Official DNC RBC Committee Discussion over MI and FL

[Mr. Morden]

What the heck was that last exchange between Ickes and Wexler about "fair reflection"?  What's "fair reflection"?

[Mr. Morden]

Mark Brewer's voice sounds a bit like Jack Kemp.

I read on Ambinder's blog that Carl Levin will be speaking at some point today (he hasn't already, has he?).  Can't wait to see the fireworks over IA & NH's priveleged status when that happens.

[Mr. Morden]

Can't wait to see the fireworks over IA & NH's priveleged status when that happens.

Levin now live: "IA & NH suck !"

Yes, Levin is a FF for his rant against IA & NH's priveleged status.

[Mr. Morden]

I don't know how anyone could consider Michigan to have been a legitimate election: Obama wasn't even on the ballot.

Because he willingly took his name off of course.

Because it was a non-binding "beauty contest" not recognized as allocating delegates by the DNC.

[Mr. Morden]

I don't know how anyone could consider Michigan to have been a legitimate election: Obama wasn't even on the ballot.

Because he willingly took his name off of course.

Because it was a non-binding "beauty contest" not recognized as allocating delegates by the DNC.

That's fine, but the DNC doesn't run Michigan elections. It was a perfectly legitimate election--internal to Michigan--for determining delegates to the Michigan caucuses. Michigan let Obama on the ballot and never told him he had to take his name off.

It's not really internal to Michigan in this sense: The point of the primary is to allocate delegates to the Democratic National Convention (though yes, I'm aware there's also an intermediate step).  The DNC does in fact control how many delegates each state is allowed to send to the convention.  At the time this vote was held, the DNC maintained that Michigan would not be allowed to have any delegates at the convention.

So Obama can hardly be "faulted" for taking his name off the ballot.  It goes completely against all standards of a free and fair election to then retroactively say that the vote counted after it's already been held.  How would we react if Chavez held a nonbinding referendum on his rule in Venezuela, and then, after the result is known and he's won, say "Oh, I guess that actually did count after all"?

[Mr. Morden]

Hey, remember when Hillary herself said that the elections in MI and FL weren't legitimate?

Yes, but she must have had a change of heart

No, she had a change of inevitability.

No, she had a change of "the states that I had been pandering to have now already voted".

[Mr. Morden]

This was a free and fair election. No one was forced off the ballot. You also know he took his name off so that it would be less of a loss or to complicate it.

A "free and fair election" in which both the candidates and the voters were told, at the time the vote was held, that the results would not be used to allocate delegates to the convention.

[Mr. Morden]

So, does anyone know when this recess will end?

It's ending right now.  The committee is reconvening as I type.

[Mr. Morden]

Motion to fully seat Florida delegation is defeated 15-12.

[Mr. Morden]

Current motion is the one that they've probably already agreed to behind closed doors.  It would seat all Florida delegates, but only give them half votes.  This goes for the superdelegates too.

[Mr. Morden]

Lol at the back and forth with the audience.

Ickes backs the compromise, which means that the Clinton campaign has given up on getting anything better than half votes for the Florida delegation.

[Mr. Morden]

Ickes just supported the half vote. He'll feel the Clinton wraith later!

No, I assume that he wouldn't be doing this if the Clinton team hadn't already agreed.

[Mr. Morden]

When will the MI/FL Supers' status be decided?

Florida supers have already been assigned half votes in the previous resolution.  I'm unclear on what happens to the Michigan supers under the compromise currently being debated.

[Mr. Morden]

Ickes says that the Clinton campaign reserves the right to take the Michigan issue to the credentials committee.

[Mr. Morden]

Wait, are the 59 Uncommitted or Obama?

Obama.

[Mr. Morden]

Michigan proposal:  Clinton 69 (34.5 votes), Obama 59 (29.5 votes).  This is a vehement Clinton woman proposing this.  May not be as bloody as Sam expects.

Listen to Ickes if you want to understand what will be going on.

It's Ickes. What do you expect him to say?

Ickes is most likely speaking for the Clinton campaign.  Of course, that doesn't automatically mean that Clinton will go ahead and press this to the convention, but she's leaving that option open, whereas I think she's given up on getting any kind of better deal on Florida.

[Mr. Morden]

Michigan proposal:  Clinton 69 (34.5 votes), Obama 59 (29.5 votes).  This is a vehement Clinton woman proposing this.  May not be as bloody as Sam expects.

Listen to Ickes if you want to understand what will be going on.

It's Ickes. What do you expect him to say?

He's the Clinton mouthpiece on the committee - therefore what he says is quite important.

Of course he reserves the right. I mean, Obama could get assasinated right?

If Obama gets assassinated, Clinton would win the nom. even without getting a better deal from FL or MI.  She would only need a handful of Obama delegates to cross over in order to get a majority at the convention.

[Mr. Morden]

Lol, someone in the audience just yelled "The whole world is watching".

[Mr. Morden]

Obama getting 30 delegates despite not even being on the Michigan ballot. What a god damn joke.

Yeah, the Obama team (as well as the Edwards team) did a horrible thing by following the rules and request of the DNC. They did exactly what where were supposed to do.

It was a voluntary request by the DNC.

Huh?  What was a voluntary request by the DNC?  The DNC never said anything about who should be on the Michigan ballot.  They considered the Michigan primary to be a meaningless contest, and so didn't care about what was on the ballot.