MyDD :: Open Letter to Rules Committee: Seat FL & MI

Open Letter to Rules Committee: Seat FL & MI

by FISG, Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:07:15 PM EST

Inter-party debates aside, it is time that the Democratic party rise to the expectations of the voters. This is my letter to the DNC Rules Committee urging them to seat the delegates in Michigan & Florida. This is not about candidates, but about how much we as Americans value our right to vote.

"Dear Sir or Madame:

I am writing today as a concerned citizen that wishes to see the higher moral ground of the Democrats preserved in light of the mistakes in Michigan & Florida. I know this issue is complicated, and that the stakes are high for the two candidates seeking the party nomination, but this question of votes is much more fundamental to who we are as Americans, and it demands your careful and thorough consideration.

In the United States of America, when votes are cast by citizens, they are then counted and acted upon accordingly. Our Democracy has always stood by this basic and righteous approach to government. Well, until the failed votes of Florida in 2000. That travesty of Democracy lead to the election of George W Bush. The GOP is a willing advocate for disenfranchisement of voters. The play book the GOP uses to win elections is vastly different from that of the Democratic party. We stand by our voters, listen more keenly to their opinions, and count their votes! As surely as Al Gore fought to have votes counted in 2000, we should now respect every vote cast in this primary race. If we are truly the party of change, and believe ourselves deserving of winning in November, then we must stand by the voters who cast ballots in good faith and out of respect for their civic duty. Inasmuch as the GOP stands for the calculated disenfranchisement of voters, the Democratic Party must lead to the future as the party that hears every voice, and counts every vote!

Voters in Florida & Michigan, with little care for the "rules" did as they were expected to do on an election day and went to the polls for their respective party primaries. They cast ballots. Those Americans voted. The picked a candidate and cast a vote with the universal expectation that their vote would not only be counted, but would count!

So, it is up to you to fulfill the promise of this great Democracy by making sure that each and every ballot cast is counted and respected. Americans don't die in wars, suffer loss for our Democracy, as a casual sacrifice; they do it to defend our Democracy. They put their lives on the line so that you can lead in a representative government. They put their lives on the line so that I exercise my right to Freedom of Speech. They put their lives on the line so that Americans could continue to enjoy the rights of Freedom! All our values, ideals and virtues as Americans are contingent upon one power: the vote.

So our future as a party of representation, honesty, and integrity rests in your considered hands. It falls to your conscience and your sense of Democracy to do the right thing. Votes were cast. Americans did their duty, and it is now time for you to do yours: Count the votes, seat the delegates, and restore America's faith in the ever powerful vote.

I trust you will do the right thing, and embrace the delegations from Michigan and Florida; seating them with full privileges at the Democratic National Convention.

Sincerely...."

Before any can lead, they must first be elected by their peers. The power of the vote is without question one of my greatest points of passion. For Unity to be real, we must first count and determine by way of majority that which we are unified behind. Votes are what define us as Americans. Votes are what make us different from others. Votes are what give us power, collectively and singularly. They are tantamount to what it means to be American, and as such they must be defined, defended, respected, and counted...No matter the cost or the outcome.

I urge you to follow suit, and write to the DNC Rules Committee. This is an issue that defines our party, and what we stand for against John McCain. We are not the GOP, and we will not stand for casual comparisons to them! So if you care about our representative government, write to the DNC and tell them how you feel!

Email them at this link. Write Here. Here. Or here.

Fax them at this number: 202-863-8174

Call the DNC at this number: 202-863-8000

Write and mail a hard-copy:

Democratic National Committee
430 S. Capitol St. SE
Washington, DC 20003

Thank you!

Cross posted to Declarations of Pride

Tags: DNC, Rules Committee, Florida, Michigan, delegates, seat, hillary clinton, letter, nomination, Democratic National Committee (all tags)

Permalink :: 27 Comments :: Post a Comment

Count the votes...Seat the Delegates (2.00 / 1)

Some how...

And by some method...

But make the count!

Pride & Prejudice...The American Way!

by FISG on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:08:51 PM EST

What of all the people (none / 0)

who didn't vote because they were told their votes wouldn't count?

should we go outside? / should we break some bread? / are you'nterested?

by Firewall on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:09:42 PM EST

Oh them we can disenfranchise. (none / 0)

;-)

Your old role is rapidly aging. Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand, for the times they are a changing.

by Travis Stark on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:14:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What of all the people (2.00 / 1)

There were other things on the ballot that brought people out, and there was tremendous excitement about the presidential race. Overall, more than twice as many people voted in the Democratic primary in Florida in 2008 as in 2004. In fact, I believe (though I don't have firm evidence) that more people voted in the Florida primary in 2008 than in any other time in U.S. history.

by markjay on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:21:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What of all the people (none / 0)

Florida is the 4th largest state in the nation, yet finishes 8th in votes cast in the democratic primary.
Michigan, 8th largest. Finishes 18th in votes cast.

by venician on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:42:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What of all the people (none / 0)

Sen. Hillary Clinton maintains that excluding Michigan and Florida from the Democrats' national convention this summer disenfranchises 2.3 million people who voted in the two states' Democratic primaries in January. But a new study suggests that counting the two states' results would disenfranchise almost as many people who probably would have voted in a party-approved primary, but didn't go to the polls because they figured their ballots wouldn't be counted.

How much higher? Some 1.75 million Democratic voters cast ballots in Florida and 600,000 voted in Michigan, even though the national party had already stripped the two states of their convention delegates for voting out of turn. Based on record Democratic turnout in other states, the report says, Florida would have been expected to turn out an additional 1.15 voters and Michigan would have turned out another 715,000 voters.

Those voters "did not participate in their primaries but likely would have had they expected their vote to count," the study concluded.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/03/19 disenfranchising-non-voters-in-florida- and-michigan?mod=googlenews_wsj

Toot, thank you for raising such a terrific person...You done good and we will have you in our hearts.

by hootie4170 on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:42:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What of all the people (none / 0)

Let's assume that this is right and instead of a total turnout of 2.35 million in the two states, there would have been a turnout of 4.25 million voters.

That suggests that 1.9 million voters would be disenfranchised if we do count Michigan and Florida, but all 4.25 million voters will be disenfranchised if we don't count Michigan and Florida. Which is worse? Better to count Michigan and Florida and then we can enfranchise more than half of them, rather than seeing the entire 4.25 million disenfranchised.

by markjay on Fri May 16, 2008 at 06:35:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What of all the people (none / 0)

A faulty election is not better, period.

Toot, thank you for raising such a terrific person...You done good and we will have you in our hearts.

by hootie4170 on Fri May 16, 2008 at 08:01:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What of all the people (none / 0)

Unlike many other places (e.g., the Texas caucuses), there has been no claims of any irregular behavior in either the Michigan or Florida primaries. If we want to exclude "faulty" elections, I suggest that we start by excluding all the caucuses, and include Michigan and Florida.

by markjay on Sun May 18, 2008 at 11:06:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What of all the people (none / 0)

Who DID vote? That's all that can be counted, people can have all kinds of reasons for not voting. Also, if it weren't for counting elections where only a small fraction of the electorate votes, we wouldn't have any elected local officials in most places.

The proper DNC sanction for breaking the early primary rule is for the delegations to lose 1/2 their votes, not all. At least Florida had a primary with all the candidates on the ballot...Michigan is a real mess. The only way out is for the delegates from other states to rally behind the presumptive nominee--Obama may have enough delegates to seat those nominations in full without having to worry about losing the nomination.

by Alice in Florida on Fri May 16, 2008 at 04:28:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: (2.00 / 1)

Seems that is what they are being told now? I think that's exactly the point. Perhaps you should read the diary before you comment? I thought that was the point I was making???

And...

This is not about one horse over another...It is about the DNC not repeating the same mistakes that lead to the election of Dumbya in Florida.

Whatever.

I guess there are those out there that prefer to disenfranchise some as much as they would like to disenfranchise all.

Oh well.

Pride & Prejudice...The American Way!

by FISG on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:14:39 PM EST

Re: Open Letter to Rules Committee: (none / 0)

As to the states that are being "ignored"... these are the states that didn't even matter in 1992:
April 28: Pennsylvania
May 5: DC, Indiana, North Carolina
May 12: Nebraska, West Virginia
May 19: Oregon, Washington [primary]
May 26: Arkansas, Idaho [primary], Kentucky
June 2: Alabama, California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio
June 9: North Dakota

by venician on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:15:04 PM EST

A solution will be found. You won't like it. (2.00 / 1)

MI and FL delegates will be seated. It won't be 100% according to the illegitimate votes. There will be some penalty for their breaking the rules. Obama will get some part of the MI vote at the least. I suspect both states will be penalized 50% of their delegates. Even the Republicans docked them that much.

The point being, it will be settled. That is of course unless Obama gets to 2025 delegates before May 31, in which case they may decide he can just seat the two delegations at the convention, but in either case it will be settled.

Your old role is rapidly aging. Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand, for the times they are a changing.

by Travis Stark on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:18:12 PM EST

Re: A solution will be found. You won't like it. (2.00 / 1)

Fine by me! I want them counted. NO WHERE did I say I want them all counted for Hillary. You know what they say about assumptions....

Pride & Prejudice...The American Way!

by FISG on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:42:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Cool, and sorry if I assumed. (none / 0)

Your old role is rapidly aging. Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand, for the times they are a changing.

by Travis Stark on Fri May 16, 2008 at 04:21:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Open Letter (none / 0)

Well, until the failed votes of Florida in 2000.

This isn't a sentence. There are many other grammatical mistakes in your letter as well. You may want to edit it before you mail it.

Voters in Florida & Michigan, with little care for the "rules" did as they were expected to do on an election day and went to the polls for their respective party primaries.

And that's the problem: there was "little care for the rules." Rules are what separate a valid election from an invalid one. According to the State Department guidelines for free and fair elections, the contests held in MI and FL don't meet their standards. Hence, they aren't valid and should be given no more legitimacy than Saddam Hussein's %100 victory in the Iraqi elections.

by RP McMurphy on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:20:37 PM EST

Re: Open Letter (none / 0)

OH NO...The Grammer Police have arrived!

Someone call Dumbya!

Pride & Prejudice...The American Way!

by FISG on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:43:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Open Letter (none / 0)

Still, when you're trying to convince SDs I doubt they take seriously letters that use poor grammar and wording. It just doesn't impress. If I was in their positions I'd toss it into the pile with all the other letters earnestly telling them how they should think about MI and FL. You think they don't know all the ways it can be looked at? LOL.

by Becky G on Fri May 16, 2008 at 04:03:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Open Letter (none / 0)

That's "grammar".

Your old role is rapidly aging. Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand, for the times they are a changing.

by Travis Stark on Fri May 16, 2008 at 04:23:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Open Letter (none / 0)

Hahahahaha. What an awesome response, eh? And for the record folks, I wouldn't have said anything if this were simply a diary. The fact that this person intends to mail this letter, however, convinced me that I should try to do him or her a favor. I've worked at a couple of jobs before where the boss wrote a newsletter chock-full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. When you write something that's formal or that you expect a lot of people to read, the presence of numerous grammatical errors makes you look like an idiot.

by RP McMurphy on Fri May 16, 2008 at 04:39:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Reasonable Compromise Needed (none / 0)

Dean has the right idea whenever he's asked about this. There are three principles to uphold:

1. Fairness to the voters in Michigan and Florida

2. Fainess to both campaigns

3. Fairness to the other 48 states that followed the rules.

There will be a compromise. It needs to reflect the three principles above. Thus, I predict and advocate:

Michigan and Florida will have delegates to represent them (principle 1);

The delegates will not be apportioned between Clinton and Obama by the election results since the results, especially in Michigan, are not valid reflections of popular will (voters were told the results wouldn't count, no campaigning, Obama not on Michigan ballot, much lower turnout) (principle 2); and

The delegations will be reduced by some significant amount (probably half) to punish these states for cutting in line and so that the DNC, for the good of the party as a whole, can maintain control over the primary calendar (principle 3) .

John McCain vows to overturn Roe

by soccerandpolitics on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:31:42 PM EST

Re: Reasonable Compromise Needed (none / 0)

Agree except for the part about the primary results in Florida, which was entirely different from Michigan in that all candidates were on the ballot. I would also note that the "punishment" will have no effect on the Republican legislature, they are perfectly pleased with their handiwork--losing 1/2 the Republican delegates was a small price to pay for being the turning point in the Republican primary and setting McCain (the R's strongest candidate) on the road to the nomination. They certainly enjoyed having the state all to themselves last January, too.

Now if we had a Democratic legislature it might be different...but the primary mess, which made both the state and national Democratic parties look stupid, was a setback to that effort. We've got a lot of ground to make up on that score.

by Alice in Florida on Fri May 16, 2008 at 04:38:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Reasonable Compromise Needed (none / 0)

The Florida result was certainly much closer to being a fair result than the Michigan, but it was still a flawed election. Like Michigan, voters were told that it would not matter and turnout was down somewhat compared to other elections this season. But, the biggest flaw, IMHO, was that the candidates did not campaign. Since Obama is much less known than Clinton, this was likely a big drag on his numbers. As support, Obama's actual vote went way up in Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and just about every state in which he campaigned.

I seem to recall that the Florida state party went along with the Republicans. I do blame the national party as well, however, for not fixing the calendar before this cycle. It's totally unfair to everyone outside of IO and NH, and not surprising that a state or two finally rebelled against their monopoly. We need a better, fairer calendar next time.

John McCain vows to overturn Roe

by soccerandpolitics on Fri May 16, 2008 at 05:13:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Open Letter to Rules Committee: (2.00 / 1)

At this point, I am fully in favor of seating MI and FL entirely according to the flawed January elections without any penalty. With Edwards' endorsement, Obama has enough delegates to win even with MI and FL seated that way. Obama keeps picking up superdelegates and that trend shows no sign of reversing. He will win even under the worst-case seating scenario for him. I think it would go a good way towards satisfying the Clinton supporters to seat them in full, and then we can look at how to fix the calendar next time around so this doesn't happen again.

by Skaje on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:43:27 PM EST

Re: Open Letter to Rules Committee: Seat FL+MI (none / 0)

count me in; will send today before post office will be closed

Landslide of lies

by engels on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:45:32 PM EST

Amazing (none / 0)

How many read what they want to see, as opposed to what is actually said.

Oh well...

I guess, by the points of many, that my letter is invalid and worthless. Lordy...There are typos and more! I suppose I should just fold up my tent, and join the crowd that believes that their votes never count anyway, so why bother?

NOT!

Impossible for me to believe that we are all on the same side?!

Pride & Prejudice...The American Way!

by FISG on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:46:29 PM EST

Edwards delegates from FL clinch it for Obama (none / 0)

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0 508/Florida_delegates.html
A Florida Democratic Party source says that, by their count, at least 8 of the state's 13 Edwards delegates are switching to Obama, and none to Hillary.

The delegates don't, currently, count, but that could change.

This all-but guarantees that Obama will clinch the pledged delegate majority -- including Michigan and Florida -- on Tuesday.

We care about politics because we know politics matters for people's lives and opportunities.

by politicsmatters on Fri May 16, 2008 at 03:57:11 PM EST

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