Dems, seeking unity, give Florida, Michigan delegates full votes......finally

[Taylorcofan]

Dems, seeking unity, give Florida, Michigan delegates full votes
By Beth Reinhard and Lesley Clark | McClatchy Newspapers

DENVER — Delegates from Barack Obama's home state of Illinois are
booked at a gleaming downtown hotel with panoramic views of the Rocky
Mountains and the city skyline.

The vista for most of the Florida delegates? Glimpses of Wal-Mart,
Home Depot and Highway 70.

But a room without a view appeared to be the only lingering sign of
the dispute that nearly cost delegates from Florida and Michigan a
trip to the Democratic national convention.

On Sunday, the national party's rules committee agreed to restore full
voting privileges to delegates from Michigan and Florida — ending a
rancorous debate over when states can schedule their primaries.

The dispute lasted for a year — the two parties were initially told
last August that they couldn't send delegates to the convention at all
because they held their primaries before Feb. 5 — and became a major
point of contention between Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama in their
bitter primary contest.

But that rancor seemed largely to have disappeared on Sunday, eased,
no doubt, by the fact that the decision would have no effect on who
becomes the Democratic presidential nominee — Obama has more than
enough delegates to win, however Florida and Michigan vote.

But resolving the dispute was important to a party desperately seeking
unity after one of the most contentious primary campaigns in decades.

"Full inclusion of all our state delegations is of paramount
importance,'' said Susan Carroll, a conventions committee member from
Arkansas.

Unlike the last DNC rules meeting in May, where Clinton

supporters packed the room and heckled party leaders when they agreed
the delegates could have a half-vote each, Sunday's meeting in a
cavernous hall at the Colorado Convention Center was a staid affair.

"We live through storms in Florida, and we know after the storm the
sun always comes out,'' said Scott Maddox, a former Florida Democratic
Party chairman and member of the party committee that voted
unanimously in favor of full voting rights. "Thank you for bringing
the sunshine back.''

Obama also seemed in the mood to do some additional stroking to
Florida, which is a key battleground state. Its delegation may not
have great hotel accommodations, but they'll be seated right up front
during the convention, next to Illinois.

In another stroke to Florida's ego, Obama's campaign co-chairman in
Florida, U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler of Boca Raton, was named a vice-
chairman of the convention last week. He and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of
Tampa are scheduled to address the convention Wednesday.

Because Florida delegates didn't even know if they would be welcome in
Denver

until late May, they found themselves scattered among three hotels,
several miles away

from most convention activities. Most Florida Democrats are staying at
The Red Lion, a

beige, five-story hotel, 7.9 miles by shuttle bus or taxi to the Pepsi
Center.

Michigan didn't fare any better: They're being housed in Broomfield,
more than 17 miles away.

The delegate controversy stemmed from frustration among Florida and
Michigan lawmakers over the exalted status of small, homogenous states
like Iowa and New Hampshire, whose early primaries can set the course
for the nomination.

The national party told Florida and Michigan that they had to wait
until Feb. 5 to hold their primaries, but the states' legislators
scheduled the votes for January.

The result: the national party refused to recognize the primaries'
results and most of the candidates refused to campaign in the states,
notably Clinton and Obama. Only Clinton's name was on the Michigan
ballot.

Michigan party leaders, however, suggested Sunday they intend to
continue fighting for an earlier primary date. The Democratic party
plans to set up a committee this week to make recommendations for
reforms by 2010.

"�There's a principle at stake, and we are committed to that
principle,'' said Debbie Dingell, a DNC member from Michigan. Added
Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, "This shows you can challenge the system and
land on your feet.

[CyclePro]

Unity, ya right. It was the Democratic Leadership in the first place
that caused this mess and now they are "Smoothing" things over.

What a joke. Hillary already released her delegates so Once again
this is nothing more but a 'suck-up' to the faithful. The Democratic
Leaders in both these States screwed their people to having an
effective primary election process. If I were a resident in either
state, I'd still be pretty peeved.

To me it is an example that these Democratic Leaders are NOT fit to
Govern.