I know I’m supposed to just get over Hillary Clinton being out of the race. And I’m trying. But when I was elected as Clinton delegate to the convention, I thought that I would have at least one more chance to cast a ballot for my candidate. Apparently, that isn’t the case: Hillary will not be on the ceremonial first ballot.
I do not know where this will go from here but I do know that history and precedent favor placing Hillary’s name on the first ballot. If Dean and his puny 167.5 delegates got onto the ballot (in 2004), then the person with the most votes in Democratic primary history certainly deserves equal treatment. Anything less isn’t fair or right.
I know a lot of Clinton supporters are still seething over the hiring of Patti Solis Doyle, seen by many as a slap in the face. And I’m aware that a new group has sprung up from the ranks of Clinton supporters.
If this is what party unity looks like, I’d hate to see what the opposite would be.
h/t:HL
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
A few random thoughts, in no particular order:
1. Clinton should get her delegates for the first ballot. I know *why* some people want to have her name taken off–they don’t want to drag the process out with the possibility of unpledged delegates changing their minds between now and the convention. That is a sensible position, but Clinton fought for her pledged delegates, and her supporters went to a lot of work to get to the convention to vote for her–just once.
2. Was it also a slap in the face when Mark Warner hired Mike Henry after he left the Clinton campaign along with Patti Solis Doyle months ago? No? So are we only seething because we need something to seeth about? Just checking.
3. I’ve denounced on many occassions the Obama cultists who may support my candidate but do so without tact, without respect for Hillary Clinton and her supporters, and without respect for the process. I believe it is time for Hillary Clinton’s mainstream supporters to return the favor. Lunatics like this puma guy who want Hillary to be awarded the nomination in spite of the fact she lost are making me re-evaluate just who had a majority of the koolaide-drinker vote.
So, if you’re not going to vote for your candidate, what ARE you going to do?
The ideal way to have gone about this would have been to put Hillary on the ballot and then let her dramatically release her delegates to Obama in a show of unity. That would have been the classy thing to do. (BTW, it’s what Al Gore did in 1988 in Atlanta, when Dukakis won the nomination)
I suspect that when that is done, the candidates work it out in advance. So, I don’t know whether she refused (unlikely) or if it just was never presented to her. That seems more likely. It’s a shame to anger Clinton’s supporters at a time when we need unity.
Note to DNC and Obama campaign: A little respect could go a long way!
http://www.justsaynodeal.com is a republican false flag operation.
anon –
1. Agreed.
2. Different circumstance. Mike Henry didn’t go to work for Obama.
3. PUMA isn’t mainstream by any means.
Mouse – we’ll have to see, won’t we?
AIAW- yep.
Joe – that’s not true. Don’t you think there are enough false rumors out there already?
VJP-
You should check out the NO QUARTER and Taylor Marsh blogs. Not a lot of unity goin’ on, to say the least.
The Democratic Party should be running away with this election. The current administration might have its popularity improved with a total market collapse, a world war, a plague of locusts … anything. However, the leadership of the DNC seems determined to make sure that the party doesn’t unite. From their decisions about Michigan and Florida to the ceremonial ballot, every time they have a choice between seeking maximum contentment and being divisive, they seem to choose division.
Is George Bush running the DNC these days?
Why would Hillary Clinton have “dramatically released” her delegates? She didn’t want to get out of the race even when Obama had enough delegates to secure the nomination until Charlie Rangel basically made her concede. The Democratic Party really has a lot of issues–In my opinion no one should have gotten ANY delegates from Michigan and Florida because they broke the rules. They KNEW the votes would not count. It was insane of Hillary and many of her supporters to claim otherwise and completely demogogue the issue. That was so insulting to me as a voter because I follow the rules and the law, and I can’t change it to suit me, so why should other people feel entitled to do so at their individual whims? I’m not very old, but I can see why the Democrats have lost so many presidential elections in the past because they just can’t get it together. Too many Democrats are OBSESSED with identity politics, and it just has gone too far.
Vivian,
I would like to know exactly how one knows this splinter group you speak of is not a bunch of Republicans helping to keep us divided. The reality of the situation is that one never knows. Do you recognize any names within this group that positively identifies them as Democrats? Are you in the voting booth with them when they vote or have voted in the past? I will not say Joe is wrong, and I will not say you are wrong, however you dismissed the idea out of hand. That part I do not get.
As for hiring Ms. Doyle, personally I wouldn’t have hired any of those in a position of making decisions for Hillary’s campaign. No offense but all of them were a catastrophe. They never even seen the hurricane coming.
Thirdly, I agree with you that the first ballot should be cast as delegates were committed. No argument.
AIAW – It’s a little late for Clinton supporters to be talking about “classy.” I’d also like to see this symbolic first ballot, but Clinton herself foreclosed that possibility. When the losing candidate continued to talk about “going all the way to the convention” long after she could not win, except by cheating, the resulting change became “inevitable.” Next time, just play by the rules.
“The Democratic Party should be running away with this election.”
And if they had put up someone even half as qualified as McCain, they would be.
Anon,
Can you please state for the audience exactly the criteria is to be qualified to be president. I thought this was specifically drawn up in the constitution. Of course if you wish to bring up new rules for being qualified such as being a prisoner -of- war, stiffing the middle class,protecting corporations, sending our defense contracts overseas, voting against giving the new troops the same benefits he had and Georgy Porgy had and taxing our employer based health care I propose you start a constitutional amendment to list these things as qualifications. McCain is no more qualified than you are anon. Read the rules.
CZ – sorry but Taylor Marsh and No Quarter are not the DNC.
wickle – it sure seems that way.
John – you need to catch up. I’ve provided info elsewhere on this site that debunks the whole”Hillary & her supporters only wanted FL/MI counted after she got behind” thing.
Gene – can you provide definitive info that they are Republican? If not, then it is just rumor, right?
Bottom line is that the DNC is supposed to represent all Democrats. By not doing the ceremonial first ballot, they are encouraging the behavior of the fringe Clinton supporters while doing nothing to get the rest of us moving towards unity.
I don’t see Mike Henry as a different set of circumstances–PSD didn’t go from working for one primary candidate to another, she went from being unemployed to working for the Democratic nominee. I don’t know if Clinton’s supporters would have prefered the Patti spend the rest of the year waiting tables at Applebees or something, but the woman’s got to make a living, Hillary had already fired her months ago, and now that he’s the nominee, Obama’s campaign saw an opportunity to use the political contacts PSD’s built up over the years to reach out to Clinton supporters.
Which is why I think this whole “it’s a slap in the face” thing is ridiculous. On the one hand, we apparently want party unity and we want Obama to reach out to Clinton supporters and we want Clinton supporters to come around on him, but God friggin’ forbid his campaign attempt something to organizationally facilitate that goal.
The constitution sets a bare minimum, Gene, nothing more.
Yes, having been a Naval Academy graduate, a Captain in the Navy, a POW tortured to the breaking point, commander of the largest squadron in the Navy, and in Congress for 25 years, makes McCain far more qualified than Obama. McCain has spent his career working with the Democrats to get things done.
That is why Obama must have someone like Richardson on the ticket.