Florida, Michigan trying to change rules in mid-game
By Congressman Jesse L. Jackson Jr. Obama national co-chairman
At her campaign celebration (March 4) in Ohio, Hillary Clinton raised the specter of a nasty, divisive fight at the Democratic National Convention, claiming that she should be the party’s nominee based on her big state victories, rather than on the pledged-delegate count. It was a slick and sophisticated attempt to change the rules in the middle of the game and declare herself the winner.
She said, “You all know that if we want a Democratic president, we need a Democratic nominee who can win the battleground states just like Ohio. And that is what we’ve done,” Then, she listed the states she “won,” boldly including Florida and Michigan in the litany.
Weeks before her boast, Julian Bond, the Chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and one of my heroes, penned a letter to DNC Chair Howard Dean noting that he is “deeply concerned” about the “will and intent of the Florida and Michigan voters.”
But, both Clinton and Bond leave several important facts off the table.
First, the rules. They were known and agreed to by everyone involved, well before the first votes were cast in Iowa. All the campaigns, including the Clinton campaign, pledged to honor the “early window” that included only four states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Enforcement of the primary timing rule against Florida and Michigan was necessary to prevent the 2008 nominating calendar from falling into chaos. Moreover, a decision to overturn this action by the DNC could destroy our nominating process for 2012 and future years, as states realize that there will be no penalty for violating the primary timing ru [more]