As some of you know, I drafted up this website a long time ago:
--> Count Florida Votes

If you visit the website, please sign the petition:
--> Count Florida Votes Petition

The website explains all of the Florida debacle, in detail. Elements of this website will be used in the last remaining 'law based' attempt to get those votes counted. We hope that things will move along quickly, so that this case can make it to the Supreme Court.  

In any event, there is one very simple reason why Barack does not want Florida and Michigan votes to go through. If you calculate the estimated delegates, based on the vote (remember, Obama supporters in Michigan voted undecided), then you can see that Hillary Clinton would gain another 64 delegates, above what Barack Obama would gain:
http://florida-delegates.com/state.xls

(Spreadsheet software needed for that link.)

I do believe, with a good win in PA, and counting the uncounted FL and MI votes, Edwards would endorse Hillary. So, if you add Edward's delegates (48, including Florida), this could be a real primary election.

Mr. Obama would not have a large lead anymore. So, there is a good reason why he doesn't want them to count. That is why he is fighting this so hard, not because he is intrinsicly concerned about 'followin the rules'.  In fact, for a guy who wants to be the 'American Uniter', you might think he would want to count ALL votes from this primary.  But, he knows, that could lose him the primary.

So, what can I do about this, as a disgruntled 40+ year Democrat?  Well, everytime the Democratic National Committee or Democratic party send me a request for money, I send it back and tell them to count all votes and they will get my money.  Don't count them, and they get nothing from me. Pure and simple!

I think if enough of us 'vote with our wallets', maybe the Democratic party will reconsider their choice to disenfranchise so many American voters.

As I said, I am a 40 year registered Democrat; but I am fed up with this corrupted election.  Sadly, it is my own political party who is causing a portion of that corruption!

Take Care,  Sharon

With news this morning that NM Gov. Bill Richardson endorsed Obama this morning, and the Obama campaign is planning on rolling out more endorsements between now and April 22nd's Pennsylvania primary "to create a sense of momentum," one wonders what happened to erstwhile candidate and number one endorsement get ex-Sen. John Edwards.

Join me in answering the question in extended...

A new poll commissioned by the Miami Herald and the St. Petersburg Times clearly shows the peril to Democrats in November should the Florida delegation not be seat at the convention and the votes cast by 1.7 million Floridians not count.
The survey results:

More than three out of four Florida Democrats say it's "very important" that Florida's delegates count toward the nomination, and one in four said they would be less likely to support the ultimate Democratic nominee if Florida's delegates don't count.

A couple of weeks ago, I received a warning for making a diary that was, supposedly, a one liner. Now, After reading several diaries since that time, I've noticed that my "supposed one-line" outpaced the latest diary posts by several lines.

Well, it seems like there could be an issue with Hillary winning with superdelegates. However, one has to ask whether or not the survey takers would be satisfied if Obama should win with Superdelegates or if it would be acceptable should Hillary win the nomination by some other means.

I have been thinking about what would be the fair solution to the disaster that is the Florida/Michigan situation.  It is definitely not an easy thing to solve.  There are many ideas being thrown out:

(1) Just seat the delegations in accordance with the votes that already happened. (2) Split the delegations 50/50 so that the renegade states are represented at the Convention, but they will not have an effect on the outcome. (3) Do nothing.  The states broke the rules, and they must be penalized for it to set a precedent. (4) Let these two big states revote so that the voters can have their say.

(If you already know the merits and drawbacks of these ideas, just skip to the last paragraph of this entry for my proposed solution)

Via Marc Ambinder:

Moments ago, Democrats representing Florida in Congress released this joint statement, effectively putting the kibosh on a mail-in re-do primary:

"We are committed to working with the DNC, the Florida State Democratic party, our Democratic leaders in Florida, and our two candidates to reach an expedited solution that ensures our 210 delegates are seated. Our House delegation is opposed to a mail-in campaign or any redo of any kind."

Even if the candidates agree, there will be no expedited solution unless the courts somehow intervene, which, given a series of federal court rulings last year, is unlikely.

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/

With Florida off the table, and no way for Hillary Clinton to overtake Obama's lead in the popular vote, pledged-delegates, or states won, this race is essentially over. It's now up to Benedict Clinton how much she'd like to wound our nominee prior to the general election.

News is emerging today that it looks like an agreement is coming together for revotes in both Florida and Michigan using mail-in ballots.

Florida Democrats were moving forward Monday with a plan to redo their presidential primary using privately-funded mail-in ballots, a key state party official said, even though some congressional and party leaders had yet to sign on to the idea.

"We're huddling with state brass now," the official said. "The spotlight will be on us. We will have a detailed plan."

The official said the state party expected both the Clinton and Obama campaigns to eventually agree to the plan.

"They've seen the writing on the wall and they realize this is something they need to get behind," the official said. "Both campaigns have reacted favorably to the idea so far."

CBS: Florida Dems May Get A Recount - Politico: Plan To Redo Primary Using Mail-In Ballots Moves Forward

There is positive news out of Michigan as well:

The gauntlet is being laid down. As was first broched by James Carville on Friday, two prominant Clinton backers, John Corzine and Ed Rendell, the governors of New Jersey and Pennsylvania are promising to raise $15M for revotes in Florida and Michigan, half the projected cost of $30M. Now it is up to the Obama campaign to pony up and get this done. As I discussed today, The Democrats will lose in the fall if they disenfranchise Florida and Michigan. Obama is stalling and trying to run out the clock with empty rhetoric, procedural mumbo jumbo and false proposals. He's not fooling anyone except his most ardent supporters. He thinks that it will help him win the nomination, but what's the point in winning the battle if you lose the war. That's not leadership.

These states need to have meaningful votes.  Obama may think that he can get the nomination without seating these delegations, but he would lose the general election without Florida and Michigan. It is time for Obama to stop stalling, pony up his share and get this done right for the sake of his candidacy and the party.