Split delegates between Obama and Clinton?

Here's a new scenario some leaders of the Democratic National Committee have been talking about lately: the DNC's credentials committee this summer could decide to split Florida's delegates evenly between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton...Splitting the delegates evenly would effectively ignore the Jan. 29 vote, but it would also ensure neither side would have an incentive to fight the seating of Florida's delegates, because those delegates would not give either side a leg up in a close delegate contest.

"The credentials committee can recommend to reinstate the delegates and the means by which to determine the that allocation," said DNC communications director Karen Finney.

More here.

Comments

[Jason Straight]

The DNC has handled the entire Florida situation terribly..Now they want to back track because of the closeness of the elections..It is not good policy for Florida..The race here is critical to national success and Floridas Democratic leadership has been treted badly.However I believe Florda will go to the Dems in Nov because of the ECONOMY.This state will suffer near depression like symptoms by Nov.The real estate market has crashed ,bank failures ,tourism is sagging constuction is dead..Now the retailers are takin it on the chin...100 years war and trillions in deficit are finishing the dollar..When its guns over butter the butter always wins..

Lets hear from all the Clinton supporters who feel their chosen candidate should get all the delegates because she won the election, even though Obama was the lesser known candidate and the voters did not have the benefit of being campaigned to on the issues...

[Chris W]

This is a monumentally stupid idea floated by a DNC chair trying desperately to placate the early states, and there is no good solution except to go ahead and seat the Florida and Michigan delegates as allocated by their state parties.

I'm neither an Obamanaut nor a Hillaryhead. I thought that pledge of non-campaigning was a dumb thing to do on both sides, like giving in to a whining toddler just to get out of the grocery store.

I'm a Republican and all I can say about the DNC is HAHAHAHAHA! DNC we love you because you are bringing to light just how phoney you Dem's are about caring for voter rights.

Keep up the good work DNC

The DNC better do something. Lots of Ds are feeling just as "disenfranchised" as the people whse votes weren't counted in 2000.

[Jim Johnson]

If the DNC gives Hillary the delegates, blacks will revolt.

Hillary gambled that she would dominate the primaries and control the action at the convention. If she won Florida, she'd accept her delegates; if Obama won she'd stick to the rules and deny his delegates.

She didnt count of a horse-race.

Awarding each of them half is the same as awarding them none.

[Gloria]

I like the comment I've seen sevral times
You can't win a race not ran.

Our FL legislators and the FDP took a chance, rolled the dice and they lost hoping to have the DNC cater to their whims. I'm thankful that a paper trail is now part of the FL statues.

Now, I want a caucus with the candidates fully campaigning in Florida. I want to know what they think of Floridians and our recession, our everglades, our children and our seniors. I want to know their concerns and their thoughts on the insurance problems that every single homeowner in Florida is facing. I want to know their suggestions for our state's education problem - K-12 and higher.

Our current cabinet and legislature has done little if anything to help the people - while they've lined their pockets with "gimmes" and working and being paid by lobbyists. See Charlie Christ's recent bankroll on Amendment One.

[Rueben]

Then what's the purpose of elections?

Give me a break - "just split them evently" what the heck are these folks thinking? That, We the People, are idiots?

Campaign here now and let me decide whom to support - I sat out the last one - only voted down for Amendment One.

What if these delegates barely give one the majority? This is a stupid resolution for a party that has turned its back on Florida, again!

OK- I like the idea of giving ALL of the delegates to Hillary- winner take all, I say. Or we can have another election/ or a caucus and Hillary will win by an even larger margin. Either way, we win. Obama is fluff-he's charismatic, eye candy for us girls, but nothing else.

[Suzy]

Split the votes? That doesn't make my vote count. I think they should allocate the Florida votes the way they have for the other states, that is the only course that is fair to the 1.7 million Democrats who voted. That said, I don't think it matters any more. All these shenanigans, plus the way the Democrat race has turned into a battle of identity groups, means we already are doomed in the general election once again. Now that I've learned a bit more about the way Democrats select their candidates, I understand why we have such difficulty winning general elections. I still haven't decided for sure whether to give up on what I use to consider my party entirely and switch to the Independents or hang in there for another year (on top of the many many prior years) of futility at the polls.

[American Freedom and Dignity]

Who cares! All this hype about disenfranching DEM voters is just so much GOP spin. A very forlorn attempt to created strife because they are now desperate to hang on to the White House by any means. Whether it's Hillary or Obama, I will vote anti-Bush and anti-GOP regardless. DEMS unite or we're going to get Four More Years.

[GOP in DEMs Clothing]

Thanks Suzy, I was going to spout the same propaganda but you beat me to it. Kodus to your GOP think tank beating me to the punch!

[zzenator]

The reality is that it is highly unlikely that either Barack or Hillary will have gathered enough delegates through the end of the primaries to obtain the nomination. Thus, the Dem poobahs known as "superdelegates" will probably decide the outcome.

This process favors the Clintons, who have proven to be past masters of this sort of old style, smoke room politics.

An interesting question is whether Barack will agree, in the name of party unity, to accept the nomination as VP.

[Florida Democrat]

Hey let's not even have an election - just flip a coin to see who becomes president!

1.7 million voted in Florida. How many people voted in Idaho?

You know Hillary agreed that Florida and Michigan wouldn't count, way back when she wanted to ensure that the folks in Iowa and N.H. would be happy. Sensing she was in a real fight, she tried the dirtiest of dirty tricks, proclaiming victory in a fight not fought. Floridians or the DNC made a huge mistake, but seeing as how the race has gone on without Fla., which could be the biggest prize this Tuesday or next, I'd say it was the Fla. folks.

That said, every vote should count but not unless it's in a fair contest. That hasn't happened and it troubles me that that doesn't bother Hillary. Winning is important to her and thus, so is Fla. If Obama had won Florida, she wouldn't be able to pick you out of a lineup.

Clinton showed up after the polls were closed to make a speech. Obama never showed in a state that has more voters than the first four primary contests combined.

Seat the delegates as non-committed and let the candidates make their best pitches. Neither deserves the votes of a state they ignored without having to work for them.

It really doesn't matter what they do with the MI/FL delegates. The way the party set up the delegates several years ago took the choice out of party activist hands and into those of the super delegates.

The convention is going to be just as bad as 1968. Obama will probably get more of the pledged delegates, while Hillary will get the superdelgates and the nomination. You'll see Jesse and Al protesting outside the convention saying that the DNC stole the race from Obama. Good luck fixing that mess Howard!

[Sound Off]

Looks like Barack paddled Hillary this weekend. Smacked her good.

2:06
Yep,B.O. had little trouble this weekend. But let's hope the three big,diverse states (Texas,Ohio,Penn) will settle it once and for all.I will take the smack now, as long as Hillary uses her high heeled pumps to grind B.O. to ash in the next 8 weeks!

If you go to Hillary's site neither Florida or Michigan are listed in under STATES. We don't exist, we didn't vote, we do not count as far as she is concerned, there should be a detailed explanation by both candidates. Obama has us both listed but no explanation, just a sign up list and activity calendar.

I would support Hillary or McCain since I have no party affiliation (NP) on my registration card I have the freedom to be selective, and I choose experience over fancy oration. I suspect Obama's Change across the isle connection will find Newt Gingrich's Change site http://www.americansolutions.com/ and we will be voting for a Carl Rove puppet.

There has been far too much cross voting going on in the red states for my taste, republicans voting for Obama after Romney lift is just too much for me to accept. Obama's election will be tainted and he will not be trusted by many Dems if he's nominated.

Obama's position on Darfur? He mentions it but goes no further, are we to guess? He's going to build a larger military and civilian service sector, I guess he likes Blackwater? He's going to continue to financially support Israel's occupation and slaughter of Palestine among other support. This info is all on his site. Supporting Israel translates into furthering the war with the middle east, so don't let him fool you, he's a Bushlite weight. We do not need to medal into the affairs of Africa. We have been unsuccessful since the 50's when we occupied the Congo and here we are again, the Congo is on fire along with many other failed states and Obama wants to engage us into that resource grabbing heart breaker again. All these conflicts, including Vietnam, Iraq, Darfur are the result of European colonialism. It's never going to end until the EU pays restitution. Obama has no business putting our troops and tax money into that conflict.

On one hand he's promoting injecting our troops into a conflict which attacking Bush for doing the same thing. Why aren't the Obamatrons asking questions, why isn't Obama asked by the media?

I suspect he's little more than a month piece for the military industrial complex.

Obama's supporters are all 17 years old -they aren't exactly your informed population!

[True Democrat]

I support Universal Healthcare which is one of the reasons I support Sen. Clinton. (Sen. Edwards also supported it.)

Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain both oppose Universal Healthcare. Is that why so many of Sen. Obama's supporters say that they will vote for Sen. McCain if Sen. Obama loses?

I suspect the male population is threatened by Hillary's win.

You'll notice that guys feel real comfortable picking on Hillary, even Jon Stewart, and they treat Obama with kid gloves. MSNBC has been having a field day at Hillary's expense, going as far as saying that the Clinton's were Pimping Chelsea off. CBS seems to treat her equally, maybe because they haven't found a way to capitalize on the event, or they are just a more accurate news outlet. Chris Matthews and the Catholic crowd have been especially brutal, I guess their actions are sanctified by the Ted Kennedy endorsement. Through Teddy the catholics have rallied to their dynasty choice, after years of Kennedy irrelevance and all credibility lost by the Catholics they need an Operative in the Whitehouse and open borders to rebuild their empire.

[Sound Off]

OR perhaps, the guys are smart enough to realize that Bush & Clinton's have lived in the White House for the last 20 years and that we've had our fill of ClinBushs. Want more of the same: then you want McCain and Clinton on the party tickets. There's not much difference in them. Both are in bed with the Military_Industrial_Complex. Sorry ladies, hate to use big words. Uhhh do you even know what the Military_Industrial_Complex is??? Nah...didn't think so. Well, go on ladies and support Hillary, because she has a Bush...pun intended. The thinking men on this blog, who actually read and research...will vote for real change.

February 12, 2008 at 09:59 AM

You give yourself too much credit and I suppose you think you can figure out what gender is posting too. I got news for you, I'm not a lady and I match my time on military bases with you anytime.

Obama is avoiding debates with Hillary and when they debate he looses, even with her gloves on. He a dream, with a bunch of dreamers following him like a minister speaking from the pulpit of the Crystal Cathedral, selling cloud gods and touchy feely to the Obamatrons. Wake Up, or you'll be voting for a Bush third term.

[Sound Off]

959, I'm a little confused. Are you saying in your post that you're not sure about your gender? Just wondering. I know there's a lot of that going around, especially in the Republican Party. ;-]). Well you're right about one thing, Bush may not be leaving. So does your post mean that you do know what the Military_Industrial_Complex is? Because (dude?), by your post, it really doesn't appear that you know anything about it. So here's the link: http://www.militaryindustrialcomplex.com/
Check it out and then get back to us. K?

[Kath]

Congress' primary obligation under the United States constitution is to provide for a common defense. Therefore, I would expect there to be a significant amount of money spent for that purpose. What is missing, however, is oversight and a clear understanding of how much of our national treasure is misspent. "Charlie Wilson's War" can give one a historical look at how easily Congress can vote to use money in ways not fully understood by either the entire Congress and certainly not the American people. Who wins in November will depend on threats here in the US, the economy, whether the press ever fully investigates and reports on Barack Obama to the full extent that it has Hillary Clinton prior to the convention, (not to worry we will hear about it from the Republicans if Sen. Obama becomes the Democratic nominee) and luck. Unfortunately, the brightest and most capable are not regularly elected.

[Sound Off]

Kath I couldn't agree more with your statement: "Unfortunately, the brightest and most capable are not regularly elected." Look who is in the White House currently. Clearly Obama is what America needs. Is he what America wants? We'll see. The best and the brightest voters are in the minority, as Churchill correctly stated: "the best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter." I assume you didn't watch the video of President Eisenhower's speech on the site: http://www.militaryindustrialcomplex.com/ . Had you, you watched that, combined with the dollar figures of what is being paid out since Bush's war, you'd have a clear idea of what is really going on in America, since Bush slimed his way into the Whitehouse in 2000, under very questionble election results. You may want to visit here, to see the direction America is headed, under the so-called leadershiip of George W. Bush: http://www.ellensplace.net/fascism.html

[Sound Off]

The best line on MSNBC's Primary coverage last night was by Keith Olbermann: "perhaps no expression could be more true than this: it's not a good idea to give a speech following Barack Obama." He was referring to Obama's energized call for America to unite and cross party lines to support him, to help him stamp out business as usual in Washington; implying that, that is what America would get, were McCain or Clinton to win the Whitehouse. McCain's, speech following Barack, was droll and typical of a puppet on the strings of fat cat Corporate America, including the vendors for the Iraq War, who want to see it continue for: as McCain says, "we'll be in Iraq for a hundred years."

Obama is all show & no substance.

Just hot air.

[Cat]

FL and MI broke the rules. If elections are about nothing else, they've got to be fair. A 50-50 split allows the "disenfranchised" voters to have delegate representation at the convention, but doesn't reward them for the short-sighted decision of their lousy legislators. Keep the focus on the real culprits here!

Why even quote from NBC or MSNBC. They are the laughingstock of journalism with their bias.

[Tabla Rasa]

I love the idiotic Hillbots who say that Obama has no substance. I wonder how it was that substance-less Obama saw through Bush's little Iraq adventure, but oh so substantive Hillary couldn't be bothered to read the NIE and signed right up.

Hillary is losing because she is Lieberman in a pantsuit. Deal with it.

[Lene']

I think the voters from Michigan and Florida should blame their representatives for this blunder and vote accordingly when they are up for re-election... If you want your delegates seated then I am with Jim up above when he says, "Awarding each of them half is the same as awarding them none." If there can't be a revote then how is it fair to allocate votes any other way but even when there were no opportunities to campaign? This way your delegates will be seated and that is really the important thing. The numbskulls that made the decisions and it should be on "their" heads when it comes to re-election. As far as candidates, I feel Obama is the most trustworthy. McCain is a flip flopper and always has been and he recently embraced G.W. Bush AGAIN after campaigning against his policies and trying to look like a democrat..Hillary..You can't trust anything that comes out of that ladies mouth..I lost alot of respect for Bill in this campaign too!