Pushing to seat the Florida delegates, at least one top Clinton fund-raiser, Paul Cejas, a Miami businessman who has given the Democratic National Committee $63,500 since 2003, has demanded Democratic officials return his 2007 contribution of $28,500, which they have agreed to do.
“If you’re not going to count my vote, I’m not going to give you my money,” said Mr. Cejas, who was the United States ambassador to Belgium from 1998 to 2001.
Christopher Korge, a Florida real estate developer who is another top fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton, held an event last year in his home that brought in about $140,000 for the national party, which was set aside in a special account for the general election battle in Florida. But he told committee officials this week that if Florida’s delegate conundrum was not settled satisfactorily he would be asking for the money back.
“If we do not resolve this issue,” Mr. Korge said, “I think it’s safe to say there will be a request for a return of $140,000.”
NYT (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/15/us/pol…).
Or as Bryan put it
The national party has been draining money from Florida for years which caused the state party to go into debt. Finally Floridians are fed up with getting nothing but contempt for their money.
Bryan (http://whynow.dumka.us/2008/03/16/its-ok…) (h/t Avedon).
While I appreciate Bryan’s perspective, having now absorbed the Obama rules, I can’t help but ask why do these donors think Donna Brazile and Howard Dean should consider their vote to be as important and worthy of counting as a “Democrat for a day” vote in Wyoming? Don’t they know the most important Democrats are Republicans and independents?
Front page
If I asked Lord Kos for a Unity Pony, would he give me one?
My Unity
Pony
’s on back order.
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
God, what just happened?
Someone tell me that FL delegates will still have a chance at being seated. Please.
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/3/17/…
Not if Obama controls the credentials committee, they won't
Aw, what does it matter. They’re all racists anyhow.
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
here's a better idea
The simpler and cost effective approach is this:
Force all the superdelegates to declare a candidate
Depending on the outcome of those numbers it is very likely that MI & FL may not even matter anymore. It would also be less likely to cause major problems and schisms if superdelegates go on the record now instead of waiting until the last minute and pissing off all the voters by appearing to have selected to winner. It also prevents the situation of Obama and Clinton funneling money into campaigns in an effort to buy superdelegate votes which won’t sit well with voters. They should do this by PA and with that state plus the supers it should be pretty clear who is going to win.
You've got to be kidding me! Unbelievable!
What the fuck are they doing?! Jesus Christ! The FL delegates have to be seated as is or, at the very least, with a 50% penalty. These people are out of their minds!
They’re setting us up for a likely blowout with dangerous consequences for the Democratic party, instead of picking a nominee that had a good chance of defeating McCain? God, I’m sick over this.
If Clinton fights this what’ll happen? Can the supers save the party from committing suicide?
florida faqs
Wampum has a run down.
I am sooooo disillusioned with lefty blogosphere. No integrity, no commitment to voter rights. It’s all about what advances my candidate.
compromise
1) Clinton figures out how many more plegded delegates she’d get than Obama if Florida was fully seated.
2) Clinton should get half that number to promise to vote for Obama on the first ballot in exchange for seating the Florida delegation.
It has the same impact as a 50% penalty, without penalizing the state itself.
FL popular vote
We all know the popular vote is the only chance she had in getting the nomination, so what happens now?
The only thing we know about this election...
… is that “nobody knows anything”.
A week is a long time in politics. Six waeeks is a very long time.
We’ve seen the calls for Hillary to quit before. Surprise! They’re always tendentious. And before OH and TX, they were wrong.
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
BTD says she has no chance in hell!
I don’t have any faith the media will start fully scrutinizing Obama now and I know the DNC is rigged against her, so I’m totally depressed, not fully able to accept what seems to have happened.
Wish: FL delegates get seated as is and the popular vote is counted. Chance of it happening: anemic, right?
BTD's support seems suddenly less "tepid"
Unlike Jeralyn, whose position is yours, Davidson.
Again, a week is a long time in politics…
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
I read the comments at TalkLeft
And BTD is missing something very important.
Victory conditions for the democratic primary race are simple: more than 2025 delegates. If you do not have those delegates, you do not win. That does not include “perceived legitimacy” or the hair on the back of your neck.
Right now, I don’t believe either candidate will have that number of delegates before the convention.
That means when the convention comes, the race is a tie. Neither candidate can satisfy the victory conditions.
The people have in fact spoken, and what they’ve said is, “We can’t choose between these two candidates. Let the superdelegates decide.”
a deal has to be made, so i bet
Clinton makes the current FL vote count the condition for any MI deal—FL is too important in the general, and too many people came out there compared to MI.
no. No. NO! and also: no.
The people have in fact spoken, and what they’ve said is, “We can’t choose between these two candidates. Let the superdelegates decide.”
“the people,” if they have indeed “said” anything, have said, “please find an arrangement and media narrative in which both candidates are on the ticket. together, we can enthusiastically support a dem ’dream’ ticket like this and crush mcstain.”
that is what ’50-50’ really means, if such an understanding of the current dem primary result tally is indeed true and/or the will of “the people.” NO ONE is saying, “let a bunch of career beltway Village insiders pick the staff from top to bottom of the next admin.” nope, not anyone, out here in reality land.
i think the people are split, but the party's members
aren’t—hasn’t Clinton gotten the most regular Dem voters and more of the different bases throughout the campaign? And also more historically blue states?
these are Dem primaries, after all.
No, I'm sorry
They’ve said they can’t effectively or decisively choose between them.
Whether they understand that means that the superdelegates will break the tie or not is irrelevant.
If the voters had decisively chosen either candidate, then floor fights or superdelegates wouldn’t be able to change the result.
They have decided the race is a tie.
Sorry CD; What were you trying to say?
Your dream ticket is my nightmare. Never mind Obama will never go for it, either way; last thing he wants is Old Bill hanging around and that is what will happen. The problem I have is with the negatives, and in this case they are additive; together they are weaker in the general than either one alone. Both of them have trouble with white men, and that’s who they will need for balance. John Edwards, VP.
listen, slander boi
i never said it was my “dream ticket.” don’t put that one on me, fool. /mr. t voice/
no, i’m just saying to you all what i’m hearing from voting, nonblogging neighbors and suchlike. those outside of the deep navel gazing we do as insider types. to regular amurkins, it’s not so much a “dream ticket” as an exciting idea shared between people who mildly disagree about which one would be at the top.
think of them as brands, and people saying that Tide is great, but All is ok too. they’ll come home with either at the end of the day.
Please allow me to revise and extend my remarks
That was an editorial “your’.
My concern is with all those people you (that’s a you-you) and I don’t talk with regularly, who are going to need some reassurance that Amurka is going to be in good hands; we both know that for a lot of white men that means white male hands.
To get their votes, the ticket will need a white male VP. Otherwise, that demo will go for McCain, and in this election it could be enough to make the difference.
On the other hand, the economy could continue to tank and the wars could go completely to hell and no Republican will survive, but I’d rather hope for the best and put a white male on the ticket. Just as insurance, and for old time’s sake.