A Brief History of the Michigan and Florida Primary Debacle

(Uncredited from TalkingPointsMemo.com) – March 22, 2008, 12:12PM
DNC: Iowa, NH, SC and NV will go before Super Tuesday. Any other state that schedules a primary before the (already absurdly early) Super Tuesday Primary will be awarded no delegates.

Michigan and Florida: Okay, makes sense. We’re on board with that.

Michigan and Florida: On second thought, we’ve now decided that we’re more important than all the other big states that are abiding by the rules we agreed to. We hate these small states because the always decide the whole thing.

DNC: Please don’t do that. You know we will not be able to award you delegates if you do that. You agreed to those rules.

Michigan and Florida: F**k you. You know you’ll never impose those rules on us. We’re too big and important.

DNC: Please, we’re begging you. We have to enforce these rules. If we lose control of this process, the first primaries next time will be in July of 2011. You are creating a nightmare scenario. Please don’t do this.

Michigan and Florida: (Flip bird.) Hah! You wouldn’t dare! We’re too big and important to have to obey your rules. You know it and we know it so just stop the posturing.

DNC: Please, please, please don’t do this. We’re on our knees here.

Obama: I’ll support whatever the DNC says.

Hillary: I’ll support whatever the DNC says. But I’m going to leave my name on the Michigan ballot, just in case, but la de da, no need to worry. Doesn’t matter anyway. I would never, ever, ever, come back and try to act like an election where I’m the only person on the ballot and no delegates are at stake meant something.

Michigan and Florida: Blah, blah, blah! Rules are for chumps.

DNC: Don’t do this.

Hillary: Man, I’m really getting my ass kicked, here. Y’know, that Michigan thing is looking really important. And didn’t that bad Obama guy break his pledge not to campaign in Florida by running ads on national cable TV? (sotto voice aside: Goddammit, Patti, why aren’t we running ads on national cable TV? Patti? Patti? We do have enough money to run ads on national cable if we wanted to, right?)

Michigan: Here we go.

DNC: Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Obama: Sigh. Hillary’s getting ready to break her promise not to campaign in Florida. She’s setting up venue and arguing that my running ads on national cable violates my promise not to campaign there even though I cleared the ads with IA, NH, NV, and SC.

Hillary: Never, never, never. He’s just telling big fat lies like the big lying coke dealing Jessie Jackson-like man he is, SC. But, la de da now that I’ve gotten my ass kicked much harder than expected in SC, for reasons I simply cannot fathom, I’m going to toddle down to Florida for a *wink*wink* fundraiser. Oh, and I’m going to schedule a little victory party too, bucause I now think Florida’s primary will show that people really really do like me (sotto voice aside: get Bill Nelson on the phone!)

DNC: Okay, we warned you, we begged you and you did it anyway. No delegates.

Michigan and Florida: WAAAHHHH!!!!! THAT’S NOT FAIRRRRR! YOU’RE DISENFRANCHISING US! NOBODY TOLD US ABOUT ANY OLD RULES!!!!!

DNC: Calm down. You still have time to schedule new primaries that will count.

Hillary: I’ve decided that since my plans have gone to crap and I need those results as they are in elections where I was pretty much the only one running, I’m going to rush to the support of the sacred right of Michigan and Florida to break the rules. I oppose a revote and demand that their delegates be seated.

Florida and Michigan: See, see, Hillary will save us! We don’t need to schedule a revote because HIllary’s on our side!

Obama: I’ll support whatever the DNC says.

DNC: Please schedule a revote while there’s still time because we’re not going to give you a pass on this.

Obama: I’ll support whatever the DNC says.

Hillary: No, no, no, millions already voted for meeeeeee! They must be given to meeee! There’s a sacred totally not opportunistic reversal of a prior pledge at stake here.

Florida and Michigan. Yeah, what she said. And, anyways, we can’t afford a revote.

DNC: Please schedule a revote while there’s still time.

Florida and Michigan: Gulp. Hillary’s sure losing a lot of races. Maybe we better schedule a revote. But we’re still not paying for it, see? This is all your fault, DNC. We’re not doing anything until you agree to pay us to clean up after ourselves.

DNC: No. We’re kinda broke right now, but you could raise unlimited soft money to finance it. But tick tock, people. Schedule the revote while there’s still time.

Hillary: No revotes! No revotes ever! Those people voted for me and I must have their delegates. It’s an important principle at stake here. Principle, principle, I say!

Obama: I’ll support whatever the DNC says.

Florida and Michigan: Maybe we better look into scheduling a revote.

Hillary: No. Okay, maybe. But only if it’s set up in a way that favors me. No. Wait, I mean yes. If it’s in favor of me.

Obama: I’ll support whatever the DNC says, but I’m not going to stand by and let Hillary rig the revote in her favor.

Florida and Michigan: We can’t afford this. We squandered all our money on the vote in January. We demand that you pay for a new vote or we’re going to be very, very mad at you and we’ll vote for McCain. How about the campaigns kicking in some dough?

Hillary: Umm, errrr, ummmm. Ahem. Oh, sure. We’ll do it. We have plenty of money. Lots and lots and lots. Boy, we have so much coming in that we just have boxes and boxes of loose cash sitting around our offices. (sotto voice aside: for God’s sake get out there and round up some of our maxed out fatcats to fund the goddam thing before we have to admit we’re broke!)

Obama: I’ll support whatever the DNC says, but I’m noticing that we’re kinda getting to the point where we may not be able to have a vote that doesn’t create more problems than it solves.

DNC: Look, here’s a bunch of Hillary’s fatcats who’ll fund it. Now submit a plan.

Florida and Michigan: We won’t submit a plan until the campaigns agree in advance to support whatever we do.

DNC and Obama: Tick tock, people. Cart before the horse.

Hillary: We demand a revote in both states. That’s what we’ve always said.

Florida: Okay, we admit it. We’re can’t hold a decent election under perfect circumstances and we’re not capable of throwing one together at the last mintues that won’t be a total disaster. We give up.

Michigan: alright, alright, here’s our hastily thrown together plan.

Obama: We feel compelled to point out that the plan submitted by Michigan is likely to be invalidated on Constitutional grounds.

Hillary: Obama’s acting like the law has some sort of legal significance. Obstructor! Thwarter of the people’s will! I’m flying in to Michigan and I’m going to use my vast Clinton clout to push this thing through.

Michigan: Geez, it looks like Obama is going to win this thing. We don’t want to be seen doing Hillary’s bidding here. And, anyway, our plan is totally unworkable. Okay, we give up too.

Hillary: This is all Obama’s fault!

Michigan and Florida voters: This is all the DNC’s fault!

MSM: Boy, that Obama sure is slick. Scuttled revotes in Florida and Michigan and isn’t even getting blamed for it. Chuckle, chuckle, chortle.

Hillary: WAAAAAAAAH!

History: A More Perfect Union

By Patricia Wilson-Smith

Wow. The blogosphere is ablaze. Everyone is giving their two cents on what I’m convinced will go down in history as the “I Have A Dream” speech of our generation.

Unless your television or computer was carried off by a twister (Atlanta caught it in the neck from a record number of tornados last week),  you know that today, Senator Obama delivered an historic speech on race relations in this country, and the controversy that made the speech necessary – the remarks made by his former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

I am utterly amazed at how eloquent some have been in their analysis of Senator Obama and the historic speech he made today in Phildelphia, and yet how utterly wrong at the same time. The thing that stands out the most to me is the many bloggers and their assertions that Senator Obama was somehow deeply conflicted, or panicked as he delivered his speech today. I find that odd, because I didn’t see conflict or panic in him at all. I saw resolution, and a bravery that is seldom seen in modern politics. Those who are busy accusing Senator Obama of tap-dancing to get out of a sticky situation missed the point of his speech entirely.

America – listen to me. The easy, political thing for Senator Obama to have done would have been to stand up, and bang the podium, and say that he forever disowns, denounces, rejects, and otherwise dismisses his relationship with Rev. Wright. That would have been the easy AND politically expedient thing to do, and I’m not sure many people would have blamed him for it. But instead, what he did, was deliver a message to the American people that was long over due, for black and white Americans alike – the message that the things that have divided us for so long will never go away unless we find the courage to confront them.

And in confronting this issue with his Pastor, he showed us by example that confronting the issue of race relations in this country can and should be done, whatever the consequences.

Check it – I am the quintessential Obama Supporter, and yet I must confess that had I been one of his advisors, I may have been tempted to ask him to take a different road than the one he took today. There had to be a burning debate amongst his strategy team, if not inside the man himself – was it more important for Senator Obama to say what was politically acceptable, say whatever would get him back in the good graces of the majority of Americans, or was it more important for him to show himself to be the truthful, profound leader that he has portrayed himself to be all along, by telling the American people the trueth, even in the face of such an ugly controversy?

This question is not as easily answerable as you might think. Certainly, there are those who desperately want to see Senator Obama as the next President of the United States who might be tempted to say that he should have said whatever would make this thing go away the fastest. These are the people who believe that the political end justifies the political means, even if the means forces someone of honor to do the dishonorable.

And they are wrong. Dead wrong.

What Senator Obama had the courage to stand up and say today, well, right now we’re all just marinating in it. The pundits are batting it around, the hard-core Clinton supporters are ringing the death knoll on Senator Obama’s continued chances, and the Republicans are just sitting back giggling at the spectacle. But I would contend that what we as a country do today in response to Senator Obama’s message hardly even matters, because so historic was his speech, so important was the message, so sweeping in its delivery of the facts of the state of race relations in this country were his ideas, that it was actually worth running the risk that it could throw us all of kilter for a bit at best, and seriously jeopardize his candidacy, at worst for the American people to hear it. Sorry for the run-on sentence.

See, the people who really love this country and want it to turn a corner, are willing to sacrifice even our selfish wishes for our country’s future in the name of truth. And what Senator Obama said today was the truth, whether we wanted to hear it, whether we liked it or not. And the most amazing thing, is that there was enough truth in his remarks to go around to everyone, blacks and whites. I felt a distinct sting when he began to talk about how blacks play the victim over racism in this country at times, because he was right. And I felt a definite discomfort at his assertions that some whites don’t seem to understand that the residual effects of slavery are still being felt by blacks in this country today, because I know he’s right about that too, but I also know that so many people are just not ready to hear it.

Some have suggested that he didn’t want to deal with the pastor’s comments until he had to.  To that I say, “Duh!” The people who believe that are absolutely right – of course he didn’t deal with it until he had to, and the reason is that he knew that it would be something just like this that would force him to have the discussion with the American people about the state of race relations in this country. And he knew that the message he would have to deliver would be hard to say and hard to hear. But I applaud him, a million times I applaud him, because what he said today was the bravest thing that any politician in recent memory has had to stand up before this nation and say, and it was probably also one of the hardest oratories a politician has ever had to deliver.

It saddens me that as a nation of intellectuals there is so much we can’t seem to agree on, whether we’re black or white. Today, I saw a man put everything on the line to tell the truth as he sees it. I saw the Senator stand up for a man who he loves - though he doesn’t agree with his more controversial remarks AT ALL – and respects for those qualities that have served he and his family well over the years. And I saw a man that in a million years would never wish this country harm. In that there is no question.

But sadly, other people like the maniacal bloggers who are ripping him to shreds even as I type saw what they wanted to see – a racist, or liar, or whatever other names they’ve chosen to call Senator Obama since he left the podium this morning.

But ask yourself this – who is it who throughout this campaign has consistently thrown mud, and distorted the truth, and used surrogates and her ex-pres husband to say or do whatever it took to cast doubt on her opponent? Who is it that has done everything possible to stoke the flames of racism in this country, just to gain political advantage? And who has consistently gone on record as not wanting to engage in gutter politics, not even to revive his candidacy or ensure victory for himself? And yes – who is it that stood up today in front of the American people and spoke from his heart about his deepest fears for our country? Who reminded us of what should have been patently obvious to anyone who has picked up an American history book – that slavery was a blot on our nation’s history that left a terrible, enduring stain? And who was it that did it possibly at his own political peril?

You know the name. Say it with me. O-B-A-M-A. This country needs the leadership and honesty that Senator Obama showed today, nothing else will do if we’re to ever leave the generations of racial division, hatred, and confusion behind. I for one long for the day when asking questions about someone’s racial motives is as passe as asking about their shoe size. I have faith that that day will come, and that when it does, Senator Obama will have lead us there.

The Definition of Representin’

By Patricia Wilson-Smith

I wrote a book a couple of years ago called “Duped By Love”, and in that book, I had a great time making fun of how the media here in the A.T.L. loves to walk the streets of the worst neighborhoods, looking for stuff to report on, and trying to find the least articulate person on the planet to interview about whatever newsworthy thing has taken place.
Don’t act like you don’t know what I mean.

A young black man is a witness to a drive by shooting, and describes what he saw with a heavy dirty South accent. A middle-aged black woman witnesses a domestic disturbance, and through barely decipherable English, recounts the tale to the reporter and camera man who have her framed against a background of urban desolation, eager to exploit her for the amusement of their audience. I HATE that crap.

There is no denying it – in cities and states around the country, the news media make it a point to seek out those that they feel will portray the black man, woman, and sometimes even the black voter in the worst light possible. Enter Derrick Ashong and a CNN reporter known only as “Mike”.

On January 31st, Derrick Ashong, a 32-year old musician found himself pulled into the fray of the Democratic debate being held at the Kodak Theatre. He was talked into standing outside the event and holding an Obama sign by a good friend. Now, it must be noted, that to look at Mr. Ashong is to see nothing particularly special. Outwardly, he looks like any other street kid, and if we were to be 100% honest with ourselves, he has the exact look of someone that some people might cross the street rather than confront face to face for fear of being robbed or worse. Yes – outwardly, Derrick Ashong could be the poster child for the image of young black men that the media has taught the viewing public to fear.

So I’m fairly certain it was with this (and ratings) in mind that a CNN cameraman/reporter walked up to Derrick Ashong and asked him pointedly, and rather rudely why he supports Senator Obama. I’m ashamed to admit, that when I was first told to watch the video, and the first few seconds rolled across the screen, I felt a certain discomfort over what was coming.

You see, in an age where people often amuse themselves by recording each other’s most idiotic moments and publishing them to YouTube for the entire world to see, I was certain that what I was about to be treated to was more of the same. I can distinctly recall that I felt that pang of dread that I often feel when viewing some new example of blatant black stereotyping by the media. I felt it, yes I did. But I sat there and made myself watch, and I continued to listen – and what I saw and heard brought pure joy to my heart.

Mike the CNN reporter hammered Mr. Ashong with probing question after probing question about why he was standing outside the Kodak Theatre that day in support of Senator Obama. At first, Derrick gave a few canned answers that sounded suspiciously like something you might pick up from Obama paraphernalia. And so Mike probed more deeply. He asked Derrick about the candidates’ health care plans, how they would be funded, he asked him about socialized medicine, and the likely economic impact of an Obama Health care plan – and as the questions grew more complex, Derrick Ashong proceeded to school both Mike the CNN reporter and me on the superior aspects of the Obama plan, and why it makes the most sense for the nation.

And it’s not just that he beat back an obvious attempt to make an Obama Supporter look substance-less – he did it with so much finesse, authority and in such a knowledgeable way, that the reporter had no choice but to allow himself to be drawn into an engaging conversation with a young man who was obviously his intellectual equal, and abandon what I am convinced was meant to be an opportunity to show the world that young black men, and the youth of this country in general are rallying behind Senator Obama like the unwitting victims of some pied piper, or like groupies to a rock star. Wow.

Derrick Ashong single-handedly destroyed about half-a-dozen stereo types in the space of 6 minutes during that interview. He proved, first, that young black men do much more than sit around smoking weed all day waiting for opportunities to rob and loot, as is so often portrayed in the media. Secondly, he showed that even the very young can be extremely well-versed in the issues of the day, and knowledgeable of the candidates they support. Thirdly – in casually announcing that his father was a pediatrician, he showed the reporter that young black men can be the product of good homes, headed up by educated professionals, and that not all black men standing around on a street corner come from broken homes.

Fourth – he shattered the myth that the typical Obama supporter is just somehow ‘in-love’ with the Senator, or only on the campaign’s bandwagon because Senator Obama makes good speeches. Fifth – he proved that even someone who has made a conscious decision to be a musician can still be politically engaging, and an intellectual. Sixth, he dispelled the myth that young voters don’t understand what’s at stake in this election – I could go on and on and on.

The bottom line is, it seems like lately, every day in every way, we are beginning to get the proof that our nation is turning a corner. We are beginning to really get a flavor for the power our diversity gives us as a country. You see, Derrick Ashong is an immigrant from Ghana, educated here in the states. He is young and passionate, but old enough to recall that there was a time when he lived in a land where he did not have the right to vote. His command of the issues was amazing, his enthusiasm for Senator Obama clear. The reporter repeatedly (at first) chided him about providing ‘technical’ answers, and not just ‘emotion’ to support his positions. So in the face of what most would consider to be grilling on the part of the CNN reporter, he kept a cool head, and stuck to the facts.

The video of his interview that day has been played on YouTube by hundreds of thousands of people, and has become so popular that he’s been accused of being an Obama plant, which is ridiculous when you think about it. But to answer the nay-sayers, he produced a follow-up that he calls ‘The Emotional Response’, and if the first video impresses the heck out of you, this one will move you beyond belief.

In it, he discusses his love for this country, his unique ethnic background, and his appreciation of our democracy. He talks about why it is so important that we figure out a way to get past our differences, and come together for the good of our country. Sound familiar?

The beauty and the power of what occurred outside the Kodak Theater that day cannot be overstated. Out there that day, two men, one white and one black, bridged both an age and racial chasm, to find common agreement on an important political issue. What happened out there that day? Without trying to, one young man showed America the face of yet another black man who cares more about the collective well being of our country than he does about any singular racial or socio-economic group. What happened was that Derrick Ashong validated what Senator Obama has often said in his writings and in his speeches. “I know they’re out there”, he says in the ‘Audacity of Hope’. “Those people who are tired of politics as usual, and want a different kind of politics”. He showed America that not only are they out there, but they might show up in the most surprising ways, wrapped in the most unlikely packages.

Thank you Derrick, for being the very definition of ‘representin’.

Obama Video of the Millenium: 03/18/2008

Words cannot express my joy over this video. Please just watch it.

Obama WILL change this nation.

Should the Michigan and Florida Delegates be Seated?

By Patricia Wilson-Smith

This is an issue that will plague us for a long time, because there is seemingly no fair way to resolve this. Or is there?

For those of you who don’t own a television, or have been in a politics-induced coma as of late, suddenly out of nowhere, delegations from both Florida and Michigan are meeting behind closed doors to discuss what they can do to have their delegates seated at the next DNC Convention. Here’s the problem.

Months before their primary dates came up, both Michigan and Florida decided, “Hey – I think we’ll break the rules and have our primaries early like Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada, because we want some attention too!” Both states were warned by the DNC and the RNC in fact that moving their primaries would be in direct violation of the rules of both parties. The DNC threatened to invalidate the results of both states, rendering their delegates useless, and the RNC threatened to take half the states’ delegates. They both went ahead with their evil primary plots anyway.

So, in Florida, all of the then Presidential candidates, including John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama agreed not to campaign in the state, and to honor the DNC’s ruling. And though Senator Clinton cleverly held campaign fundraisers there anyway, none of the candidates actually campaigned.

Then, in Michigan, all the candidates agreed again not to campaign – John Edwards and Senator Obama had their names removed from the ballots in a show of support of the DNC’s decision. Hillary Clinton did not.

So OF COURSE, both states held their elections when they friggin’ got good and ready, and the fair Ms. Clinton won both. You’d think she’d have won by a landslide, but even though her only competition in Michigan was “uncommitted”, she still didn’t him by that wide a margin. And now (OF COURSE), the Clinton campaign is on the verge of suing everything that moves over seating the delegates that she promised not to pursue in the first place. Oy.

So what can be done? The Clinton campaign has turned this whole issue into one of disenfranchisement, and the voters are agreeing – they want their ‘voices heard’, even though clearly they were somewhere playing penuckle or voting down affirmative action when their legislators were behing closed doors pulling the plug on their ability to participate in their primaries. The Clinton campaign has managed to create such an environment of chaos and calamity that Senator Obama’s calming, hopeful message is being drowned out. And that’s precisely as she wants it.

So what to do then? We can’t seat the delegates as they are now – not fair to Senator Obama. A do-over? Also not fair to Senator Obama. Senator Clinton has skillfully somehow timed the rearing of this issues’ ugly head to coincide with her bounce back and new found momentum, or the big ‘Mo’, as the media has taken to calling it.

Split the delegates down the middle? Seems fair, but this solution would not exactly be the same as giving the voters ‘their voice’, now would it? Thanks to the Governors and legislators of both of these states, any scenario in which this could be resolved will result in bringing down the wrath of half of the Democratic party on someone’s head, be that half the Clinton supporters or the Obama supporters.

But luck you – I know the only fair way to resolve this issue, and I’m going to share it with you now. Feel free to share it with friends and loved ones.

First – we have to admit to ourselves that it’s not the voters’ fault that their legislators pulled a fast one on them. It is the leaders of the states fault however, and that means that the states should have to bear the cost of a do-over, period. They made the bitch move that got us into this mess, they should have to pay. Now I understand that this means that the tax-payers, a.k.a the voters will ultimately pay, but this is an unfortunate price that must be paid for turning a blind eye to what their legislators were doing. So the states foot the bill.

Secondly, and most importantly, the do-over primaries cannot, and must not occur until every single other primary has taken place. I’m talking after Puerto Rico, Guam, and any other outlying US province we can come up with. This is the ONLY way that both candidates can be assured a fair chance of getting their messages out to the voters, without it being unfair to either one. Or at least it will minimize the unfairness.

I see no other way out of this one. Some have called on the candidates themselves to pay for the re-do (LOUD BUZZER NOISE HERE). Hell to the naw. I’ve paid a significant amount of my hard earned money into the Obama campaign, and it wasn’t so that a bunch of bone heads in states where I don’t even have relatives could decide to spend it on a do-over. Since the leaders of these states took the plunge, they should pay up, however they can. Because it is really truly unfair to the voters of these states not to be part of the political process, we must give them that right – but not until the very end of what has turned out to be a long, dreadful process.

So yes – seat the delegates after a do-over funded by the states themselves, and at the VERY end of the primary season. So it is written, so let it be done.