BREAKING: MI Caucus Likely, Says DNC Rules Committee

[OhioChick]

Source: The Plank

Thursday, March 06, 2008 2:17 PM


A member of the DNC's Rules And Bylaws Committee--the committee that stripped Florida and Michigan of its delegates for moving their primaries before February 5th--told me that Michigan plans to get out of its uncounted delegate problem by announcing a new caucus in the next few days.

"They want to play. They know how to do caucuses," the DNC source said. "That was their plan all along, before they got cute with the primary."

Michigan Democrats had originally planned on caucuses after the legally permissible Feb. 5 date, but then went along with top elected Democrats, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who pushed for an early primary.

Hillary Clinton won that Jan. 15 primary, but was the only major candidate on the ballot. Barack Obama and John Edwards had removed their names, although Obama supporters in the state urged voters to choose “uncommitted” over Clinton. Forty percent of the voters that day did just that, compared to 55 percent who voted for




Read more: http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/03/06/breaking-michigan-caucus-likely-says-dnc-rules-committee-member.aspx

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Sent to me by a Friend who keeps me well-informed. :)

[babylonsister]

1. Kick! I wonder how expensive this is to do? nt

[Stephanie]

2. So 40% voted AGAINST Clinton with nobody else on the ballot?

Bring. It. On.

[LisaM]

7. No. Edwards and Kucinich were still in the race

and some Hillary voters voted uncommitted as well, because there was a theory that if all the delegates were uncommitted, they could later vote at a brokered convention.

But the 40% included plenty of votes that were FOR someone.

I am so tired of the anti-Hillary negativity I'm about ready to leave DU for awhile, and I've been here since almost the beginning.

[Stephanie]

8. TaTa!

:hi:

[OhioChick]

9. "Tata"

is quite fitting when referring to HRC.

[LisaM]

10. Ah, the usual graciousness of an Obama supporter

Well, what did I expect?

[Stephanie]

18. Google "Clinton+TaTa Consultancy"

:hi:

[MelissaB]

11. Edwards was not on the ballot.

[1776Forever]

13. Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Clinton and Mike Gravel were the only ones on the ticket in MI

http://michiganmessenger.com/tag.do;jsessionid=A83272C6041E5D17F1B8DE9B647C520A?tag=Dennis+Kucinich

(if you want to look at the link cut and paste it - it won't copy full link)

Kucinich campaign makes last-minute play for Michigan
by: Eartha Jane Melzer
Monday (01/14) at 11:06 AM

Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Clinton and Mike Gravel are the only still-running Democratic candidates whose names are on the primary ballot here, and Kucinich is the only one to campaign in Michigan.

[Sgent]

27. Edwards

was in the race -- but not on the ballot.

[Zhade]

35. Later. Can't take the heat...

She deserves the hate, with her lies and attempts to cheat (not to mention her conservatism).

[MaineDem]

39. Edwards was not on the ballot.

Clinton, Dodd, and Kucinich were the only ones on the ballot, IIRC.

It seems I forgot Gravel.

http://abcnews.go.com/politics/elections/state?state=MI&ref=ipb

[Infinite Hope]

42. Until then, Buh-bye.

:hi:

[robinlynne]

12. I heart your post.

[Zuiderelle]

23. Most people didn't bother voting at all, so it's ridiculous to assume that percentage means anything

I'd be perfectly happy if they did a caucus at this point, since a primary is financially impossible in such a money-strapped state. The fairest thing though would be another primary, in which everyone is on the ballot. Then all of Clinton's supporters would vote who didn't vote before. And Obama's supporters can vote again. Win-win.

[Bozita]

31. I'm in MI. I donated to Edwards. I voted "uncommited." I'm part of that 40%.

I wasn't alone.

[pbca]

3. Awesome!

I think BO can take Michigan! Larger African American population than Ohio AND most of Michigan gets CBC so they don't have to rely on the Clinton News Network. The CBC, by the way, is heavily and accurately covering the NAFTA issue.

[Kittycat]

14. MI also has the Michael Moore contingent.

And we know how he feels about her campaign and voting record.

[1776Forever]

15. Right on! I am hopeful that this happens!

:grouphug:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. If this is good with the people of MI then I'm all for it.

They deserve a chance to be counted and if this is what it takes then so be it.

[madfloridian]

5. I heard Mark Brewer said no to one.

?

[knitter4democracy]

21. He may be the party chair, but Gov. Granholm's the one in charge.

Brewer talks out of both sides of his mouth, too. Ugh. I can't stand that guy.

[blunorsk]

6. Michigan Blues

a little known Republican state legislator from a small rural county proposed the change.
I live in MI; what a mess. The Michigan primary and the Florida primary are too flawed to accurately portray the voters' sentiments.
These two states Must be set aside (as Florida should have been set aside from the 2000 election)

[watrwefitinfor]

16. Clinton said on the news tonight she would NOT accept a caucus in MI.

No link, I can't even remember which network news was playing, but it was the 6:30 news on abc/cbs/nbc. Had to be one of them, since that's all I get.

She was emphatic.

Wat.

[Zhade]

36. What, she expects to benefit from an unfair election?

Figures.

[SKKY]

43. So what she wants matters more than the people of Michigan???

Hilary, Hilary, Hilary, there you go again. They're so cute at this age. :sarcasm:

[JerseygirlCT]

44. Apparently, she's adamant about the people having their say

except when doing so might cost her delegates.

[Bumblebee]

17. I suspect Hillary won't settle for a caucus -- and I don't blame her.

If it was a primary, it should be another primary. In the primary, with many people voting, she would be up by 15% or so; in caucuses, with many fewer voters, Obama is the king, which is fine -- but how democratic is that? If they had a caucus before, it's one thing, but they had a primary. Fair is fair. Or do not replace it at all.

[BadgerLaw2010]

19. The Obamists seem to prefer having the fewest possible people vote...wonder why?

Oh wait. Intimidation of polling places is a felony while it's accepted in caucuses.

[knitter4democracy]

22. We had the lowest turnout I've ever seen.

No, we didn't have many people voting in our primary. The caucus is the only fair thing to do, and chances are, we can get the turnout.

[knitter4democracy]

20. Goodness, I hope so.

This is the only right thing to do at this point.

And frankly, I'm mad as hell at our top party leadership here. This whole mess was started by the MIGOP (probably by the RNC and Rove behind the scenes), and our top party leaders were dumb enough to go along. It's time to clean house!

[Laelth]

24. Good for Michigan!

Take that talking point away from Hillary! Force her to accept that she can not win.

:patriot:

-Laelth

[madfloridian]

25. Hillary: no MI caucus, no Florida primary redo...just seat them.

Wow.

[goforit]

26. Now isn't this just fair.......When Obama wasn't even on the ticket.

[spoony]

46. He was in FL, MI is another mess altogether

[peacebird]

28. that is SO wrong. Lots of folks didn't vote because they knew it wouldn't count

AND the votes can't be allowed for Mich as Clinton was on the ballot but Obama had removed his name as the DNC asked....

I support a new vote - be it caucus or primary for both states - but the original votes cannot stand.

[Windex]

34. that is unbelieveable

Everybody sees what is going on, I just don't get it.

[JerseygirlCT]

45. Not happening, Senator.

How in the world could you even begin to construe that as fair? Obama wasn't even on the MI ballot, for pete's sake! I don't understand her, I really don't.

[Azazel]

29. This is election overkill. The US has gotten like some Third World country,

where it's always "election time."

This creates the illusion of democracy.

Well, the illusion is becoming a slow-motion nightmare as these endless primaries go on.

There have been twenty debates featuring Obama and Clinton.

This whole process started too soon and costs too much money.

I understand the wall-to-wall coverage of all-Obama/Hillary-all-the-time on TV and on the internet news sites. It keeps our minds off the war, and the weakening economy.

But if I want to be distracted from these serious issues, I prefer other, more elevating forms of distraction.

[magellan]

32. What Azazel said

Great post. Welcome to DU.

[Zhade]

37. Damn straight!

NT!

[tachyon]

30. Well that seems completely fair to me...it's a lot better than ignoring Michigan voters

altogether, isn't it?

[bhikkhu]

33. Good news!

This seems the best solution, and much better than just validating the results of a third-world style previous vote. Let's see some serious campaigning and a real vote and a real voice in Michigan!

[xxqqqzme]

38. If this happens in Michigan, Florida

will look foolish.....again.

[ohio2007]

40. I think Ohio should have a "DO OVER" also nt

[Infinite Hope]

41. YES!!! I hope they have early this spring...either late March or April.

Easily doable in late March.