Riverdaughter posted, A Tale of Two Videos, one that displays the cravenly misguided DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee hearing that eventually voted to strip Florida of all of its delegates. Toward the end of the video, Donna Brazile giddy-ups on her highhorse to ride the meeting to a disgraceful crescendo of its amen chorus... Piss off Florida voters!
For further background, read Wayne Barrett on how the Democrats got stuck on stupid with Michigan and Florida with help from their enemies, the Republicans. Barrett pointed out that Ralph Dawson, who at 35:48 in the video introduced the motion to penalize Florida with a 100% loss of delegates, "was Howard Dean's Yale roommate and an advisor to Dean's 2004 campaign. Dawson's role was seen as a signal of Dean's appetite for a kick-ass rebuke. . . As much as the DNC tries to pretend otherwise, it had choices. In fact, it later showed understandable leniency to three other states who changed their primary dates--New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina -- seating all their delegates. The tough love treatment was reserved for Michigan and Florida."
The other video via Riverdaughter shows Howard Dean in action on This Week with George Stephanopolous as he attempts to rationalize alienating Florida and Michigan voters. He said to George during the interview there was only one candidate on the Michigan ballot. Not true. Clinton, Gravel, Dodd, and Kucinich were on the ballot as well as Uncommitted, a designation that Obama and Edwards supporters campaigned for voters to to chose in lieu of the other candidates.
No one made Obama or Edwards remove their names from the Michigan ballot when four candidates didn't. Dean gets no cigar for his argument that superdelegates should decide who they support by the end of June before the convention.
He also stated that Democrats "have to win the election," that McCain isn't the best choice for the country. And then Dean audaciously warned that "the only thing that can beat us is disunity in the Democratic Party," conveniently overlooking how the party had already sowed the seeds of disharmony in denying the Florida and Michigan delegation to count during the nomination process--not after the nominee has been decided as Dean explained April 1:
One, they can be seated by agreement between the two campaigns if there is no clear winner, or, two, they will be seated I suspect by whoever does win the nomination.
As I said before, "If one thinks that seating the FL and MI delegates after the nominee has been decided will endear those states' voters to the Democrat in November, just put down the wacky tobaccy and step away from the bong." Dean has to hope that Clinton becomes the nominee if Democrats want to win the WH. Obama hasn't inspired loyalty by his opposition to a revote or proposing to count 50% of the MI and FL delegates.
If you can stomach the nauseating reality of a party hell-bent on losing the presidency because of its hubris, click the images to view the videos.
Amazingly, Democratic poobahs and Barry's arrogance mistakenly think Hillary supporters will vote for Obama in November. They need to re-think that scenario.
Additionally, Hillary, not Obama, beats McCain in swing state polls of Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Obama hasn't won the big states--including his anticipated defeat in the upcoming Pennsylvania contest--that deliver the Electoral College payload to beat McCain.
Hillary did and she can again in November.
|