Change the rules if they no longer fit the plan
Ever since Hillary Clinton waged the battle to have the votes in Florida and Michigan count, the Democrats have wrestled mightily with how (and whether) to discount their own rules to do that. So, this was inevitable.
To remind:
Michigan held its presidential primaries on Jan. 15 and Florida did the same on Jan. 29, breaking national Republican and Democratic rules that said most states couldn’t hold their 2008 primary contests before Feb. 5…
That led to a bruising intraparty squabble. Democrats in both states warned that the eventual Democratic nominee risked losing their states in November if they were punished. Some Florida Democrats took legal action to get their delegates seated, and neither state got preprimary campaign visits from candidates Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton.
But we all know Clinton won both states anyway. Which is why she wanted those delegates seated at the convention.
Now, the same committee that stripped Florida and Michigan of their delegates for violating party rules by holding early primaries is poised to suggest those delegates regain their full voting powers when the Denver convention starts in eight days.
This, by the way, has been going on for months.
For former Florida Democratic Chairman Scott Maddox, it was a year of party infighting that didn’t need to happen.
“When this first occurred … I said whatever the Republicans do with their delegations, we will do the same. The difference is we will have a food fight in the middle,” said Maddox, who sits on the Democratic National Committee’s Credentials Committee that will take up the matter next Sunday. “It seems our party cannot avoid having a free-for-all.”
It’s been a rough and tumble year for both parties. Democrats especially, though Obama keeps trying to settle these eruptions.l
In his letter to the Credentials Committee, Obama said it’s time to heal the party and concentrate on the November election.
“I believe party unity calls for the delegates from Florida and Michigan to be able to participate fully alongside the delegates from the other states and territories,” he wrote. “Democrats in Florida and Michigan must know they are full partners and colleagues in our historic mission to reshape Washington and lead our country in a new direction.”
Maddox said he’s glad the drama has played itself out.
But a larger one is about to begin next week.
