DNC Agrees to Seat Florida and Michigan Delegates at Half-Strength: Obama's Getting Votes He Didn't Earn in Michigan

The rules committee of the Democratic National Committee restored Florida and Michigan's delegates to this summer's Democratic National Convention, but they have half-strength votes. That's fine with me as it's in compliance with their bylaws. And it's more than what I thought was going to happen.

I thought they would seat Florida's delegates at half-strength, but not Michigan's, as Obama removed his name from the ballot.

Instead, the rules committee is giving Obama votes he didn't earn--he wasn't a candidate on Michigan's ballot as he pulled his own name off the ballot months before the election--and Clinton won 55% of the votes. The other 45% should be going to the convention as undeclared delegates who can vote for who they want once they get there.

Obama was not required to pull his name off the ballot, but he did it, regardless of the consequences.

And if Clinton does challenge the awarding of unearned delegates to Obama, in this one instance, I'm going to root for Senator Clinton in her challenge. I almost get the feeling that Obama will fall 3-5 delegates short of clinching the nomination, and the fight over Michigan's delegates will intensify.

This situation is entirely the fault of the DNC. And as many had hoped, including me, Florida and Michigan threw wrenches into the DNC machine and they were forced into headline-making decisions regarding the disposition of the votes of both states.

Perhaps the next time around, they'll follow their own rules when it comes to states violating their guidelines?

NO New Primary Votes in Michigan or Florida: DNC Needs to Reap What It Sows

Well, well, well.

Look at who's crying about the deadlock in the Democratic Party. Waaah!!

Music to my ears. Because the Democratic National Committee screwed with Michigan and Florida, I am opposed to those two states riding in to save the day. By all means, don't seat those two delegations, Mr. Dean and Mrs. Pelosi. Stick to your guns.

They've REALLY earned this. It's poetic justice.

If they do decide to do a revote, the DNC should pay for the elections in their entirety. The disenfranchised voters in those two states should not have to pay a single penny for the DNC screwup. Maybe next time they'll be more flexible in their response to states standing up to the corrupt system currently in place.

Before that happens, they need to get rid of their top leadership. They're USELESS and CLUELESS!

Michigan's Primary May be Over, But the Fight Between Michigan and Both National Committees Sure Isn't

Michigan's primary--such as it was--is said and done, but there's still major trouble between Michigan and both national committees. This primary (and Florida's) will throw some big wrenches into the works if the Presidential Election in November turns out to be close.

I am of the opinion that the Republican and Democratic National Committees (dis-respectfully) needs new leadership. That's aimed more at the DNC more than the RNC. The RNC only docked half of Michigan's delegates and voting power, while the DNC completely stripped Michigan's represenatition at the Democratic National Convention. The Democrats even canceled hotel reservations for the Michigan delegation.

Further, the RNC punished every state that has a primary before Super Tuesday. That was, in my opinion, a more measured response than the Democratic one.

Under the current leadership, the DNC disenfranchised seven million registered voters in Michigan and ten million registered voters in Florida. They whined and bitched about thousands of disenfranchised Florida voters in 2000, and fought for every vote. Yet now, they deliberately did to their own voters what they accused election officials and the Republican Party of doing in 2000. Is this a violation of the same equal protection clause cited by the Supreme Court in 2000 in Gore vs. Bush?

The replacement for Howard Dean should be from Michigan or Florida, and there should be no one on the DNC who favors keeping the current primary system. The system is so rife with favoritism toward particular states that it should be scrapped if it isn't changed.

I also think that the RNC needs a housecleaning too. They need to back off of the current system as well. It's broken and needs to be fixed. They should get with the program, or get out of the way and have more open-minded people take their places.

Shame on both committees, and double shame on the DNC.