May 31st, 2008
07:23 PM ET
15 years ago
Full Michigan delegation with half-vote to be seated by Dems
WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws
Committee on Saturday voted to seat all Michigan delegates to its convention, giving each a half-vote and dividing them to give Hillary Clinton a slight edge over Barack Obama.
The 19-8 vote gives 69 pledged delegates to Clinton and 59 to frontrunner Obama - each with half a vote because Michigan was penalized, like Florida, for moving its primary ahead in the campaign season.
Clinton adviser and RBC member Harold Ickes said, "Mrs. Clinton has instructed me to reserve her rights to take this to the Credentials Committee."
What a unjust ruling by rules committe. It has put supreme court ruling for republican president look like a kids play. Thirty members of a disillutioned committe thought they can cut over two million votes by half and nothing will happen are so out of reality. If they think that at the end clinton supporters will come back to them and everything will be hunky dory can forget about it. it is gladator battle and if two enter only one will come out. There is no room for a compromise with these knukkleheads and all the hillary supporters have another choice that is mccain who is not perfect but someone we can live with. You can call mccain anything but a coward who will fight with enemies of america rather than sit with muslim terroists and try to appease them.We really dont know if obama is a muslim or not as he was raised in that envorment and can we really afford to take that chance with him. Another word of caution for all those gung ho Obama supporters watch for republicans, if mccain picks up Bobby Jindal as his running mate will work like a harverster combine in a corn field. By the time Bobby Jindal will be done there will be not a single democrate left. Obama will be lucky if he can carry five states.
this should make everyone happy but we know hillary wount be but never is, know watch she is going to bring down the party because she thinks its all about her and she dont care about the party,
Thank you for seating the delegates in the manner that you have selected. This ruling is fair and just no one candidate should be awarded Delegates on a faulty primary. To me a the right thing to do is to discipline both states because in the long run they could have gone a different rout.
If for say for the sake of argument the Dems i Florida would have voted against the motion and they were over ruled I would be for seating all of the delegates the way they were voted on in the primaries. However since they went along with the vote they have no 1 to blame but themselves. They should have stood up and been counted like Men And Women, Not mice. The same goes for all who voted for the war. To apiece is possibly the greatest sin oh all. For if we stand like the party we say we are we can not fail, we can win any battle that is before us including the White House.
Mrs.Clinton you have run a great race however you have failed, I ask in the good faith of the party that we all truly love to stand aside and allow the front runner to run the race he has won by the party rules of delegates GOD bless you and may you receive a Position in Mr.OBOMA's cabinet.
The DNC has just proven that it doesn't care how people vote and doesn't care for democracy. I predict that in both Michigan and Florida voters will make their votes loud and heard and give the white house to the Republicans.
What a resolution!
It is sad that instead of coming out supporting the votes of the rules committee, Senator Clinton once again demonstrates division as she sends a THREAT to the committee. Just once, it would be nice to see her take the high road and do what's best for the party rather than what she thinks is best for her.
If the 4 votes she lost made a difference, maybe, we could understand. But the fact remains that she is so far behind that it would not have mattered.
AND SHE WILL NOT BE HIS VICE PRESIDENT. To have Ickes sit there and curse as he did reflects a terrible group of people in her campaign.
Enough, Hilary. You are damaging yourself and the party way too much with your ego-driven, half-crazed pursuit of the Whitehouse.
This is by no means acceptable: Clinton won 55% of the vote, Kucinich took 4%, and Uncommitted took 40%, where Uncommitted included (minimally) Obama, Edwards, Biden; Richardson. A split of 69/59 means that not only has Obama receieved Kucinich's delegates, he has also receieved that portion of uncommitted that rightfully belongs with Biden, Richardson, and Edwards AND PART OF CLINTON'S.
DNC: I will not vote for any Democrat candidate. I am changing my registration to Independent. You will regret this cheating.
The Democratic Party has become a bad joke. The rules committee voted that my vote, or at least part of it, doesn't count. I want to know how, in the first place, this committee could make a rule that strips me of my right to vote based on actions by a few people of the Michigan Democratic Party. It seems like a constitutional right of mine has been taken away.
Sadly,
A Former Michigan Democrat
Sure, go all the way to the convention you self serving selfish, sore loser Clintonites...We in the Obama camp will win anyway.
Obama '08!!
Ridiculous decision.
I will vote Hillary a million times...
HILLARY and """ONLY"""" HIllary...
you dont deserve presidency , if bill clinton didnt won presidency you will be 20 years out of power, Clinton independent or mccain , now is war , definetly
This a correct and just answer for the Florida and Michigan primary debacle. I know that politicians morals and standards sway with the way we as americans atitudes are on the issues that confront us. The truth is every one of that every one of the candidates running for President in the democratic party agreed that Florida and Michigan would not be counted. What should happened is that all the candiates should have taken there names off the ballots in those states. Now when Hillary Clinton is behind or in a tough race she wants to count them and gets all her supporters in an emational uprorar that they are being cheated is rediculous. I could vote for either Obama or Clinton for President in the general election. I will not stand for another four years of having a republcan setting are countries agenda and further sacrificing the opinio of our great country to the rest of the world. So, I am asking all democracts to unite and to back who ever nominee is so that we don't have let country go further down the tubes because of the horrible and deplorable policies of the republicans. That have not made uis any safer than before 9/11 or that has made jobs increasingly be sent to out to other countries as we slide into a deep recession. We can ot survive another four years of this rule over our country. Lets unite as democrats and take back our country for us the american people and tell the big business and the special interests this is a country for the people and not a country for the privliged. So, I say again democrats unite and lets move together in this election to vote together who ever our nominee is and tear down the rule of the republicans.
It's sad how no body could mention that Obama's lawyer's team planned to push it to this disinfranchisement decision. No one had the guts to suggest that as it would play to the republicans side; however, it shows how UN-Democratic the Obama team will stoop. They play into the "let the comitee decide" when they could have been proactive about getting a revote. Reminds me of how Bush won by his court appointees. They don't care how Millions vote.
Who cares on what day they voted? They didn't do anything wrong. The point is....They VOTED. Obama mania has blinded people to basic common sence of allowing voters their voice. I hope we never fall to those levels here in Canada.
As I watched TV today, I heard everyone say every vote needs to be counted. What about the 30,000 voters who wrote in the name of their choice in Michigan. Are those votes being counted? Or, are they being disenfranchished? If Senator Clinton's campaign is so worried about votes being counted, why didn't they say anything about those 30,000?
This election is about america as a whole, and the fact that HRC has began a movement of seperation within the Demo. Party is sad. Today Obama took the high road and agreed to sit deligates from both states, exactly what HRC said he was refusing to do. Now that it is done HRC is still behind, NOW WHAT????,
OBAMA for President 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mr. Harold Ickes said absolutely right. They hijack the voters from Hilary Clinton. This is a black spot in democrtic history of USA !!!
Guess Obama's strategy to remove himself from the MI ballot given that his campaign staff's constant polling leading up to that primary showed him down by 20 points paid off. As was his decision to send his lawyers out to fight any notion of a legit and paid-for revote.
No change here. This guy is about as old politics as it comes.
This comment concerns Senator Clinton's threat to take a challenge to the convention. How does one respect a person that wants to go back on an agreement that was OK at the time of decision. In light of her now losing position she is willing to renege on the original agreement. What will happen under pressure as president? Humm!
Ok, finally, let's move on...
jeez, thank the lord that's done with. Hillary fighting this even further is just ridiculous. She needs to see that the RBC is STILL trying to give her a graceful exit.
I sense that there was a deal made during the extended lunch that Hillary didn't like, but if she didn't approve it, the people of this committee were going to turn on her. It was clear that there was serious backroom arm twisting and that Sen. Clinton lost the battle, and with it, any hope of winning the war.
Hillary gave this nomination away.; She and Bill and her advisors need to go home, look in the mirror, and know that the person to blame in the person staring back at them.
Most of us will be united, but the rancor the Clinton campaign created because of her ineptitude will make us strained bed fellows.
Shame on you Sen. Clinton.
well the dnc just threw away another election. how stupid can they be
no way on earth will i vote for obama. he CHOSE to pull his name off the ballot. more than likely i will be changing parties in november, what they did was wrong and stupid they just pratically handed him the nomination and i can never support that!!!!
'Clinton adviser and RBC member Harold Ickes said, "Mrs. Clinton has instructed me to reserve her rights to take this to the Credentials Committee."'
Of course she did. She's obviously not going to be happy about this compromise. It's not ideal for either candidate, but I guess that's what makes it a compromise. It WAS a flawed primary, no IF ANDS or BUTS about it. It's just not fair for people to be told a contest won't count – or might not – have some people go anyway and others stay home with only some names on the ballot and not others....
The rules exist to ensure that the people are served by the party, that their voices are heard. The rules do not exist to silence millions by the actions of a few. This is not a game, it is not about arbitrary rules. It is about serving the will of the people, and the Democratic party has failed in that charge and those responsible should be ashamed of themselves.
Whatever Ickes...just take yourself and the Clintons and go far far far far far far far far far....away...I dont want to hear the name Clinton roll from a reporters lips for a long time.....I... AM... SO.....SICK...OF....THE...NAME.......CLINTON!!!!! Begone !!! devil woman....poof....
I'm a Hillary supporter and I think given the complication of the situation they came to a fair conclusion.