Meet Me in Michigan!
Remember all those Democrats who turned out to vote in Michigan? Hundreds of thousands of Democrats give or take and word on the street has it that Sen. Obama's dragging his feet on any plan to put together a re-vote on June 3rd in my home state. Hillary's press team released the following statement yesterday calling on BO to get on board with the revote effort.
"The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy. If Barack Obama's campaign stands in the way of a new vote, he will be putting his own political interests ahead of the people of Michigan. They deserve to have a voice and a vote in the Democratic Party's nominating process. A re-vote is the only way Michigan can be assured its delegation will be seated, and vote in Denver. If the Obama campaign thwarts a fair election process for the people of Michigan, it will jeopardize the Democratic nominee's ability to carry the state in the general election."
I sent the following video to all my friends and family back home in Michigan for a bit of background...
Some of you may remember what happened in the lead-up to the Michigan vote. As the above video notes, BO knew he wasn't going to do all that well in the Great Lake State, so he cooked up a plan to leave Hillary as the lone Democrat on the ballot there. As the Iowa Independent reported back in October of 2007...
Five individuals connected to five different campaigns have confirmed -- but only under condition of anonymity -- that the situation that developed in connection with the Michigan ballot is not at all as it appears on the surface. The campaign for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, arguably fearing a poor showing in Michigan, reached out to the others with a desire of leaving New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as the only candidate on the ballot. The hope was that such a move would provide one more political obstacle for the Clinton campaign to overcome in Iowa.
The guys played up to the voters in Iowa by taking their names off the Michigan ballot, and that worked to their advantage in Iowa. Thing is it also worked to Hillary's advantage because she won the state.
The campaign held a press conference call this afternoon about how to make sure the hundreds of thousands of Democrats in Michigan have a voice at our party's convention this summer. Ickes pointed out that there are three players in finding a resolution to this mess in MIchigan - Hillary's team, Obama's team, and the DNC.
Now there's a proposal out by Michigan's Governor - Jennifer Granholm - that would allow for a revote and she's circulated a draft to everyone involved for their approval. Hillary's campaign signed off on Granholm's proposed plan within hours of their receiving it. The DNC's also signed off on this plan.
The only one that leaves is Obama's camp.
To date, Obama's remained silent on this or any other plan to resolve the stale-mate in Michigan. We can only take his silence to mean that he doesn't want a re-vote, and he's making that even more clear with every day that passes without comment from him. He needs to speak up and clear the air - tell Michigan that he doesn't want to leave them out of the nomination process this summer and that their votes should count.
Then again, I wonder if this has anything to do with it...
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- One of the sticking points holding up a possible do-over election in Michigan is a rule that would ban anyone who voted in the Republican presidential primary from voting again.That ban would apply even to Democrats or independents who asked for a GOP ballot because Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was the only major candidate left on the Jan. 15 Democratic ballot.
The effect of blocking those voters could be greatest on Sen. Barack Obama, since his supporters were more likely than Clinton's to have crossed over to vote in the GOP primary.
A group of Democratic leaders from Michigan are trying to set up a June 3 do-over Democratic primary so the state can get its delegates seated at the Democratic National Convention.The Clinton campaign said Monday it would go along with another election, but the Obama campaign so far has said only that it's reviewing the proposal. Potentially at stake are a hefty 128 pledged delegates that Michigan had before it was punished by the DNC for moving up its primary date.
Now I'm going to give BO the benefit of the doubt and guess that he's probably just going over that proposal with a fine tooth comb (he is a lawyer after all) and will sign off on this revote plan very very soon (tomorrow maybe?).
He's already told the voters of Michigan their votes don't matter by playing up to Iowa's voters and taking his name off the ballot. I can't imagince the message that sent to his supporters in my home state.
I'd hate to think he's trying to disenfranchise them again by preventing a re-vote back home through his refusal to act.
We're going to need Michigan in the general election after all and if he wants them to turn out to vote for our nominee in November, he's going to have to stand up for them now by doing all he can to ensure that they're voices are heard at our party's convention in August.
U P D A T E
Hillary Clinton Visits Michigan Tomorrow, March 19
The Clinton campaign today announced Hillary Clinton will travel to Detroit , Michigan tomorrow, Wednesday, March 19, hosting a “Solutions for America ” event.
Wednesday, March 19 Detroit , MI
Doors Open: 8:15 a.m. EDT Event Begins: 10:00 a.m. EDT Hillary Clinton Hosts “Solutions for America ” Event AFSCME Council 25 600 W. Lafayette Suite 500 Detroit , MI OPEN PRESS
One More UPDATE
I forgot to include my pitch for help on behalf of Hillary. If we can sort out Michigan and Florida she's going to need to raise enough money to launch a campaign in those states and buy ad time. Help her out guys!
Thanks guys!
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