Clinton Wants Michigan Delegates Counted?!?

Written by: Alan Willis on May 8, 2008 12:21 AM EDT

A Recent article included the following post-North Carolina/Indiana thought:

Clinton said later that she would be sending a letter to Obama and Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean expressing her belief that seating the Florida and Michigan delegations is a civil rights and voting rights issue.

Obviously, Senator Clinton knows that Michigan--my state--voted for her; but Clinton, and all of us, are equally aware that Senator Obama played by the rules and withdrew from the Michigan primary.  He was not on the ballot.  Essentially, Senator is asking to be rewarded for cheating.  And now she is calling a civil rights and voting rights issue.   Bot the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were designed to redress the grievances of those who had been cheated, not those who did the cheating.

I wish the Michigan Democratic Party had played by the rules.  In their insistance on being heard, they moved the primary date to before super-Tuesday in an obviously erroneous belief that the race for the Democtratic nomination would be settled by that day's voting.  If they had played by the rules, Michigan would have had a significant voice, much louder than the early voices, in determining the nominee. 

Giving Michigan's delegates to Clinton would be a serious error.  None of us who live in Michigan can honestly believe--given the patterns in other states--the she would have handily won a state with cities like Detroit, Flynt, and Saginaw, as the actual voting indicated.  It only so indicated because both of her major rivals--John Edwards and Barrack Obama--were not on the ballot.

Counting the Micighan delegates at this point benefits Senator Clinton, but it does not enfranchise the voters of Michigan who denied a fair chance to express their political will.

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