Clinton Camp Opposes Mich. Delegate Plan

State Party's Plan Would Give Clinton 69 Delegates And Obama 59 Delegates

(AP)  Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign opposes Michigan's plan to give fewer delegates to her and more to rival Barack Obama.

The Democratic National Committee stripped Michigan and Florida of their convention delegates for holding their primaries before Feb. 5. Both are looking for compromises that would get their delegates seated.

Michigan Democrats now back a plan that would give Clinton four delegates less than the 73 she gained by winning the state's Jan. 15 primary. Obama would get 59 pledged delegates even though he took his name off the ballot, forcing his supporters to vote for Uncommitted.

A Clinton campaign spokesman said Thursday that the campaign won't support any proposal that gives Clinton less than the delegates she earned winning the primary.

Clinton won the Jan. 15 Michigan primary and was to get 73 pledged delegates under state party rules, while Obama was to get 55. The state also has 29 superdelegates.

The state party's executive committee voted Wednesday to ask the national party's Rules and Bylaws Committee to approve the 69-59 delegate split when it meets May 31. The plan would shrink Clinton's delegate edge in Michigan from 18 to 10 and allow the state's 157 delegates and superdelegates to be seated at the convention.

The state's Democratic leaders also pushed back the date of the party's State Central Committee meeting from May 17 to June 14 to give the rules committee time to act. The party is to pick 45 pledged delegates and two superdelegates at that meeting. It chose 83 pledged delegates last month at district conventions.

A separate plan submitted to the rules committee by Democratic National Committee members Joel Ferguson of Michigan and Jon Ausman of Florida, both superdelegates, apparently will be withdrawn now that the Michigan executive committee has settled on the 69-59 plan. Under their proposal, delegates would have been allocated based on the primary election results, but have had only half a vote each. The superdelegates would have had full voting rights.

A message seeking comment was left on Ferguson's cell phone Wednesday evening.

The DNC stripped Michigan and Florida of their convention delegates - 366 in all, including pledged delegates and superdelegates - for holding their primaries too early in the nominating process, which violated party rules.

The 69-59 split was proposed last week by four prominent Michigan Democrats who have been working for months to find a way to get Michigan's delegates seated at the Aug. 25-28 convention in Denver: U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin and DNC member Debbie Dingell.

State party Chairman Mark Brewer said he thinks the state is closer to reaching a solution agreeable to the candidates and state and national party officials, although there is no guarantee that the rules committee will accept the plan or agree to seat the delegates.

"This does move the process forward in terms of stating our own position to the DNC. I really appreciate all the work of the working group to get us this far," Brewer said Wednesday after the meeting.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said of the decision, "It is clear results in January won't be used to allocate delegates, and we agree with that decision. We have been talking with Michigan leaders about this proposal and will continue to do so."

Clinton spokesman Isaac Baker said the campaign expects a quick resolution. "The bottom line is that the delegates from Michigan and Florida must be seated," he said in a statement released Wednesday night.

Trailing in delegates, Clinton and her campaign have been pressing for her wins in Florida and Michigan to be recognized and the delegates seated. Obama, who wants to preserve his lead, has suggested other solutions such as splitting the delegates evenly.

Obama joined several candidates who removed their names from Michigan's ballot, and Clinton and Obama agreed not to campaign in either state.

Their absence has given GOP presidential candidate John McCain a chance to make up ground in Michigan, which has voted Democratic in the past four presidential elections. He attended a fundraiser in the state Tuesday night with former rival Mitt Romney before holding a town hall meeting Wednesday morning at Oakland University in the Detroit suburb of Rochester.

"Clinton and Obama have boycotted Michigan for a long time while John McCain has been getting to know us," state Republican Chairman Saul Anuzis said Wednesday in his blog.

[DCropp]

Please seat the delegates this way.

Michigan and Florida must be seated.

Also, the 14 states who held caucuses must also be counted.

This is why the only reasonable solution is to seat Michigan and Florida, and use the pledged delegate count as the deciding factor.

Anything other than the pledged delegate count from the states and territories is the equivalent of saying these states do not count.

[bfjones666]

So, nothing will be done about these states violating the rules? Won''t this just encourage other states to do their own thing in the future? Why are we teaching our children that rules don''t apply? We have zero accountability in this country and we wonder why we can''t compete on a global scale. This country has zero values when it comes to our politics.

[briannorwood]

Great! Reward Hillary for being complacent in breaking the party''s rules.

Look, just like immigration and grade school, if you break the rules, you should have to go to the back of the line.

[sjbj2322]

Boy would this ever be a "gimme" to Obama. Despite the fact that neither he nor Edwards were on the ballot in Michigan the fact remains that those who voted for Clinton would have anyway and those who would have voted for either Edwards or Obama voted uncommitted. As such it is inconceivable that Edwards would not have garnered at least 15% of that uncommited vote. Barack should take this one without bellyaching cause its certainly more than he earned or deserves.

[killtheliars]

I was a bill supporter in the past but this is sickening. THey all agreed, including the Clinton campaign not to include the delegates from these states, now because Hillary is basically done they want to cheat and change the rules in mid-contest. Obama wasn''t even on the ballot, so if he was how do you know he would not have beaten Hillary there to? Sure Hillary would have gotten alot of the union vote, but last time I checked michigan had a signifigant number of African Americans who probably would have went for Obama.
Hillary needs to step down, fair is fair. She is going to **** so many people off they will walk away from the democrats in the general if the true winner is not nominated. As a democrat I say they need to change the whole primary system anyway, let the popular vote decide the candidate.

[jonsid2]

Neither Clinton nor Obama should benefit in any way from the voting that was done in Mi or Fl. Both candidates had agreed to that many, many months ago. Clinton should have been "man" enough to remove her name from the Mi ballot like the others had done. She should not have gone to Fl the day before the Fl vote either. For her to say that those states should count (obviously in her favor) is simply more pandering to the people of those states.

[Razzl]

Now that it can''t defeat him unfairly, Obama should accept whatever version of this the state party people want. It''s the quickest way to take that issue off the table and end the Clinton challenge, and would make him look good in doing so. There''s also no more point in competitive trash talk between Obama and Clinton supporters here, as the next move has to be that Hillary offers to take the VP slot and Obama''s campaign has to decide, very quietly and graciously, whether that''s a good idea for the administration which will be put together. If Hillary is willing to take the Veep we''ll all be sleeping under the same tent, so the rank and file may as well start readjusting OUR thinking...

[sjbj2322]

If people want to whine about what wasn''t fair, then let''s start a debate about what truly wasn''t fair that skewed this entire campaign to begin with....allowing South Carolina to vote early so the DNC could test the black vote. And what has it resulted in....yep, 90 plus percent of black voters voting for Obama simply based on his color. That is not a racist statement - it is fact from review of the street polls taken during primaries. Ask yourselves "what if"....what if South Carolina hadn''t been allowed to vote early? Would Obama have the following that he has? NO! So don''t start bellyaching about millions of voters in Florida and Michigan feeling they would be disenfranchised if their votes aren''t counted. Its not like its going to change the balance of the delegates toward Hillary''s favor that much but it would certainly say something to the voters of those two states who will darned sure be needed in November. Barack got his "gimme" - now give Hillary hers.

[concorde5]

sjbj.....your statement makes absolutely no sense. If you remember, when all this began Blacks did not support Obama, they supported Hillary. Remember all the news pundits asking "Is Obama Black enough to get the Black vote".

Blacks didn''t swing over to Obama until Bill and Hillary started race-baiting. They wanted to make sure they reminded Whites that Obama is a "Black Candidate" in order to scare them away.

Blacks saw through her ploy and it turned them OFF. They left her in droves. She did this to herself. She deserves to lose.

[sjbj2322]

That is absolute garbage and you know it. It was Obama''s campaign that pulled the race card and he even admitted it during the debates. Moreover, as for negative campaigning....who started it with the comment about the Senator from Punjab. Uh right...that would be Obama.

[concorde5]

Hillary has run a terrible campaign. That''s why she is losing.

She started injecting race into the campaign which was a HUGE mistake. She ran off her most loyal base, the Black vote. She''s a idiot.

She has run a very negative campaign right out of the republican play-book and she is turning off voters as a result.

She deserves to loose.

[sjbj2322]

concorde5....your entitled to your opinion but the data simply doesn''t reflect your argument. You still haven''t addressed the fact that Obama admitted that it was his campaign that started the racebaiting....remember that four page document he was confronted with at one of the debates that was put together by his campaign.

[advanceus]

I live in Michigan and no one asked my opinion on this. When they decided to vote early they knew the votes would not be counted, I think it should be kept that way. No Count!!! Grantholm want Clinton is the only reason they are fighting it now.

[nolalou]

It dosn''t matter at this point if Michigan and Florida delegates are seated at the convention. Hillary would still not have enough to overcome Obama! It''s simple math! She needs to give up, and support the winner.

[sjbj2322]

I''m not arguing for Hillary or Obama on the issue even though I won''t deny I''m a Clinton supporter....I simply don''t think the people of these two states deserve to be punished for what their state party leaders did....its that simple. When it boils down to it, counting their votes at this point is not going to get Hillary anything more than a face-lift victory but it just might assure the Democratic nominee has their much needed support in November.

[sjbj2322]

concorde5....before you go any further with your accusations you need to review the transcripts of the debates. Its all there. He got caught with egg all over his face on the issue and had to openly admit that what his campaign had done was wrong. Moreover, if you don''t think that he didn''t interject race long before Hillary....why did he join a church that''s mission statement is "unapologetically black" and "unapologetically Pro-African." You wonder why he can''t gain the support of middle-class white voters. Its simple....he hasn''t convinced them that he is a man for ALL Americans. Moreover, if he were to denounce the mission statement of his church as he has Rev. Wright, how long do you think it would take for black voters to abandon him? Yep, about as long as it takes to snap your fingers.

[hp32970c]

Let me say this...who I support doesn''t matter. They both agreed on Fl and Mi long before the primaries began. Many Fl and Mi voters did NOT vote because they were told it wouldn''t count. If you count Fl and Mi now then you are disenfranchising all the people that did not vote. Plus it is wrong to do so now. They agreed ahead of time. If Hillary was so worried about them why didn''t she speak up before hand? Why didn''t she sign under protest? She shouldn''t get credit for speaking up now when she is only doing it to benefit herself. And one more thing... she is worried about counting the votes of Fl and Mi but then she turns around and is telling the super delegates not to count the millions of votes that Obama got and select her instead. Something is very wrong with this logic.

[concorde5]

sjbj.....I also think it is important for FL and MI to count but there is no way to do so fairly now. It would be unreasonable to count all of Hillary''s votes from Michigan and give Obama NO votes from MI. If Obama and Hillary had campaigned in MI, would she have won the state? We see that Obama closes the gap in every state he campaigns in, what''s to say that would not have happened in MI? Perhaps he may have won MI if he campaigned there. We simply don''t know and for them to simply give the state to Hillary would be grossly unfair.

[concorde5]

sjbj.....The reason that Obama doesn''t get the so called Blue Collar, redneck, trailer trash, jerry springer, Hillbilly, southern, country vote is because THEY VOTE REPUBLICAN. Democrats NEVER carry the redneck vote. Why? Because most of them are Racist!

[sjbj2322]

I agree that it would be unfair to give Obama no votes; however, it is an exageration to assume that he would have gotten as many as this compromise affords because Edwards would most likely have easily garnered at least 15% of the vote. On the other hand, given the timing of the Michigan vote, it is not inconceivable that Hillary would have won it and at the percentage of the vote that she did even without Obama and Edwards names on the ballot. The you-know-what really didn''t hit the fan until after the Michigan vote.

[rowdytexan2]

concorde5....before you go any further with your accusations you need to review the transcripts of the debates. Its all there. He got caught with egg all over his face on the issue and had to openly admit that what his campaign had done was wrong. Moreover, if you don''''t think that he didn''''t interject race long before Hillary....why did he join a church that''''s mission statement is "unapologetically black" and "unapologetically Pro-African." You wonder why he can''''t gain the support of middle-class white voters. Its simple....he hasn''''t convinced them that he is a man for ALL Americans. Moreover, if he were to denounce the mission statement of his church as he has Rev. Wright, how long do you think it would take for black voters to abandon him? Yep, about as long as it takes to snap your fingers.


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Posted by sjbj2322 at 10:25 AM : May 08, 2008

Well said and worth repeating!

[rowdytexan2]

Don''t agree to this Hillary, take it to convention and make them rule on Obama''s breaking DNC rules in MI and FLA!

He doesn''t deserve one vote or delegate from either State!.

[rowdytexan2]

sjbj.....The reason that Obama doesn''''t get the so called Blue Collar, redneck, trailer trash, jerry springer, Hillbilly, southern, country vote is because THEY VOTE REPUBLICAN. Democrats NEVER carry the redneck vote. Why? Because most of them are Racist!


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Posted by concorde5 at 10:32 AM : May 08, 2008

MY WHAT A FLAMING BIGOT YOU ARE, JUST LIKE YOUR CANDIDATE OBAMA!

[concorde5]

Patsy....Very well said. I agree completely.

[rowdytexan2]

sjbj.....The reason that Obama doesn''''''''t get the so called Blue Collar, redneck, trailer trash, jerry springer, Hillbilly, southern, country vote is because THEY VOTE REPUBLICAN. Democrats NEVER carry the redneck vote. Why? Because most of them are Racist!


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Posted by concorde5 at 10:32 AM : May 08, 2008

MY WHAT A FLAMING BIGOT YOU ARE, JUST LIKE YOUR CANDIDATE OBAMA!


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Posted by RowdyTexan2 at 10:37 AM : May 08, 2008

Even more like, you are a flaming RACIST!

[oldabeeagle]

Barack has won many states where the overwhelming majority of voters are white and middle class. In my very white Republican county, the results in my precinct were: Obama = 216 Billary = 103 and all the repulicans combined = less than 100. Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, etc. all voted for change.

[sjbj2322]

concorde5...."The reason that Obama doesn''''t get the so called Blue Collar, redneck, trailer trash, jerry springer, Hillbilly, southern, country vote is because THEY VOTE REPUBLICAN. Democrats NEVER carry the redneck vote. Why? Because most of them are Racist!"

Your argument up to this point had at least been dignified. Why give up on it by making such an ugly statement about people that you clearly know little about. It is not racist to point out that given the disparity in this country, the latest piece of legislation being pushed by Obama would send 7% of this nations gross to foreign nations feeding none other than his cousins (Odinga) ambitions in Kenya. I don''t have a problem with helping out impoverished nations but I''d first like to make sure the food actually got to the people that need it and with Odinga going out on massacres of his own people, that''s a real issue. Take care of home first....let foreign nations fix their own political problems and then we can feed them knowing that our efforts are actually reaching those who need it.

[concorde5]

sjbj.....Oh I''m a bigot because I pointed out the OBVIOUS. Most racists are southern rednecks. That''s a fact. Just go to your next Klan meeting and ask.

[rowdytexan2]

Barack has won many states where the overwhelming majority of voters are white and middle class. In my very white Republican county, the results in my precinct were: Obama = 216 Billary = 103 and all the repulicans combined = less than 100. Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, etc. all voted for change.


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Posted by OldAbeEagle at 10:38 AM : May 08, 2008

Funny, isn''t it. Down in those districts in Houston where he won all those delegates, he only had marginal wins in black neighborhoods. Seems like they had a kazillion delegates and only a few thousand voters among a mass population!

Sounds like a real fair win, doesn''t it....NOT!

[sjbj2322]

concorde5....I DIDN''T CALL YOU A BIGOT!!! Read what I said and not what other''s said in response though I won''t deny that it seems strange that your so quick to call others a racist when you seem to know so little about what your own candidate and his campaign have done. Clinton did not start the racebaiting and no amount of trying to accuse her of such is going to change that fact.

[rowdytexan2]

sjbj.....Oh I''''m a bigot because I pointed out the OBVIOUS. Most racists are southern rednecks. That''''s a fact. Just go to your next Klan meeting and ask.


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Posted by concorde5 at 10:40 AM : May 08, 2008

Have you EVER lived in the SOUTH?

Did you not realize that Texas, especially, has been the seat of the democratic party for decades until the the Neocons literally bought the state for Bush?

Do you, in fact, have any freaking clue about ANYTHING in the south, or are you just mouthing off?

[concorde5]

sjbj....You are correct and I do apologize for my remarks about southerners. It was an unfair statement and I don''t really believe that all white southerners are racists. There are very hard working good people in the south and small town america and they deserver better than my portrayal of them.

[concorde5]

Rowdy....I''m actually your neighbor. I live in Arkansas.

[sjbj2322]

concorde5....Thank You.

[pandamonium6]

If they seated Florida and split it the same was as Michigan is proposing, Barack would then have 2017 delegates. I think that it is a pretty safe bet to guess that Barack will get another 8 delagates in the remaining primaries. It is time for Hillary to bow out...She ran a super race and brought in more excitment to an election then we have seen in many years. She should be very proud of what she accomplished!

[perceptions5]

The Democrats, because "they" don''t count all the votes, will lose both Florida and Michigan in November.

Why should the Americans in these two states vote for a Democrat when the Democrat party doesn''t even recognize their rights to have a voice in the Democrat primary?

Don''t see how the Dems can win by only recognizing 48 US States and the territories of Florida and Michigan.

[Torilin]

perceptions5

If you are not familiar with the story of Dem primary regarding MI and FL please read more before post. It''s not Dem doesn''t want to recognize their voice it''s a punishment for rule-breaking.

[Lai K W]

THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION IS A REVOTE:

LET PEOPLE FULLY AWARE OF WHAT OBAMA REALLY IS AND THEN CONDUCT A REVOTE.

A LANDSLIDE LOSSES IN BOTH STATE WILL ASSURE THE COMMUNIST PARTY THAT OBAMA IS UNELECTABLE.

[Lai K W]

I FEEL ASHAMED OF PEOPLE POSTING HERE ABOUT PUNISHING 2 MILLION PEOPLE:

AGAIN THE SLOGAN IS:

FOR THE PARTY, OF THE PARTY AND BY THE PARTY.

THIS PARTY STINKS!!!!!

[destardi]

If you are not familiar with the story of Dem primary regarding MI and FL please read more before post. It''''s not Dem doesn''''t want to recognize their voice it''''s a punishment for rule-breaking. peanutcrisp at 11:15 AM : May 08, 2008
+ report abuse


Maybe YOU should read more...Of course the pro-Obama media isn''t telling you that 3 other states broke "the rulez" but yet were not sanctioned..2 of them Obama states.

Also, "the rulez" only say HALF of the delegates should be stripped; pro-Obama Brazile and Dean stripped ALL of the delegates.

look it up for yourself.

Rule 11.A specifically set the date for the primaries & caucuses for those three states as "no earlier than 22 days before the first Tuesday in February" (Iowa), "no earlier than 14 days before the first Tuesday in February" (New Hampshire), and "no earlier than 7 days before the first Tuesday in February" (South Carolina).

Iowa held their caucuses on January 3rd. That''s more than 22 days before the first Tuesday in February.
New Hampshire held their primary on January 8th. That''s more than 17 days before the first Tuesday in February.
And South Carolina held their primary on January 26th. That''s more than 7 days before the first Tuesday in February.

Under Rule 11.A., five states were in violation of the Democratic National Committee''s Delegate Selection Rules, and as such, all five states should have been punished under Rule 20.C.1.a.

[hp32970c]

Hillary lost because her attitude of entitlement and inevitablity caused her to be unprepared. Her campaign was poorly organized and performed very poorly as a result. There was no plan to beat Obama. She thought all she had to do was show up. That''s why after Iowa the campaign started falling apart. They were in a state of shock. That was the beginning of the end. Bill ran around spewing nonsense from his mouth and pissing people off. She started lying and embellishing. She changed her strategy so many times. Basically they ran around like chickens without heads. Attention to fundraising was lacking because she thought after Feb 5th it would be over. Planning and organizing for caucuses was practically non-existant again because who cares. She didn''t need caucus states. Her air of inevitabiliy bit her in the butt. Obama out strategized her, out planned her, out fundraised her, out organized her, out campaigned her. HE was prepared. I bet she lies in bed at night and can''t believe this is happening. If there is a next time, hopefully she''s learned from the first time.

[perceptions5]

If you are not familiar with the story of Dem primary regarding MI and FL please read more before post. It''''s not Dem doesn''''t want to recognize their voice it''''s a punishment for rule-breaking.


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Posted by peanutcrisp
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Who or what Party, in their right mind, who make a "rule" that excluded American''s basic right of self-determination?

Howard, anti-christ, Dean "should" have said. "We''ll do it the same way as the Republicans".

If he had the Dems wouldn''t be in this situation.

Bottom line is the Democrat Party can not make "rules" that violate the Constitution of the United States of America, and they did anyways.

Sad.............really sad........

Hillary should take this issue to court and demand that these Americans have a say in this process.

I thought the Democrats stood for "fairness". This muck doesn''t look fair at all.

Where am I wrong?

[hp32970c]

First of all even if they included Fl and Mi she still loses. But anyway, do you really think that Howard Dean and Donna Brazile and whoever else sat down over a year ago and looked in a crystal ball and said "Hillary is gonna need Fl and Mi. Let''s take them away"? Really now. Hillary herself didn''t think it would matter and really it doesn''t. She would still be losing.

[realpatriot1]

perception5,

45% of Michigan voters came out in the January snow to vote "none of the above". Since Hillary''s name was on the ballot and Obama''s was not, Obma is "none of the above".

Case closed(or thrown out of court, take your pick).

[lepbtv]

hp32970c - you are RIGHT ON!! Couldn''t have said it better...

[singingrick]

That''s ridiculous! Obama wasn''t even on the ballot!

[aldon61]

ccfsdca: Are you drinking kool-ade? There is no way in h.e.l.l that Obama ever loses Illinois, Better find another crystal ball!

[acolton1]

OMAAR-101 is not qualified to comment on this article.

[oldabeeagle]

Barack has won many states where the overwhelming majority of voters are white and middle class. In my very white Republican county, the results in my precinct were: Obama = 216 Billary = 103 and all the repulicans combined = less than 100. Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, etc. all voted for change. The middle class is why Obama has a lead in the polular vote.

[oldabeeagle]

My white conservative republican Illinois state senator respects and admires Barack Obama. Barack has a proven track record of being a uniter.

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/31/040531fa_fact1