of like demanding a recount only in Miami-Dade and Broward. That’s what cheaters do.

[justiceseeker93]

Dean and the party leaders should never have been so dumb as to paint themselves into this corner.

I'm certainly no fan of Howard Dean, but he had absolutely no idea that Her Royal Thighness would not walk away with the nomination when he punished Michigan and Florida by not allowing their delegates to be seated. He didn't think it would matter one bit.