Fixing Florida and Michigan

On May 31st the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee will decide what to do with contested Florida and Michigan delegations. The draconian move of stripping all their delegates created a political nightmare for the Democratic party. If they had been smart they would have followed the Republican party's lead and only deducted half of their delegates.

It would be unfair to fully honor the results of the uncontested elections since no one was allowed to campaign, but it is impossible to have a new vote. A solution must be found using the results of the renegade primaries. I recommend instating the pledged delegations as they now stand but giving each delegate only half a vote. The DNC already uses half-vote delegates. (Delegates from American territories like American Samoa, Guam, and Puerto Rico only get half a vote.)

The voters in Florida and Michigan should not be punished, but the party officials who caused this nightmare should. In addition to instating the pledge delegates, the DNC should strip the states of all their superdelegates. It was the elected officials and party leaders in Florida and Michigan who violated the rules, and they should pay the price for it.

The Clinton Campaign is a Spoiled Child

Recently a lot of praise has been used to describe Hillary Clinton and her campaign. She has been called tough, strong, a fighter, a brawler, tenacious, determined, and gritty. Since May 6th she has continued to fight on, even though it is nearly impossible for her to win. And while she done some commendable things during this race, I have another way to describe her campaign's behavior: It is acting like a spoiled child.

Most pundits would be shocked and embarrassed if their children were acting like members of the Clinton campaign. What must not be forgotten is that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are supposed to be on the same team. They both should have the same goal: electing a Democrat in November (a goal Hillary Clinton seems to have forgotten).

Picture, if you will, the primary contest as a game of soccer and the Clinton Campaign as your child. They start the game with the attitude that they are entitled to win. When they starting losing they try to unfairly get the rules changed (wants Michigan and Florida to now count). With the game almost over, your child again and again attempts to claim victory even though they are down 4-7. They claim they should win because they had longer ball possession, blocked more penalty kicks, or scored more goals in the second half. They complain endlessly how the referees (the press) are being unfair. They lie repeatedly and use dirty ticks. With the game over, they ask their coach (the superdelegates) to overturn the score and declare them the winner anyway. And finally, they refuse to get off the field and shake hands with their opponents.

Hillary Clinton is not fighting for her life. She is not engaged in a suicidal last defense of the Maginot line to keep out the Nazis. She is in a contest against a member of her own party, a person who shares her ideology and goals for this country. There is nothing commendable about waging a scoured earth campaign against your own teammate. What we have been watching is not a tenacious fighter, but a spoiled child throwing a temper tantrum after losing fair and square.

The 11th Commandment

One month ago (or an eternity in politics), Obama and Clinton got into a spat over Ronald Reagan and his ideas. While the rival campaigns argued whether Reagan was actually a "transformative figure," they both agreed his ideas were bad. But now that the Democratic contest has started to turn nasty, it maybe time for the Democrats to remember Reagan's most important idea: "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican."

Reagan's famous Eleventh Commandment has so far serviced his party well. When primary fights turn negative the result is usually bad for the party. Barry Goldwater in 1964, Hubert Humphrey in 1968, Jimmy Carter in 1980, and Walter Mondale in 1984 were all hurt by bitter primary battles.

The Democrats have a great chance of winning the presidency. The current Republican president and party have historically low approval ratings. Looking at primary turnouts and money raised, it appears the Democratic base is at an all-time high level of excitement. But the Democrats haven't won the presidency yet. Whoever the nominee is will be up against John McCain, a very formidable opponent. If the primary continues to get more negative, the Democrats may yet snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.