Subscribe by RSSI’m attempting to answer that question because nobody seems to know what’s going on. So here’s the deal from The Caucus:
What do you do if you’re a Democrat in Michigan?
Tomorrow is Primary Day, but the Democratic National Committee has said that it won’t allow Michigan’s delegates to vote at the national convention this summer because the state violated party rules by holding its primary before Super Tuesday, Feb. 5.
And anyway, the only major candidates on the Democratic ticket are Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mike Gravel and Dennis J. Kucinich, since the others took their names off after the D.N.C. ruling.
So, again, what to do?
There’s a slight chance that the D.N.C. could change its mind sometime down the road and allow Michigan’s delegates to count, and Mrs. Clinton potentially could get a boost if she wins. This unlikely scenario is being viewed as enough of a threat to supporters of Barack Obama and John Edwards that they’re calling on Michigan Democrats to vote “uncommitted†on the ballot.
If “uncommitted†gets at least 15 percent of the vote, there’ll be a separate delegate selection meeting to determine who the uncommitted delegates should represent.
At this point, Hillary Clinton is the only candidate who has not withdrawn her name from the ballot. Also, the state’s delegates are not being counted at this point so it’s basically a waste of time.
Therefore, for Michigan, the Republican primary is really the only one that matters tomorrow and we’ll be covering it as results start rolling in. Also, there’s a Democratic debate on MSNBC from Nevada at 9pm.
Update
Here’s an interview of Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) with Wolf Blitzer today discussing the Michigan Democratic primary and why she’s upset at the Democratic candidates:
Dissing Michigan may indeed hurt the Democrats since many voters may perceive them as ignoring the economic downturn in the state. Most of which has come from high taxes and union control but the Democrats aren’t there speaking of it since all but Hillary have withdrawn.
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Nate, I agree this hurts the Democratic Party, but it is also important to enforce policies.
Iowa and New Hampshire were given preferential status due to historical (and political) maneuvering. But what I do appreciate is some sort of balance struck between size and equality. Big states like my current state of California, while affecting a great deal of the race, does not become the sole avenues of influence. Smaller states, one from each ‘region’ of the United States, has some influence– Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. I appreciate this.
Michigan is crying foul — as should every state — about the reasons and rules behind the original ruling, but every state can have excuses for ‘change.’ I am sure Louisiana would have a similar argument about a ‘need to be heard’ following Katrina.. and lets not forget New York (after 9/11) who would have had an argument as well.
Policies need to be maintained, and as much as I feel for Michigan’s economic plight and rough times– trying to manipulate voting rules to gain economic benefits/influence just doesn’t sit well with me (nor does Florida’s, which doesn’t even have Michigan’s excuse).
No no, I actually agree with you on the enforcement of policies. I think this whole election season has been thrown into oblivion with all these states trying to assert themselves and become more relevant in the process.
I believe the states should be stripped of delegates which step out of line and further distort the already sped of process.
Personally, and maybe this sounds nuts, but I’d like either 3 or 4 regional primaries or perhaps just one big national primary.
maybe we should have a separate President for Michigan and Florida? What a waste of taxpayers time and money to even have a Democratic primary when it doesnt count. I am from Michigan and almost voted Republication in order to actually vote for a particular person. It seemed a waste not to. Regardless, somebody screwed up BAD! For a state to have the worst economy next to Louisianna (where there was a hurricane), and not to have the votes count, is pure disgrace to our political system.
Too be honest, Florida and Michigan did not have an authorized Democratic primary yet. So there are no votes to count and no delegates that have been determined. Because candidates like Barack Obama respectifully honored the decision of their Democratic party then he should receive all the delegates. It just shows how incredibily dishonest and unethical Hillary Clinton is. She clearly does not follow the policies of her club - Democratic party. If she cannot follow the rules in place for the Democratic party will she be able to follow, enforce and lead our country? The only way to allow votes to be counted is for an authorized Democratic primary to be held. They have not yet held a primary that counts, they had a party. So I would respect that if an authorized primary occurs then they can have votes that count. Until then, they haven’t not voted yet. So there is nothing to discuss. Stop talking about it. And by the way, the bad ecomony is directly related to decision that were made during the Clinton administration.