New Michigan plan proposed
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/03/31/art.stupak.gi.jpg caption=" Stupak is proposing a new plan to seat Michigan's delegates. "]WASHINGTON (CNN) - Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak proposed a new plan on Monday to seat his state's Democratic delegates to the party's convention in August, factoring in both the results of the state's January primary and the total popular vote of all the primary contests nationwide.
In a proposal sent to Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Stupak proposed allotting 83 of Michigan's pledged delegates based on the January vote, while the state's remaining pledged delegates and superdelegates - 73 total - are to be awarded based on the nationwide vote.
The DNC stripped Michigan of its convention delegates late last year after the state moved up its primary to January 15. Under pressure from other early-voting states, most of the Democratic presidential candidates removed their name from the ballot there.
But Clinton opted to keep her name on the ballot and ultimately received 55 percent of the vote, compared to the 40 percent of the vote that went for "uncommitted."
Under Stupak's proposal, Clinton would receive 47 delegates based on her vote total, while Obama would be awarded 36 delegates based on that "uncommitted" result; the rest would be divided according to the nationwide popular vote total after all the primaries are completed.
- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
I think it is a shame the way this election have been conducted. The media have been on Obama's side from day one. Why don't someone ask the Obama camp why did he not tell the public about his relationship with the Rev. Wright when he first started. Everyone is telling Hillary to get out of the race but no one is looking or reporting all the lies Obama is telling. What is going on here Obama tell lie after lie we see him on the tv all the time changing his story and no one say a word about it. He deceived people and got their votes those votes are not his he got them in a dishonest way. Why don't someone bring this to the Obama camp attention. Why don't some one do a full investigation on Obama?
Of course Obama wants the delegates split, but that does not reflect the wishes of the voters, nor does it help to resolve this close race. He's throwing up a road block, because he knows Senator Clinton will win. He'll never agree to a fair division of the delegates. Someone of a higher authority is going to have to step up and make the decision based on what is the fairest and most reflective of the VOTERS wishes.......not the candidates. They will never agree.
Well who asked Obama to remove his name? Michigan counts as much as the other states do.
Thats the price you pay dude, to consider some states 'worthless'
The last time I checked, Florida and Michigan were still a part of the "United" States of America.
Obama should own up that he goofed..
HILLARY '08
50-50 split.....Remember, there were 4 candidates going into Michigan and ONLY two candidates names were on the ballet.....Not fair in any other fashion. Lets keep it Real & Fair.....
That works for me...and I'm an Obama supporter.
Apparently this man missed the fact that voters were told their votes weren't going to count, so a large majority of them stayed home. Why would he think that the Obama campaign would settle for this unfair tally when they've been trampling over Hillary in the race thus far?
I think the Obama campaign should turn this stinky deal down. Hillary is trying her best to get to her birthright, the Presidency of the US of A.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
when will you people give up YOU BROLE THE RULES NOW ITS PAYDAY so stop the crying and go along with the punishment.
How many people simply didn't go to the polls since their candidate wasn't on the ballot? The results of the MI vote are simply too tainted to count in any way.
Why should Clinton benefit from being the only one on the ballot? Why should Obama get all of the "uncommitted" votes even though there were other candidates in the race at the time?
Allocate them 50/50 and be done with it. If the vote goes past the first ballot, then the delegates can do what they please.
I wil be there picketing. As long as they don't have the meeting in Menominee where he lives (In the U.P near Wisconsin). He really sounds Stupik!!!
Would be nice to find a fair way to settle this issue for the voters, but Clinton needs to stop acting like she cares so much about democracy. She clearly said those votes were not going to count when she had the lead earlier in the race; now that she's desperate and needs this she trying to act like she's the most democratic politician on earth. Neways i'm still amaze to see how many people are still supporting her.
Obama will never agree to this, he's running scared as it is.
Here is my solution to Florida and Michigan.
1. Count all of the popular votes. Hurts Obama.
2. Split the elected delegates 50/50. Hurts Hillary.
3. Do not count any of the Super delegates from Florida and Michigan Both states lose all of them. Their votes do not count, they can not attend the convention, they get no say in anything. They are the ones who violated Democratic party rules, they should suffer for it.
Not a great solution to a real mess
This kind of plan will only work once the primaries are over and the superdelegates have spoken. So long as the Michigan results are weighed in at all (Obama wasn't on the ballot!) it would be completely undemocratic for those votes to influence the outcome. This is as plain as day for anyone but someone who is bent on cheating on behalf of Clinton.
Since when has Obama become a Republican?
Suppressing people from voting seems to be a Republican thing to do.....
I think something is fishy going on about the Flordia and Michigan situation. I believe someone don't want those votes to be counted and given to Hillary. People aren't stupid they know what is going on its all about Obama. Obama have sit in a church for 20 years with his children and listen to hate and he is trying to convience the American people that this is okay because he did it. His judgement is in question here what kind of sound decisions can he make.? He can't even get his lies straight one after the other. He lies because he thinks he have won the election and he thinks whatever he say people will believe him. Obama you may fool some of the people some of the time but not all the people all of the time.
I think this plan has some merit. I would like to see the Michigan and Florida delegations seated- but they MUST be penalized when they did it their way and all the other States in the Union followed the rules.
I really believe if there was a revote and Barack Obama was on the ballot that he would win that State.
Have voters call, write, or e-mail their vote either for Clinton or Obama.
Put this on their local news which most people listen to in Michigan and Fla. Voters should not be punished for what delegates decided to do by breaking the rules.
As far as whether the news media gives Obama more news time and an easier questions, YES. The news media gives the man the Go Ahead on every thing and if any thing is brought up, they call Hillary using the "Race Card!" He will get a lot more thrown at him by the REPUBLICANS! Obama Grow Up!
Obama's name wasn't even on the ballot. An uncommited vote doesn't mean it was for him nor does it really mean Clinton would have had that many votes.
This is a very desperate plan that is not that clearly thought out. A re-vote or an even split are the two best options. The latter isn't even that great considering the states probably would not have been a split.
If Stupak, Michigan and Florida didn't want voter disenfranchisement than they should have followed the rules in the first place. Don't cry foul when you knew you broke the rules.
The remaining uncommitted superdelegates should vote the way of MI and FL; that would be the will of the people, not this poor half hazard joke of a compromise.
When all the figures have been tallied, it would be as if the MI delegates were split 50/50 right down the middle. And it would appear to be done in a roundabout way, only to get to this silly outcome. The only person this benefits is Obama, not the good people of MI. No matter how much Obama wins, he will not be legitimate in the eyes of Clinton supporters.
This Clinton supporter has no problem voting for Nader or McCain. Both are men of their words and backs it up with substantial accomplishments.
How can a primary where one candidate wasn't on the ballot count for anything. If anything there would need to be a new fair primary. Also the rules were in place when Michigan decided to move their vote. If anybody is disenfranchising voters it is the lawmakers in Michigan that decided to move the primary.
what a joke, hillary-do-anything to get elected. thank god obama has a way to reject these ridiculous offers and not agree to them. if she's so worried about every voter being counted why is she advocating pledged delegates to switch sides away from how they were elected. please just go away.
Not a bad proposal. I would like a revote, but at least Stupak is trying to be part of the solution. Obama backers in MI are the ones who blocked the revote. Punishing the voters... Bad idea.
Get real, Dems. Do not even dream to win the White House without counting the votes of MI and FL.
If M and FL broke the rules they should not be seated. Nobody should point fingers to Obama or Hillary, this is not their mistake. This was deliberately done by the state DNC committees. FL has not learnt the lesson from 2000 (the hanging chads saga), and they are going to destroy this election for the Democrats. Any way FL is republican and they would want the DNC candidates to be bloodied more.
While I admire Rep. Stupak's attempt at pacifying voters, I can't help but wonder what effect his proposal would give to the International community.
The USA likes to champion itself as the defender of the free world and democracy. In my definition of democracy, I agree that all people are treated equally and fairly...everyone living by the same rules. In this case, Michigan (and Florida) broke the rules...rules they had agreed to. Aren't rule breakers punished for their actions in the US? Or do the accusations from certain parts of the world very accurate? Meaning that America is soft on rule breakers and that democracy is a laissez faire system?
While I sincerely hope the Democrats win the election in November, I think you Americans...specifically Democrats ... think about and evaluate the full repercussions of this pending decision. We could win the White House but you would have a severe black eye...if not worse...within the International Community.
Democrats...think outside the "I want to please voters box"...think of the eventual results after you win the election that truly matters.
Good luck