Michigan's ability to vote was sacrificed so that the local party bosses could prove a point

[babylonsister]

Blame the Dems: Michigan's ability to vote was sacrificed so that the local party bosses could prove a point
by Jack Lessenberry | January 16, 2008


Well, the Michigan presidential primary is over. I am writing this before the votes are counted and have no idea who won. But I do know this: If you are a Republican, it was important and meaningful.

What voters in the GOP primary did Tuesday had a serious impact on the race, and on the candidacies of John McCain, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, the three most likely to be nominated.

If you are a Democrat, however, you were robbed of your vote. Your primary didn't count at all. Not only did the primary not count in terms of delegates, you weren't even allowed to write in a meaningless vote for the candidate you really wanted. Kazakhstan has better elections.

Congratulations, Democrats. We live in the state that has the nation's worst unemployment rate — by far — and in many ways, the biggest problems. Yet we are also the only state that was essentially robbed of a voice in choosing the Democratic presidential nominee.

That's because the ego-tripping state leaders of your party, mainly National Committeewoman Debbie Dingell and Democratic State Chairman Mark Brewer, allowed the national party to take your votes away from you. They pushed this primary, egged on a bit by U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, having been both openly and privately warned that they would be punished. The Democratic National Committee had decided that no state could have a primary or a caucus before Feb. 5, except for Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

The national party told Michigan's party leaders that if they broke the rules, Michigan would lose its delegates.

They did it anyway, and got sent to their room without supper. Now you could argue this was too harsh, and I would agree. The Republican Party punished Michigan in a more temperate way. They took half the state's GOP delegates away, but let the primary go forward otherwise. National Democrats took no prisoners. They 1) took all the state's delegates away, 2) urged the candidates to take their names off the ballot, and 3) asked them not to campaign here.

more...

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/12182

[Fresh_Start]

1. Stupidity all the way around

no one is blameless.

The primary system is broken.

[Demeter]

2. But Hillary Got He First Win! 55% of Less Than 1% Turnout

And that was the whole point of the exercise, if anyone wants to be honest about it. Ask DLC members Granholm, Dingell, Brewer, Levin, and so forth.