Wexler to give argument on behalf of Obama on Saturday

[gristy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/us/politics/30dems.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1212112887-9BkNx4mMjaqEJ4msr84yVQ

Leaders in Congress Seek to Settle Soon on Nominee

WASHINGTON — Hoping to bring their party’s presidential nomination fight to an end, the two top Democrats in Congress said they were pressing superdelegates who had yet to declare a preference in the race to make their choice public by the middle of next week.
<snip>

Representatives of Mr. Reid and Ms. Pelosi will be on hand Saturday for the rules committee of the Democratic National Committee, when members meet to decide how the disputed delegates from the Florida and Michigan primaries should awarded.

The argument on behalf of Mr. Obama will be made by Representative Robert Wexler, Democrat of Florida, and former Representative David Bonior, Democrat of Michigan. While party officials have suggested halving the delegates allowed from each state, aides to Mr. Obama said Thursday that they would also allow Mrs. Clinton to have a greater share of those delegates than they believe she deserves, hoping to resolve the dispute.

[slinkerwink]

1. I hope he tells the truth about what Florida Democrats did.

[AtomicKitten]

2. I hope he has more substance than I saw him exhibit today on CNN.

His argument was unfocused and I'm not at all clear on what his suggestion is for the disposition. Well, I figure Obama chose him for his wingman Saturday, so I will assume he's got the goods.

edited for correct day of RBC meeting

[me b zola]

4. I think that he is battling very strong forces

I saw his performance today, and what I took away from it is just how strong the powers are that he, Dean, and Obama are battling. Personally, I'll give him leeway, at least for now.

[AtomicKitten]

14. the air is full of electricity and rumor

it's exhausting :D

[Tatiana]

5. It was the same on Hardball. He seems reluctant to go against the FL Clintonistas.

I also don't have any faith that he's going to point out the truth about Florida Dems.

I hope that is able to articulate a little better come Saturday. Truth be told, I have more faith in Bonior.

[AtomicKitten]

16. when you think of it, what Clinton is asking for is really outrageous in it's own right

I suppose just holding their coats while they let 'er rip is as good a strategy as any. Arguing why Barack deserves to get ZERO from Michigan is quite a performance.

[Jersey Devil]

7. A good lawyer never shows his hand for free

Look, there's a lot of things going on. MSNBC has a new story about a possible settlement. Could be a rumor, could be true. So what he says Saturday may depend on what happens between now and then and he'll adjust what he says by the circumstances. If it is all out war he probably will demonstrate what asses the Florida Dems were in thumbing their noses at the DNC. If there is a settlement he'll go easy, conduct a dog and pony show, the committee will take a break for smokes, beverages and to check their Blackberries and then go back in the room and announce the settlement.

[K Gardner]

10. Ah.. OK, hopefully that's what's going on. Ignore my WTF response below then, LOL.

[AtomicKitten]

12. a settlement would be delightful because this is exhausting

oy!

[Jersey Devil]

20. Possible settlment from TPM

Just a rumor of course, but hopefully it is true.

A Developing Compromise For Florida And Michigan?
By Greg Sargent - May 29, 2008, 4:10PM

MSNBC reports on a possible new compromise for Florida and Michigan:

This plan would halve the votes for all of the Florida delegates, netting Clinton 19 and, more importantly, counting that popular vote. But Michigan's primary results would not be accepted and, instead, that state's delegates would simply be split 50-50 between Clinton and Obama.

All of the delegations, under this compromise, would be seated in full, but each delegate's vote would be counted as 0.5, including the superdelegates.

MSNBC says this is gaining some traction in the right circles, adding that it would make the new magic number for victory become 2,118.

So, under this scheme, Hillary would net an overall total of 19 delegates -- from both states. Add in Michigan's 50-50 split, and she would get roughly 84 delegates, Obama would get 65. That would hardly make up much ground for her, since at that point it would bring the total delegate counts (assuming no others decide in the next couple of days) to this:

Obama 2,046

Hillary 1,866

That would mean she'd still have to pull in a huge percentage of the remaining super-dels to prevent Obama from getting to the magic number of 2,118. Of course, she could argue that Florida's popular vote should now be added to the tally, though even that would almost certainly fail to overcome his lead by that metric.

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/

[AtomicKitten]

23. thanks for the update

This process would seem much more civilized if there is an agreement and one that they stick to without sniveling. Done and done.

... and then we can move on to the GE. :D

Thanks again.

[K Gardner]

9. I know !! WTF was that all about...

[AtomicKitten]

18. Just a few more days ....

[DevonRex]

11. Wexler is sharp as a tack. No way would he let anyone know what

his argument is gonna be before Saturday.

[AtomicKitten]

13. my mother the bridge player used to say "Breast your cards, girls."

I think I know what she meant. :D

[K Gardner]

22. ok.. I've never heard that before and it's hilarious !!

[AtomicKitten]

25. little nuggets of family lore that bubble to the surface now and again

:hi:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

15. He'll hold up the rules and the signed pledges.

It'll be the worlds shortest argument. He'll be carried out on the shoulders of the RBC!

[AtomicKitten]

17. Considering all the emotional overlay the Clintons have been weaving around the

disposition of FL and MI, probably falling back on the rules and signed pledges is the safest, fairest thing to do. Obama has wanted to compromise but Hillary isn't having any of it. It would be the epitome of ironic if she ends up getting less than she could have settled for.

None of it matters, though. Even with MI and FL seated 100% as voted she can't exceed his delegate lead. So this in the end is pretty much much ado about nothing.

[PassingFair]

3. It sounds like everyone is facing reality.

Good!

[Coexist]

6. he spoke at Obama's Tama rally

he was great. My teens recognized him from The Colber Report - they think he's cool.

[KittyWampus]

21. Wexler has the strongest hand. I've never been disappointed in him EVER.

[Yael]

8. Glad to see Bonior stepping up in there

Unlike Joe Trippi, he actually approached Senator Edward's campaign with sense.

[quaker bill]

19. If a settlement is in the offing

I would expect it for the Friday news dump. The bottom line is that the rules committee has the upper hand and the lawyers started showing their cards earlier in the week.

The trump card they hold is a near unanimous vote on a settlement. If the minority opposed to it is smaller than 6 votes, then a further challenge cannot be taken to the credentials committee. For the challenge to stay alive, Hillary must get at least 20 percent support from the committee. This is also "in the rules".

An announcement of a unanimous vote, or nearly unanimous vote, is the end of it. The challenge will no longer have the standing to be presented at the convention. I expect that something like this is in the works.

[Poll_Blind]

24. Oh man that's great! Wexler is SHARP! n/t

PB