In what is considered a setback for Hillary Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has stepped into the super- delegates debate.
In an interview with Al Hunt, BloombergTV, Pelosi said:
Florida, Michigan Delegates Shouldn’t Decide Race.
Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) — Delegates from the disputed Florida and Michigan primaries shouldn’t decide who wins the party’s presidential nomination, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the chair of the Democratic National Convention.
“I don’t think that any states that operated outside the rules of the party can be dispositive of who the nominee is,” Pelosi said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” scheduled to be aired today.
Pelosi’s stand is a setback for Hillary Clinton, who won those states’ uncontested primary elections after the party stripped the states of their delegates. Clinton is pushing to allow the delegates to vote at the Democratic convention in Denver, Colorado, on Aug. 25-28.[.]Clinton, 60, said not seating the delegates could dampen voter turnout in the November election.[.]
`Two States’
“Both Michigan and Florida should count because these are two states we have to carry,” Clinton said Feb. 11.
Pelosi said she won’t endorse either presidential candidate during the primary season.
“I am totally neutral in the race,” she said.
In a related article The San Francisco Chronicle, citing portions of the Bloomberg TV interview, has more:
Don’t veto the people’s choice.
“I think there is a concern when the public speaks and there is a counter-decision made to that,” she said, adding quickly, “I don’t think that will happen.”
She said the governors, lawmakers, DNC members and others picked as super delegates are chosen through a grassroots process and are accountable to the party’s voters.
“I do think that they have a respect — it’s not just following the returns, it’s also having a respect for what has been said by the people,” Pelosi said. “It would be a problem for the party if the verdict would be something different than the public has decided.”[.]
“But I do think that the best outcome for us is if one of the candidates pulls ahead and this issue is disposed of long before we get to the convention. We certainly don’t want to ignore Florida and Michigan, but we can’t ignore the rules which everyone else played by.”
For a play-it-safe speaker who’s pledged to stay neutral, these are sharp words. And she will be one of key referees if this fight isn’t settled before Denver.
(emphasis added)
The Honorable Madam Speaker has hit the gavel. Perhaps Pelosi will help calm the issue; focus on the rules, the signed pledges to abide by the rules and, not to be overlooked, the violations of those rules.
