48 States and Still Counting

[CatnHat]

When will the delegates be seated in Florida and Michigan?

Why isn't the Obama campaign pushing for this? Guess they're happy if the voters in Florida and Michigan never get their votes to count. No more excuses from the Obama campaign.

[DerekJ]

1. Fuck

[roguevalley]

20. only thing they can sqawk about.

[davidpdx]

2. Why has Hillary's campaign made the endless argument that

caucus states don't count? Making the case that only certain states count is overrated. Yet I haven't heard one Clinton supporter disagree with such a tactic. The disrespect 30 state campaign is just that, disrespectful.

By the way, Florida and Michigan will be seated by the nominee. Will it be the full delegation? If I had to make a guess it will be 1/2 the delegation for Florida on the basis of the vote. Michigan will probably be something close to 50/50. Either way, the delegation will be seated and the two states won't be rewarded for breaking the rules.

But somehow I get the feeling such a suggestion will be ridiculed by Clinton supporters.

[goldcanyonaz]

4. What about S.C. they moved up their date.

[davidpdx]

6. South Carolina got permission to do so

They moved their primary from Feb 2nd to Jan 19th. Why does the Clinton campaign continue to beat the war drum in terms of Florida?

Florida and Michigan will be seated. It may not happen when or how you want it to. People need to get a grip and stop whining about this. They broke the rules and they got penalized.

[goldcanyonaz]

7. Why is that? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I wonder....

[davidpdx]

9. Come back when you can give an honest

non-snarky reply. Until then, don't bother.

[cd3dem]

19. The republicans in Michigan and Florida set the date! so punish the democrats!

[goldcanyonaz]

3. They will not, but SC and Nevada moved up there primarys w/o penalty.

[yewberry]

14. SC & NV were allowed to move to maintain the calendar

that all of the states agreed to.

[GreenTea]

5. Pitiful! Bill Clinton forcing & hanging on to a thread...so sick of it, as it hurts the Dems...

No matter, he's what's important...Break apart the party (who cares) we may have a chance!

[Va Lefty]

8. OMFG

[leftofcool]

10. Dean is going to be hung out to dry one this one and he knows it

[cali]

11. They'll be seated at the Convention, just like other delegations.

And they'll be seated either fully or not. It's not Obama's obligation to advocate for the pathetic little rule breakers.

[Brundle_Fly]

12. THEY WILL BE SEATED

as a 50/50 Split...

that is the only solution/

[nyccitizen]

13. They will be counted LAST... and by then it will probably be moot...

They will be seated. The party isn't suicidal. But MI/FL's penalty for moving up their primaries will be that they are counted last instead of first -- after June 3rd the party will figure out what to do with them.

By then it probably won't matter. One of the candidates, almost certainly Obama, will have reached 2024 and the remaining uncommitted superdelegates will back the nominee, probably giving him somewhere around 2100. Unlikely it will be close enough for FL and MI to make a meaningful difference.

Everyone in Clinton's camp thinks these states are enough to give her the nomination. Keep in mind that she only nets 39 delegates with FL seated as-is, and the best she can hope for in MI is that they give her 55% and attribute the 45% "uncommitted" to Obama, netting her less than 10 delegates in MI. So seating these states wouldn't even net her 50 pledged delegates in a race where he is leading by over 150.

[democrattotheend]

15. Go ahead and seat them. It won't matter.

I played with the delegate calculator, and barring a complete implosion, Obama's delegate lead is insurmountable even with Florida and Michigan.

I would be fine with seating them, but I do not think that it's fair to count Clinton's votes from Michigan toward the popular vote and count 0 for Obama. Whether or not he had to take his name off the ballot is debatable (it depends how you interpret the DNC's rules against participating in an unsanctioned primary. Personally, I think leaving your name on the ballot equals participation). But either way, if your argument is that the people of Michigan deserve to be represented, I don't think you can argue that not a single person in Michigan supports Obama, and therefore, I don't see how you can argue that giving Obama 0 votes is representing the will of the people.

[phrigndumass]

16. Duck!

Hit-and-run from a right-wing flame baiter ...

[racaulk]

17. .

[Hepburn]

18. Oh, goody, another Hillbot with a one-note tune.

Please do us all a favor:

[helderheid]

21. How about everyone actually follows the rules? Kthxbai