The Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee may have made history yesterday, deciding to restore half the delegate votes to Florida and Michigan in the national convention.
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Decades of Democratic Party history shaped the daylong session and the panel membership.
James Roosevelt Jr., grandson of Franklin D. and Eleanor, is the panel’s co-chair.
Harold M. Ickes, whose father Harold L. Ickes played a prominent role in Roosevelt’s New Deal, is a member. He’s also strategist for Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Donna Brazile, campaign manager for Al Gore in 2000, is a prominent voice in the group.
Husband and wife Don Fowler, a former Democratic National Committee chair, and Carol Khare Fowler, head of the South Carolina Democratic Party, were both there. He supports Hillary Clinton. She supports Barack Obama.
A parade of party lions from Michigan and Florida appeared before the panel yesterday, their impassioned pleas aired on national TV. It was a rare look into the party politic and great television for political junkies.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, appealed for recognition of the 1.7 million voters who participated in the state’s primary on Jan. 29. He noted the bitterness many Florida voters still feel from the 2000 election and said, “They deserve to be heard.”
Former U.S. Rep. David Bonior, who chaired John Edwards’ unsuccessful campaign, represented Obama at the meeting. Former Michigan Gov. Jim Blanchard represented Clinton.
An angry Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan expressed continuing frustration over the exaggerated role that Iowa and New Hampshire play in the party nomination process, simply because they hold the earliest primaries. “No state should have a right to go first and second every election,” he said. “No state.”
The rules committee last year sanctioned Michigan and Florida for violating party rules by moving up the dates of their primaries. Both states were barred from sending delegates to the national convention.
The decision yesterday restored a half vote per delegate, a move that was designed to restore party unity but elicited complaints from both Clinton and Obama supporters. The ruling meant that both candidates gained delegates, but neither yet has enough to clinch the nomination.
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3 Comments
#1. impartial observer 06.01.2008
The Clinton position is very simple: it’s not over until she wins.
#2. Joe 06.01.2008
Are Florida and Michigan permanently “half votes” or do they become full votes if the convention votes a second time?
#3. Jamie 06.28.2008
What a way to manipulate elections. Good bye delegates and the electoral college. Hello democratic vote, one per eligible voter. Who needs elitists?
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