« Spitzer’s replacement and his wife had extra-marital affairs
Obama Threads the Needle »



No Do-Over in Florida

March 18th, 2008
By MICHAEL STICKINGS, Assistant Editor

Print Print

It looks like there won’t be a do-over Democratic contest in Florida, mail-in or otherwise. “We researched every potential alternative process — from caucuses to county conventions to mail-in elections — but no plan could come anywhere close to being viable in Florida,” said state party chairwoman Karen Thurman. The state’s congressional delegation had already come out against the do-over plan.

So what now?

It is unrealistic to think that Florida’s delegates won’t be seated at the convention. They will. A way will be found — and there are other options, as we discussed last week. For example, the results of the “illegitimate” primary could count. Whatever the rules — and the rules are such that Florida was stripped of its delegates, making the primary essentially a non-contest — a deal could be struck whereby delegates are allocated based on that vote, a Clinton win, perhaps a deal struck in conjunction with a similar sort of deal in Michigan. Or, the delegates could be allocated based on that vote, but each delegate would receive only half a vote at the convention, an option that would halve Clinton’s margin of victory.

Well, those are the options. A third option would simply be for nothing to happen, for the rules to be adhered to, for Florida to remain stripped of its delegates. Florida (and Floridians) would be upset, but, well, that’s politics for you.

Thurman, needless to say, opposes this third option: “This doesn’t mean that Democrats are giving up on Florida voters. It means that a solution will have to come from the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee, which is scheduled to meet again in April.” Like I said, a way will be found.

Needless to say, this is good news for Obama and bad news for Clinton. Even if the results of the illegitimate primary are allowed to count, with allocated delegates receiving full votes at the convention, Obama will have avoided a potentially damaging loss in a do-over. Ben Smith: “This is a real setback for Hillary, who could have gotten both delegates, momentum, and — crucially — a stronger chance to claim a popular vote lead out of the revote.”

So what now?

Well… a compromise deal in Florida, a compromise deal in Michigan — if, that is, the state parties can get their bureaucratic and cost-sensitive acts together, and if, that is, the Obama and Clinton campaigns can reach some sort of quid pro quo.



This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 9:30 am and is filed under Newsweek Blogitics, Primaries, Michigan, Florida, Democratic Party, Barack Obama, 2008 Elections, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Politics. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Viewing 5 Comments

 
close Reblog this comment
Powered by Disqus · Learn more
blog comments powered by Disqus

« Spitzer’s replacement and his wife had extra-marital affairs
Obama Threads the Needle »


By posting comments on The Moderate Voice you are acknowledging and agreeing to the following general comments policy:

(1) The Moderate Voice's comments are hosted by Disqus (http://disqus.com). If your comment doesn't appear immediately, please be patient since it is an off-site system.

(2) All e-mail received from readers by The Moderate Voice is considered intended for publication unless otherwise indicated in the initial message from the writer. Please do not send us attachments unless you contact us and we agree to it.

(3)The Moderate Voice reserves the right to edit all e-mail and posted comments for content, clarity, and length.

(4) Our comment space is reserved for comments that relate to a post's topic. You should not reprint lengthy text from your own works or those of others, including news articles. You MAY link to them.

(5) Comments that are abusive, offensive, contain profane or racist material or violate the terms of service for this blog's host provider will be removed and the author(s) banned from future comments. Such comments also violate the very SPIRIT of this site -- which was created to encourage thoughtful and vigorous discussion among readers who may share differing viewpoints.

(6) All points of view are welcome on The Moderate Voice, with the following exceptions:

(a) Comments posted several times a day with the intent of dominating, re-directing or hijacking the thread by turning a discussion into the equivalent of a bitter shouting match.

(b) Comments posted several times a day that insult or call other commenters or blog writers names or repeatedly make the same point with the effect of or clear intent to annoy other commenters or blog writers.

(7) Name-calling, personal attacks, racist comments or use of profanity by any commenter, whether they are by persons who agree or disagree with the views expressed by The Moderate Voice will NOT be tolerated and will result in the deletion of the comment and the banning of the commenter's ISP address, without notice. In some cases a comment may be deleted and the writer will be given another chance. Commenters who virtually ASK The Moderate Voice to ban them by ignoring any warnings or daring TMV to ban them will quickly get their wish.

(8) Anonymous commenters should identify themselves with the same moniker, so readers know their comments are coming from a single individual. If they don't, they are subject to a banning.

(9)If we have problems with inappropriate or inflammatory comments from a commenter who it turns out gave a fake email address that person is subject to immediate banning.

(10) Quotes from material appearing on The Moderate Voice with attribution are allowed. Reprints are allowed only by permission from The Moderate Voice. You may request permission by e-mail.

(11) The Moderate Voice is a personal site. It is not the Government. It is NOT aligned with any political party. It is NOT promoting any specific candidate for office. It is not a public institution or a media organization. It is not a neutral site. It is intended to express and disseminate the authors' varying points of views. Writers on this weblog WILL take positions. It reserves the right to limit comments to those that, in its view, comport with its stated comment policy. Comments that do not comply are subject to deletion and banning of the author's ISP.

Disclaimer:

--Reading and posting comments at The Moderate Voice constitutes acknowledgment of and agreement to the terms outlined in this comment policy. This comment policy may be revised in part or in full at any time.

--All comments must comport with applicable state and federal laws. The Moderate Voice has no obigation to monitor, edit, censor, or take responsibility for comments. It may or may not act upon a violation of its comment policy once a suspected violation has been brought to its attention. Therefore, commenters are solely responsible for the content of their comments and should ensure that that their comments are lawful and fall within the stated guidelines of both The Moderate Voice and its hosting company.

--The Moderate Voice is not be responsible for injury or liability to any reader or commenter resulting from its own communications or those of commenters, that may be offensive, misleading, inaccurate, illegal, or otherwise unsuitable in the view of the reader. Readers and commenters further agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Moderate Voice from claims resulting from the use of any material appearing on The Moderate Voice which damages the reader, commenter or any other party.

--The Moderate Voice is not responsible for and might disagree with material posted in the comments section. While we strive for accuracy in our posts and DO correct errors, material posted by The Moderate Voice in its posts -- or those left by others in the comments section -- may or may not be accurate.

Read and Post at your own risk.