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For all you people that claimed she was not going to tear down the party, once again Hillary Clinton proves she can not be trusted.

"Unlike TEXAS, Michigan and Florida are essential".... Did you hear that, Texas? You're not essential to a democratic victory in November. Way to go, Hillary – alienate the state that could save your rear in this primary season!

Texas, I hope you are listening!!!

Marianna – I have only two words for your misinformed "paid" blogger message – horse feathers!

Just say Nobama to the snake oil salesman.

Hillary for President!

Hilliary's campaign tactics reflect upon her character flaws, and general lack of abilities.

Do you really want more of this?

You can bet that the Republican's will destroy her if she gets the nomination. A very large number of Obama supporters will "turn off", and the country will remain deeply polarized.

Why didnt she claimed it as soon as voting was done if at were important to her? Typical Hillary looking for every loophole! You are done Madam!

Their votes do count ... they count for NOTHING! Play by the rules Clintons ... you'll find it refreshing and new to you!

What a convenient fight for her to take on-since she won. She would not be saying a word had she lost...so unashamedly self-serving. Flip-flop: She was for the enforcement of these sanctions against FL & MI before she was against them!

I agree that the DNC should have a do-over of some sort for both MI & FL between now and June. These voters need to be heard and included. Definitely need them for November!

Hillary, Hillary, Hillary – you are pulling a Cheney/Bush move by playing fast and loose with the rules of your own party. "I didn't say I would take my name off the ballot" (knowing Obama did) and making a last minute trip to Florida was just too "slick and Clintonlike" – Not every American is blind to what the meaning of the word "is" is. Bill could get away with it but you are no Bill Clinton. And speaking of plaguerizing, what was that "Jekyll & Hyde" closing last night about?

Poor Florida...always caught in the middle of such political fiascos. Bush vs Gore recounts, now Clinton wants to fight to the bitter end to get votes to count, despite Obama's name not even being on the ballot.

Sounds like a dictatorship – have an election with no opponents on the ballot?

Keeping crying mindless, Hillary supporters...but don't keep trying to steal the election!

Look, even voters from the States themselves have asked that the votes not be counted because it had been already decided that the votes would not count.

Now, in her desperation and to her own peril, she is demanding to count a contest where in fact there was none. No one but Hillary was on the democratic ticket in MI.

The question is: why didn't she take her name off the ballot like every other candidate?

I think this is another example of poor judgement and execution on the part of Hillary Clinton.

"I've always thought that it's a Constitutional right to vote. I don't believe the DNC has the right to disenfranchise voters in any election — no matter where they live. Their "rules" are not a part of the Constitution."

We're not electing someone to office. We're choosing who our nominee will be. The courts have ruled time and time again that the party has great leeway in picking their candidate however they want. This was reaffirmed last month when Clinton backers went to court trying to stop the Nevada Caucuses because it gave extra weight to the "at large" precincts.

Remember years ago they didn't have primaries, but rather a bunch of old fat men went into a back room and smoked some cigars then came out with a nominee... Legally they still can do that...

I am from Michigan and I want my vote to count! It's not my fault Obama took his name off the ballot, he did that on his own. In Florida, Obama was running TV ads, no one else was. Everyone's name was on the ballot in that state. Obama LOSS that state too!!!! Florida and Michigan are apart of the United States, we pay taxes, enjoy different freedoms, EXCEPT now our freedom to vote has been taken away.

Actually, Obama had a national ad campaign running and the ads DID RUN IN FLORIDA. Some would argue that is campaigning when campaigning wasn't allowed. Senator Clinton visited Florida after the polls closed. She did not campaign there.

It would cost too much money to put together another primary or caucus. The logical thing to do would be to split the delegates between the two remaining candidates and allow them to attend the convention. That way the citizens of both states will have a voice in the decision.

Who cares what Florida thinks? Thanks to the idiocy of its residents, "W" got elected in 2000

MI and FL votes should count and the voices of those voters should not be ignored. Obama is so arrogant that he didn't put his name on the ballot.

Will all this matter? No. I remember presidential candidates winning the popular vote but loosing the election to the electoral votes.

McCain will win over Obama (if it comes down to the two of them) unless it's a Clinton/Obama ticket where she can put him in his place during a debate.

I really don't care who wins because it's a loose-loose situation.

If Billary continues down this road, the Democratic party will be fractured, leaving the way open for McCain to win the presidency.

I guess that grabbing power, however you can, is more important than the future of the Democratic party and the country to the Clintons.

What a sad and disgusting end to a poorly strategized, managed and financed campaign.

MICHIGAN DEM PRIMARY VOTES
2008 2004
Clinton 328,151 84,214 Kerry
Uncmmitd 237,762 26,994 Dean
Kucinich 21,708 21,919 Edwards
Dodd 3,853 27,439 Other
other 2,363
TOTAL 593,837 160,566

ALMOST 4x as many people voted in 2008 DEM Primary
2x as many people voter for Clinton in 2008 than for every one in 2004

HOW CAN ANY MICHIGAN VOTER SAY THAT PEOPLE STAYED HOME

OBAMA ANDEDWARDS TOOK THEIR NAMES OFF THE BALLOT BY THE REQUEST OF IOWA AND NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE PARTY OFFICIALS

IF THEY WANTED THE VOTES OF MICHIGAN VOTERS THEY SHOULD HAVE LEFT THEIR NAMES ON TH EBALLOTS.

THEY CHOSE TO TRY TO INTIMIDATE THE STATE PARTY AND PENALIZE AND THE VOTERS QUIT CRYING!

There should be a re-vote. Knowing that Florida's vote did not really count, many people probably stayed home....and in Michigan, Edwards and Obama were not even on the ballot.

Well...when it comes to Superdelegates, the system and the rules are more important than the will of the voters. When it comes to Florida and Michigan, the will of the voters is more important than the system and the rules.

Hmmm...

RULES ARE RULES.....OOOOOOOOOOPS I FORGOT RULES IS A WORD AND WORDS DON'T MEAN ANYTHING. IF THE DNC CHANGES THE RULES IN MID-STREAM THEN THEY WILL LOSE NOT ONLY DEMS, BUT A LOT OF US INDEPENDENTS ALSO. DO OVER OR DO NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!

WHY CAN'T ALL PRIMARIES BE CHANGED SO THEY ARE ON THE SAME DAY, PERHAPS LATER IN THE YEAR. THEN THERE WOULDN'T BE ALL THIS FUSS AND BOTHER. I HAVE A FRIEND IN PA WHO WILL NOT VOTE IN THE PRIMARY BECAUSE THEIRS IS SO LATE THAT THE NOMINEE IS USUALLY ALREADY CHOSEN.

Why not just have another primary for both states, with everyone's names on the ballot? Good grief.

Maybe she should follow her same line of thinking with her thoughts on the superdelegates and realize that "well, you know, these are the rules that are followed, and you know, I think that it will sort itself out." Let the rules stand for this situation... Those votes in Michigan and Florida aren't valid. Do another caucus or just let it go.

"I've always thought that it's a Constitutional right to vote. I don't believe the DNC has the right to disenfranchise voters in any election — no matter where they live. Their "rules" are not a part of the Constitution."

There are no rules in the constitution regarding the nomination process. Less than a century ago, there were states who chose their _general_ election delegates by allowing the state legislature alone to vote. The two main parties are free to choose their candidate however they please, just like every other party. The only rules to which they are subject in the nomination process are the ones that the party themselves have set down.

I can only speak about my home state: Florida
Let do the fair thing. 1.8 million Democrats disenfranchised in Florida
(AGAIN)... whoever becomes the nominee is going to need Florida.
We take this seriously here and democrats are going independent in droves (close to a 100,000 statewide). Obama should also be fitting for the people that voted for him here and making sure the delegates from Florida get to vote at the convention or come November don’t count on us Senator Obama. I am starting to regret voting for this man.

Hillary really is the definition of win at all costs.

She can't keep her word about agreeing to the DNC rules when they suddenly aren't in her favor, and that just shows she won't keep her word to the American people either when it's not convenient for her.

Desperate moves by a desperate politician.

I said way back this election could come down to the last state to vote. All this jocking to be early. I now believe this election in November will depend on the running mate of each party. The first time the VP will be an all important factor.

MI and FL votes will count in Nov. 44 electoral votes for McCain. I am a MI voter.

This is the best thing that could happen to the GOP... The DNC comes out with a set of rules and everyone agrees to them. Then we see Clinton's hunger for power come to light. There will be court battles… and best of all, whoever wins is illegitimate.

I can’t stand Clinton (it appears that most Republicans and half of the Democrats agree with me on that), but I kind of hope she wins. She will be shown for what she is, a power crazed politician, who only cares about winning.

Win or lose, at least she will weaken Obama in the effort.

It would be a mistake of historic preportions not to seat Florida & Michigan at the convention. However it would be a mistake to award them to Sen. Clinton. Florida was the site of the 2000 Bush scam & Michigan has the most desperate economy in the US so one can hardly blame them for wanting to be heard early & often. Their delegates should be halved in number & seated at the convention as uncommited until the first floor vote. If they are disenfranchised by the Democratic party those two states will probably end up red in November and our country will be sending its sons & daughters to die in Iraq for McCain for 100 years.

hillary has shown herself to be a fickle minded,manioulative woman with total disregard for the law.how can such a person be the president of the united states.i have lost all the respec t i once had for her.obama has my vote anyday.

She has no integrity.

The talk was that she would pursue those delegates in Florida and Michigan if she was behind. And just like breathing here she is.

The problem here is that she NEVER took the Obama campaign seriously. She thought she had the black vote sewed up with her husband. She thought Senator Obama would win one or two, certainly not 10 in a row.

If she had run her presidential campaign like her Sentorial campaign...She probably would not be in the place she is now.

If Obama wasn't on the ticket...just shows how stupid he was and you want his as a President??????

Those votes should be counted!!!

Ready to cheat and twist on day one! Ya, and what a slap on the face of Texas! You are a repb. state, you don't count!

as a florida voter, i feel like i made my vote count in the only way it could... in the form of a small contribution to the obama campaign. as much as it stung to have the votes not result in seated delegates, AFTER the results come is not the time to cry foul.

would hillary have won florida if the candidates were actively campaigning here? probably. would she have won michigan if any other candidate's name had even been on the ballot (THAT'S fair)? maybe. it's too late to speculate about this time, instead the party as a whole just needs to focus on fixing the problem for next time.

Yes, all candidates were on the Florida ballot. Senator Obama and Senator Edwards (and perhaps others) were not on the Michigan ballot. All candidates agreed not to campaign in those states. The most fair thing to do would be to allow those states to hold new primaries, with a sufficient time allowed for the candidates to campaign in those states. However, if they do not hold new primaries, I do not think the delegates should be counted. Yes, it disenfranchises the people of those states in the nomination process. But think of all the people who probably stayed home when they heard their votes would not count. How is it fair to accept what is essentially a tainted vote as it currently stands? The legislatures of these states knew what the consequences would be when they voted to hold earlier primaries. They called the DNC's bluff – but they weren't bluffing.

Hillary supporters: I'm a Democratic voter from Michigan. I, and many of my Democratic buddies (including my wife), did not vote in the meaningless election held here in January. I can't speak for Florida, but STOP FIGHTING TO HAVE MICHIGAN DELEGATES SEATED! Many of us Democrats stayed home, or voted in the GOP primary, instead of wasting our time on a meaningless vote. Stop saying you are speaking for us. You're not. Hillary will not get my vote if she tries to pull this kind of crap.

Hey Will, check your facts, it's been reported time and again that record numbers went to the polls in Michigan and Florida...

Hey Will, check your facts, it's been reported time and again that record numbers went to the polls in Michigan and Florida...

As a Florida voter, this is insulting. There was no real campaign here and everyone knew our votes weren't really going to count. For that reason, this election was bogus and our votes should not count.

I voted, but none of my three roommates did because "Our votes don't count anyway."

As a Floridian, I think they absolutely should not count. Absolutely not. We broke the rules, we got punished – we can deal with it. Unless they work out a way to do it over, and allow the candidates to campaign here normally, I see absolutely no reason why they should be allowed to attend the convention and vote. All she's doing is scrabbling for more delegates to her name. If she had lost them, she certainly wouldn't be demanding that they be seated at the convention.

All candidates names were on the ballots in FL...not in MI. I agree that they should organize caucases. And who will pay for these you might ask....well since Obama and Clinton are raising an average of 1 million dollars a day from their campaigns...why not have both of their camps split the costs???

Obama's name was not on the ballot in Michigan.

Either way, it is clear she wants to seat them because she "won" them. If she lost them, she would not be saying anything.

I've always thought that it's a Constitutional right to vote. I don't believe the DNC has the right to disenfranchise voters in any election - no matter where they live. Their "rules" are not a part of the Constitution. And why is it that FL seems to always have election issues, whether it's a machine problem or a counting problem? It's always FL. It's difficult to believe that one state can screw up so many Presidential contests. Coincidence, or incompetence, or not?

I think they've already disenfranchised people in florida. Me being one of them. Trying to resurrect my vote is a slap in the face. you didn't want it then because you were soooooo stuck on your party principals. Now all of the sudden it's important??

What's this tell us about your character. You are firm in your partys pocket till it doesn't serve your interests? Principals matter only on years that arn't election years? Rules don't matter if they get you votes? If it gets more votes for me then who cares how we get them. Be it legal wrangling or some story about how a close race won't be settled by the people but by a battle between al gore and bill clinton at paper, rock scissors. Can't fix a flawed system mid stream.

I understand the plight of the Floridians and the people from Michigan however, the rules are the rules. In the beginning, Clinton knew that the delegates from Michigan and Florida were not going to count and as someone else said, many people stayed home and did not vote because of that reason. Now that she is losing, she wants to count the delegates. Do you think she would want the same thing if she was ahead by 100 delegates? NOOOOOOO. This is the very reason why other countries look at America with distrust. If she would do someone in her own country and political party like this....what will she do to other world leaders?

If your going to ask that the delegates be seated then let's have a do over for both Florida and Michigan with all the players on the ballot.
I don't think it would be fair to hand over the delegates to anyone after all not everyone was on the ballot.

No one other than Clinton was on the ticket in Mich.

Maria, In Binh is referring to MI, where only Clinton was on the ballot. This is common knowledge which is easy to confirm with even a tiny bit of investigation.

they voted, she won, they should count. In a race this close with two legitimate candidates....all voters/delegates should count!!

Go Hillary!!!!

At the end of last night's debate I was starting to believe Hillary Clinton would find a core of decency deep within her and graciously accept the voters' will. Today, she is back to advocating cheating. I don't want my kids raised with another terrible role model in the White House.

When you give your word and promise to play by the rules - you keep you word and don't change the rules in the middle of the game. My 11-year old knows this - the Clinton campaign doesn't.

Hillary was against the delegates from Michigan and Florida before she was for them.

Take a look for a surprise that may be waiting in the wings especially if Nader is mixed in the bunch…
YOUTUBE – Obama limo party for information on recent story

Go Obama/08

Please note the comment by Binh is completely untrue. ALL CANDIDATES WERE LISTED ON MY BALLOT IN FLORIDA!!! I am willing to bet Binh is neither from Florida nor Michigan.

I agree that every citizens of the United States should be recognized as a potential voter in any election.

However: the party, right or wrong voted to not recognize the outcome of the voting in either Florida or Michigan and everyone knew this before the fact. If anyone is to blame the citizens should throw out their Democratic representatives to the National Committee.

Allowing their vote to count is like locking the barn door after the horse has escaped.

Backing out of a Promise made to the DNC and her fellow candidates in an attempt to get ahead in the count is far more egregious than that of borrowing words from a friend and confidant who shares the same speech writer.

I agree they should count, because after all, are these two states not part of the union? Maybe theres and Obama conspiracy!

Just like her voting to authorize military force in Iraq but now saying that she didn't know she was voting to authorize a war. Go figure.

It makes no sense at all to use the January results when a lot of voters in Michigan and Florida stayed home because they thought their votes wouldn't count. If anything, caucuses need to be arranged so that the voice of the people in those states can be legitimately heard.

That's fair for Clinton to get the delegates from Florida and Michigan. Be honest with her that she earns the delegates from Florida and Michigan. Florida and Michigan should give Clinton the delegates!

Can the media bring more attention to the fact that Edwards and Obama were not on the ticket? So Clinton vs Uncommitted was an honest primary? Geez!

I agree wholeheartedly. For those people who say the Superdelegates shouldn't disinfranchise your vote by picking the nominee, shouldn't you also be in agreement that the voters of FL and MI shouldn't be disinfranchised? After all if your vote has to "count" shouldn't MI and FL voters votes "count" in the same regard?

Every vote counts!

General election needs wins in MI & FL!

desperation personified

She's right, but the truth is, the votes have already been counted and she won.

Only problem is, the votes don't translate into delegates, according to her party's rules. The decision not to seat delegates was made BEFORE the elections were staged, so Clinton's point about not being in agreement with the DNC is hogwash.

So as not to let Florida and Michigan feel left out, they can attend the convention, but not as DELEGATES! You have to wonder if Hillary was way ahead of Obama by 500 delegates whether she'd still be making noise over Florida and Michigan?

The more Hillary comes across as desperate is the more she is turning people off! She was supposed to have wrapped this thing up on February 5th, according to her December 2007 plans and predictions, but it didn't happen as planned so she is left walking wounded.

I guess Hilliary has forgotten that she knew along with others that the Florida and Michigan delegates would not be counted. If the DNC changes the rules for her, I feel it will be the end of the Democrat Party!

Go Obama!!

Desperation.

Please don't believe the smoke and mirrors.

Obama 08

Of course the Obama campaign opposes seating those delegates, he's winning. therefore it's okay fby him to not include thousands of american voters in the process. If he was losing he would most likely be demanding they be seated.

In a democratic society..things have to be kept fair. I agree that the DNC might have chosen a better penalty. I liked the GOP position where they reduced the allocated delegates by half. That allowed for the election to have meaning but also penalize the states. The issue , in this case, remains that you cant change the rules in mid stream. That is opportunist and not democratic.

Florida and Michigan are 2 different scenarios. In Florida, the State Dems were ' forced' to move up their primary as the GOP initiated that move. That being said the DNC disallowed the switch in dates. They were aware of the penalty but decided to proceed and the candidates agreed to the terms. Florida has the better position in that all the candidates were on the ballot. And yes while voters may have sat on the sidelines because they were told their vote wouldnt count I believe the vote reflects the will of the Florida Dems.

In Michigan, the State Dems messed up that primary badly. It is the State dems that caused their problems. They were appropriately penalized. The difference here of course , is that only Clinton had her name on the ballot. Shameful as that is, the problem is there is no way to understand the will of the Michigan voters without a re-run.

Was this comment made after the debate in which Hillary deflected a question about the superdelegates?

The voter's voices should be heard!

Superdelegates? Well that's another matter..

She has said this from the begginning even when she was well i nthe lead. She has always thought those votes should count no matter the outcome.

Look up the Ticker from back when the DNC said it would not count thier votes, Hillary was all over them.

I'm not from Michigan or Florida, but if I was a voter out there I wouldn't be upset with the DNC, I would be upset with my state legislature. They BROKE THE RULES. Rules are in place for a reason, and there should be consequences to breaking rules. If we allow the Michigan and Florida votes to count, what is to prevent EVERY state from similarly breaking the rules and moving up their elections next time.

Furthermore, Obama's name was not even ON THE BALLOT in Michigan. Can anyone honestly tell me that Hillary would have received 60% of the vote if Obama was on the ballot??? And, while Obama's name was on the ballot in Florida, he did not campaign there. It is a statistical fact that everywhere Obama campaigns he catches up to Clinton and often overtakes her completely.

Hillary is grasping at straws here. Let Michigan and Florida delegates be seated only AFTER the winner has been chosen!

Florida votes should count as is, since both candidates were on the ballot. Obama has no grounds to argue this one.
Michigan is a different story since Hillary was the only one on the ballot. Michigan should have a re-vote and soon.
The DNC is mis-guided if the don't do something quick to have these votes counted !

The Florida and Michigan votes will count...in the general election...for Obama

As a Florida resident, I went out to vote last month. But I knew full well that is was not a standard primary. All along I expected that there would have to be a caucus or other primary to determine the delegate allocation from my state. Although I went to the polls that day, many people did not because of the announced rules for the process. Those voters are entitled to their right to cast their ballots in an election that counts. The only way to do that is to do a "Do-Over"... or is the Clinton campaign worried that those results might underscore their tremendous decline in the past month???

Wicked, wicked.

How many people do you suppose stayed home and didn't vote because the vote wasn't going to count? Can you say that this was a real primary under those conditions.

There are really only 2 ways to resolve this. 1 – do not change anything and don't count the delegates, or 2 – do the primary over again.

Would Hillary be on her high horse "fighting" for the voters in Fla & Mich if the votes had gone against her? yeah, right. Do you suppose she would support a do-over? I thought not.

McCain/Rice '08

Just do what the republicans did and seat half of them just to shut her up.She still won't win.

If Hillary wanted the states to count, she should have said so BEFORE she knew she got more delegates. I have lost all respect for both clintons!

The elections WERE NOT FAIR many stayed home because they knew their votes would not count, in Michigan the ONLY name on the ballow was Ms. Clintons and yet she did not even recieve half the votes! People KNEW before the vote that these votes were not to be counted, if ANYONE can show me where Ms. Clinton objected to that BEFORE the elections than she might have a leg to stand on but the fact is she felt (and has said) theat she expected the race to be over by Super Tuesday and therefore at that point did not think she needed them, now she wants them, sorry lady the rules are the rules FOR EVERYONE! If they want some kind of do over (as Mr. Obama is willing to do) than that is fine but to count the votes as they stand now is ludicrious and deep down even Ms. Clinton knows that. I also want to point out that there are those who did not vote because they knew the results would be ignored so should we disregard THEIR votes because THEY ACCEPTED THE RULES!?! Talk about unfair give priority to those who cannot accept the rules and disenfranchise those who did now THAT is standard Clinton talk!

The only solution is to have another primary or caucus. Think of all the people that didn't vote because they knew it wouldn't count. Also think of the fact that Obama wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan in the first place. Fair? Not even a little bit.

If Hillary really wanted everyones vote to count, she would realize this too. She just wants an advantage.

YES, WE CANNOT IGNORE FL AND MI AND EXPECT TO WIN A GENERAL ELECTION

From where I sit seems to me that if the DEMOCRATS would prevail and disenfranchise the democrats of Florida and Michigan then those voters would likely protest by voting Republican in November. So, neither Clinton nor Obama wins. How does President McCain sound now?

If the Florida and Michigan delegates are to be seated, then they should hold a caucus to determine the doling out of delegates from those states. The reason HRC received more votes in Michigan is because hers was the only name on the ballot. In Florida, she had the most name recognition. I'm not saying she wouldn't win again but at least make it fair and allow both candidates to campaign there and let the people know who they are and what their ideas are. Only then should any results of these states count. It's not fair to simply hand over delegates when the DNC and all parties agreed not to count them. Quit splitting hairs Hillary and hold a caucus.

Lie, cheat, steal...I thought that was the Repulican playbook for getting votes? Oh wait...I forgot, we're talking about the Clintons. The Dem Party and America as a whole would be better for the Clintons to accept their tainted place in history and stop trying to taint the future. If Hillary gets the nomination, I will never vote Dem again. Ever.

Good timing Clinton