Well…a remarkable thing just happened. We just discovered that the Clintons no longer control the Democratic National Committee. They were unable to win a single argument today. The Obama campaign joined both the Florida and Michigan Democratic Party’s proposals, and both proposals prevailed. In Florida, the delegation was restored but given only half votes. In Michigan, the delegation was also restored, but given only half votes. But the Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) chucked out the results of the Michigan primary and instead used a formula awarding Obama all Uncommitted delegates plus four delegates the election results would have awarded to Clinton.
As a result, the absolute voting power of both states was halved. Clinton emerged with 19 net votes out of Florida, but that is offset by 4.5 votes that Edwards received. Her advantage out of Michigan was a mere five delegates. In other words, she picked up approximately 20 delegates today. In addition, the RBC did not recognize the validity of the Michigan primary thereby undermining any claim that the Clinton’s could make for winning the popular votes there.
During the vote over the Michigan proposal, Harold Ickes spoke for the Clinton campaign. He was furious and he accused the committee of ‘hijacking’ four of Clinton’s delegates. He informed the committee that he had been instructed by Hillary Clinton to tell them that she reserved the right to appeal their decision at the Credentials Committee in Denver. This evoked a very angry response from one of the black members of the Committee (I’ll update with his name) who gave a history lesson on the Mississippi Freedom Party and showed real moral indignation at the dishonest and insincere arguments that have been made by Harold Ickes and some other Clinton allies. The most important signal came from former DNC Chair Don Fowler of South Carolina. Fowler is very well respected and he is a prominent Clinton supporter. He sharply disagreed with Ickes. He said that he didn’t get what he wanted out of the negotiations but that he supported the Michigan proposal as the best and fairest solution available to bring about party unity. He praised Jim Roosevelt and Alexis Harman, the co-chairs, for running an excellent hearing.
Nevertheless, the final vote was 19-8. It was a 2-1 decision that was supported by the Michigan Democratic Party and the Obama campaign. The Clintons may reserve the right to appeal but they don’t have a leg to stand on. I understand that the Clinton campaign has also sent out a press release now reaffirming their right to appeal. So, we’ll have to see what the Clintons will do, but it is clear that their camp is angrier than a swarm of hornets.
Personally, I think we should treat them like a swarm of hornets and run for cover, because they’re capable of anything right now.
As for the New Math, the new magic number will be 2,117 or 2,118 (when Donna Edwards is elected, it will change the math slightly). Obama now has 2,053 delegates and so is 64 delegates short of the nomination. He will win approximately 42 delegates from the remaining three contests. So, I think we can say with confidence that he needs 20-22 superdelegates out of the remaining 205 superdelegates. In reality, between not yet awarded add-on delegates, Edwards delegates, the Pelosi delegates that will go to the winner of the pledged delegate war, Rahm Emanuel, Jim Clyburn, Donna Brazille, etc., Obama already has more than the 20-22 delegates he needs. He is now assured of winning the nomination and he can probably make that announcement official after the polls close in Montana on Tuesday night.
Let’s all take a moment to celebrate.
Indeed. And I move that we commend Don Fowler and others for not allowing the Clinton campaign to ram through bogus primaries.
I also salute Robert Wexler, whose presentation and answering were powerful and near-flawless. Hell of a job, Rob! Finally, a Florida politician I can be proud of beyond Bob Graham.
Hurrah for Rep. Wexler, for Obama and for the DNC Rules Committee for reaching an equitable agreement.
Thanks for keeping us updated, BooMan.
you’re welcome.
Can you believe Clinton reserves the right to appeal the Michigan delegation over a mere four delegates?
Hillary’s intention is to play a positive role – rather than as a spoiler – at the convention as the champion of her supporters. The four delegate issue allows her to do that. I wouldn’t be surprised if the issue was created at her request as a macguffin. In exchange for agreeing to the compromise, she’ll be a speaker at the convention (or something).
positive role? Is that snark?
Not at all. Or maybe I should have said, she wants to be perceived as playing a positive role. And since Obama is a smart politician, he will give her that role. Because she’ll be in the tent, pissing out. By giving her face, which is free after all, he’ll bring her people behind him in a big way.
I’m baffled.
How is having Clinton nurse a grievance over 4 measly democrats from now to the convention, telling her supporters all along the way that Democracy itself has been undermined, a positive role? How is that being inside the tent?
Well, she herself has yet to say that the compromise that her representatives agreed to today undermines democracy itself. I would be surprised if she did, given that they voted for it.
I would not be surprised if she stood “on principle” (note the scare quotes) regarding the four delegates. That is, she wants to be perceived as standing up for the principle of getting her supporters’ voices heard. She’ll concede the nomination but still “fight on” for “fairness” in how the delegations are seated. Whatever.
And she’ll probably appeal for those 4 delegates at the convention too. She’s unbelievable.
Ignore Ickes. He’s the same Ickes who threatened Sen Carl Levin way back when – that he would strip MI of their delegates if the state jumped the schedule.
I have a special cake and some chilled Sancere ..enough for our members. I’m sharing.
And for Hillary, a double malt/vodka drink for the road.
Obama now controls the Party…he won by the rules.
The Clintons are defeated. defeated Deeefeeaaated.
Not defeated until we get those 60-70 delegates.
But we have them.
Obama will get:
Puerto Rico: 25
South Dakota: 8
Montana: 9
That’s 42. So we’re down to 22.
Members of the Pelosi Club
Nancy Pelosi
Christine Pelosi
Chris Van Hollen
Jimmy Carter
Denise Johnson
That gets it down to 17.
Edwards delegates: 12.5
That gets us down to 4.5
Rahm Emaunuel
Jim Clyburn
Donna Brazille
gets us down to 1.5
And add-ons from states Obama has already won that have not yet been awarded…
I’m not sure of the exact number but it is more than 2.
So, he’s already there.
Al GoooooOOOOOooOOOOooore!!!
I know we know where they’re coming from, but until Barack hits that magic number, I’m not satisfied.
you’re confusing Ickes with McAuliffe.
stand corrected. thanks.
even so he remains dishonest. Did Ickes not vote this trip to strip the delegates of their votes if they did not abide the rules?
do not consider this taking points, but is there a difference between these two asshats – Ickes and McAuliffe?
Nope. An asshat is an asshat. That’s what I was taught.
I’m on a borrowed laptop on a borrowed Internet line that’s officially on vacation, so I can’t talk or do much. But I did follow some of the morning and early afternoon’s doings online…lawd.
Ickes and Davis are out of their f#$king minds. Donna Brazile has recovered her good name in my eyes, at least for the time being. I’m hoping Pelosi, Reid and Dean don’t wuss out in the face of these fanatics. Because, I repeat, the witch ain’t dead yet. I want these superdelegates to start moving NOW, especially after Tuesday. What the f&%k are they waiting for???
Then let her TRY to start some shyt on the floor…
If Hillary and Bill were fairly decent individuals, they would back up now. Instead, they’re running the very sure risk that they will be viewed like Lieberman is now–as a turncoat and a traitor–and will be voted out of power once they come up for re-election.
Barack Obama launches final push to claim crown in 48 hours
Oh, look. Actual sexism. Funny, that. It’s not coming from the place you’d expect, given the bleating of some of Clinton’s supposed supporters.
Sexism ain’t sexism if it’s against your opponent’s supporter, heh? I’m soooo sick of the Clintons.
I can’t believe this thing is going to be wrapped up by Tuesday, and we can then proceed to unite and go after McSame. HURRAH!!!
Reid, Dean and Pelosi must’ve been working hard behind the scenes on this, on the rules committee and the supers. Bet this is why they’d wink, wink on the national news and say this will be over by June 3rd.
HURRAH!!!!
Funny Booman, on the thread Live blogging II, I posted almost the very same breakdown at almost the same time as a comment.
It seems to everyone but the die hard Hillary supporters this is finally over and we need to get into general election mode and defeat John McSame in November.
Donna Brazile:
The exciting part quoted above starts at 2:45 of this clip, but watching the whole thing gives it the proper context.
That was a definite highlight. I loved that. Donna takes no crap.
Beautiful! Thanks for posting this, Randy.
I couldn’t watch, but depend on the Tribune to give me the story. Pictures really help.
Wexler kicked booty like a first-rate, top-of-his-game booty-kicker. I’m a fan. I say he should try to challenge Smilin’ Bill Nelson for his Senate seat.
Everything went just about as well for Obama (tempered by a ‘unity’ frame of mind) as it could have. An apoplectic Harold Ickes is always a good sign. Lanny Davis should wait for a call from Joe Lieberman, who’s going to need a superstar surrogate of Lanny’s undeniable caliber when he announces his new run for the White House with John Hagee this year as the ‘Armageddon Unity’ ticket. He’ll be great.
The Clintons? Well, I just don’t think taking it to Denver is going to be feasible. (And over what? A few delegates?) They’re gonna raise holy hell and maybe hold some more hostages and try to whip up their posse into a frenzy, but it won’t matter. The Party has spoken. They will not accept any further efforts to undermine Obama’s chances in November, and they will turn on the Clintons very publicly if forced to; if they try to challenge the nomination. It’s done, and so are they. That’s my prediction (which could be very wrong).
We probably still have to worry about how hard they’re going to try to coerce themselves onto the ticket. With no options left, I think Hillary would rather fight for the VP slot than beat it on back to Chappaqua with a hangover. FULL SPEED ON TO THE NAVAL OBSERVATORY! But again, on this, Obama and the Party will tell them to go climb themselves.
You’re right, BooMan. It’s Obama’s Party now, and the Clintons probably won’t be invited! Now it’s down to scraping their sorry remains off the floor and winning the White House.
Where is footage on his speech?
I repeat, Wexler is a god:
Thanks for finding that.
Yeah, the Obama campaign for real knew what they were doing turning him loose in there. I’ve been running around Blogopolis a little more, and some people are even talking about him for VP! Pretty funny stuff.
Let him go against a Repub Senator…now that would be better than Veep. We need more barnburners like him in the Senate, not appeasers to the GOP.
Hell, I say Wexler for President in 2016
You better believe I was counting those hands when they were voting on Michigan. When they announced 19, I figured that was the ballgame, I let out a sigh of relief.
This undercuts any legitimate arguments Clinton might have had. I don’t care about the popular vote. Obama had the delegates already, and now he’s got the party. The popular vote isn’t relevant. The Florida and Michigan got the best results they possibly could, and the only question right now is whether there’ll be a challenge over the four delegates. Since the Michigan Democratic Party devised the compromise that was voted on, there’s no chance any challenge to the delegate allocation is going to succeed.
Obama has won. He’s the nominee. The rest of the process is just a formality. The only variable is what Clinton does at this point. She can concede on Wednesday and get behind Obama. She can not concede, but stay out of the way or be ignored. She can fight for a phantom nomination that she’ll never get, alienating herself from what is now the mainstream party and tearing that party apart, risking the party’s defeat in November. Her choice.
I have nothing informative to add as I couldn’t stand to watch today. I was and still am of course, tired of the Hillarites and their abominable behaviour. I’m relieved but that said, I won’t be fully relieved until the fat lady sings..
Ingrid
What to say?
1.) Egos weren’t the only things being bruised today.
2.) Politics really is a full-contact sport.
Unless she has a medical problem she got those bruises yesterday.
Nah… Just at a glance she looks like she probably bruises easily.
Nope, I bruise if somebody looks at me wrong. That bruise she’s sporting is older and it was made by a strong blow, not by a grasping hand. It’s way too big and way too purple to have been gotten while she was ejected.
But… No one is implying that Lanny Davis took her into a room the other day and gave her a good whack so that she would have a bruise to show the cameras after she got herself ejected today. That would be be even too horrible a thing to consider – even for Lanny davis.
No Hillary probably hit her
I bruise easily as well, and was just explaining the same thing to D. On a fairly regular basis I will spot bruises and wonder, “How did I get that?” And no, I hardly ever drink. It’s just that, as I said, I bruise easily, and they don’t show up right away. Sometimes, of course, I am very aware of sustaining an injury that will lead to a bruise, and can attest to the fact that the resulting marks don’t tend to show up until the next day.
I also think if the super delegates continue to go to Barack Obama, including a good number of the ones who say today they support Hillary, Barack and the DNC could give her everything she claims she wants about seating delegates in late August, but by then she would still fall well over a hundred (probably more) delegates short on the first vote for the presidential nomination.
What would her mouth pieces, like McAuliffe, Ickes, Davis ET AL use use to continue the fight then?
I feel sorry for these poor, sad women. Some talk about Obama being a cult; these poor women have been drinking the Klinton Kool-Aid big time. They’re not Democrats, they’re . . . well, I would say they’re womenists, but if they’re ready to vote for McCain over Obama in the fall, they’re not even womenists. They don’t seem to have any idea how little John McCain is interested in helping them. They just want to screw the Democrats if they can’t have their way. I can’t imagine where they got that attitude.
there is a striking resemblance between Heather Christian and the Pastor that did an imitation of Hillary.
sorry, Harriet Christian.
bets we’ll find out she’s a long lost cousin of Roger Stone?
Yeah, I haven’t said this aloud today, but I do kind of pity them. I don’t know what they are. Maybe they’ll just melt into the ether when Hillary concedes, or something. This story is half pathetically funny and half vaguely disturbing.
This thing today was more of a circus/freak show than I thought possible in a real way — and even outside, too.
I’ve had a problem getting a handle on these women – maybe partly because I only know one personally – and that online. They’re so angry and bitter it’s hard to believe it’s just about an election. Almost as though Clinton was able (perhaps because of her own history) to tap into their long-standing resentment and frustration and give it expression and validation – and offer the hope that if she was elected it would be make up for all their suffering. It seems as though they’ve identified with her so thoroughly that her defeat is actually theirs. It’s sad, but also a bit frightening. Now they’ll have to get revenge another way – even if it’s to vote for McSame. I’m sure many Clinton supporters will vote for Obama in the end. Doubt these folks will. Just don’t know how many of them there are – the level of noise may not reflect their numbers.
It probably doesn’t. Remember, “dog bites man” isn’t news. Angry Clinton supporters threatening to vote for McSame is more of a story than “Loyal Democrats Pledge To Vote For Obama.”
Yes, many of them seem to have personalized this to such a degree that they regard Hillary’s defeat as a fundamental repudiation of both their gender and themselves as human beings. Not only has she lost, but they’ve been defeated and cast aside in just as profound a sense.
And I have a hard time believing they were and are committed Democrats — as many of them claim to be. True philosophical and ideological party ID doesn’t involve a cult of the individual (which ironically enough, is what many Hillary supporters have long accused we Obama supporters of being).
“Not only has she lost, but they’ve been defeated and cast aside in just as profound a sense.”
I would have more sympathy for their complaints if they hinged on the particular brand of politics that Hillary represents – rather than her gender or race.
I felt very disenfranchised from the Democratic Party after my candidate (Howard Dean) was brought down. I really felt he spoke for me. And, I felt that there was no hope of defeating the Dark Side of politics and bringing real change to governance. I got better – mostly. And, I didn’t leave the party like I thought I wanted to at the time.
You sure do bring back some unhappy memories. Felt pretty much the same way — although it never occurred to me not to dutifully vote for Kerry. But couldn’t bring myself to campaign for him. Got some energy back when Dean ran for DNC Chair — and we were right!
I do remember being angry about the way the media and the DNC treated Dean during his presidential campaign but the predominant emotion of most of the people I know when he got drummed out was sadness rather than rage. Maybe Hill’s people are like Hill. They don’t do sadness — has a way of making one feel vulnerable. Anger can give a feeling of power.
And Obama is personally responsible. Weird.
The psychological term for this condition is called projection. You accuse someone else of what is really your problem. Plus, it is very difficult for a person to acknowledge either the basic condition or the projection thereof. Inform them and watch the emotional sparks fly.
Honesty can be so damned hard, sometimes, but it is always worth it in the end.
A Ferraro cousin.
“Personally, I think we should treat them like a swarm of hornets and run for cover, because they’re capable of anything right now.”
Running for cover isn’t a long term solution to a hornet problem. If access to them is easy you can get a can of stuff to spray on them from a distance. The trick is to kill the queen.
More likely, they will be sequestered in some dark place. And, you will only see them when they come to the bird bath for water. What you’ll have to do then is set a trap. (a simple bottle trap will do… http://www.pestcontrolcanada.com/INSECTS/wasp_traps.htm) Bait the trap with something they want. They will fly into the trap and won’t be smart enough to get out. Rotting meat works well for real hornets. A handful of delegates might be suitable bait for the Clinton-Jackets (insert WASP joke here.) Let them have the four delegates they were up in arms about. What they lose is an argument to take to the credentials committee.
do me a favor and just say no to the ‘kill the queen’ references.
I’m sorry. It’s just that I was exhausted after a long day of target practice and drinking shots and beers out behind the cabin that my grandpa built right here on this lake near where the best darned voters in the Good Ol’ US of A live… Can you believe that it takes $60 worth of gas just to drive there these days?
Oh too funny, and yes Sir BooMan is right to hold that line.
For something maybe also funny and less biting or stinging but also very sad, the C&L reader captions on photos of GWB chest-bumping Air Force grads really helped me lighten up.
Even without that reference there’s only so far you can, or should, take an analogy.
Yeah… An analogy only works when one doesn’t consider it too literally. Just to be safe, though, I should have said that the spray should be used to “greatly diminish the influence of the queen in the hive”.
This is what needs to be done. If H. Clinton and her fans keep up this crap past Wednesday, then people need to just say that Clinton isn’t behaving like a Democrat. Anyone who praises the POS McCain as qualified to be President is not a Democrat. Certainly not anyone of leadership caliber. She should be exposed, not as working for her own egotistical needs, because she can’t win. She should be exposed, equated to the Rush Limbaughs of the world. That’s what she is.
That’s true, but I can tell you right now that these people are going to say “I didn’t leave the Democratic party, the Democratic party left me.” In fact I think one of the women in the video set I saw said as much.
I think we — and Obama — just need to keep on keepin’ on. Mourn for the ones we lost and then keep going on. I suppose it’s possible that he could win some of them back by meeting with them and just listening to them and addressing their concerns, and some of them might come back in the next few weeks when they see that, not only did the world not end when Clinton was knocked out of the race, the Democrats’ prospects are looking up and the promised catastrophe over WrightAyersSinclairWhateverWhoever never materialized.
But some of course won’t listen and will continue to be bitter and divisive. At this point, that’s on them. The avalanche is rolling. One pebble here or there is not going to make a difference.
I agree, that’s a response I’ve been seeing on the blogs for six weeks now.
The deluded followers need to be treated gently. Explain that the Democrats still support (and then list all those things) and here you’re voting for a vulgar man who supports none of this. Looks to me like you’re the one who’s changed.
It’s H. Clinton and her inner circle that I’m talking about. In a couple of days it will be official that they’ve lost. Anymore “slash-and-burn” is just that, anti-Democratic Party. I’m just saying that critics will need to attach the correct motive for such misbehavior. She’s not psychotic, she’s not just ego-driven. She’s class-driven.
He might control the Democratic part, but he certainly doesn’t control me, or my vote. But now it’s time to stand up and make a statement. I will remember in November, and this independent will vote. The hell with Obama and the Democrats. This Hillary supporter is pissed off. Today was the last straw. My vote either goes to Mc.Cain or Nader.
“My vote either goes to Mc.Cain or Nader.”
We recognize that each of us has to do what we think is best. Good luck with that…
You’re going to vote for four more years of Bush, four more years of two wars and counting, four more years of unnecessary death and misery in Iraq, four more years of torture, four more years of illegal domestic spying, four more years of economic meltdown…etc., because Hillary lost over two months ago!?
Fine, as Demetrius says, you do what you think is best.
That’s one hell of a statement to make.
Thanks Omir. I like your comments too.
It makes his/her sig line doubly ironic. “Why is it that both parties are so intent on screaming at each other, rather than trying to find solutions to this country’s massive problems??” And yet… He’s/She’s screaming and threatening to vote for a politician that’s essentially promised to continue those problems over one that’s got a proven track record of talking and fixing things.
Maybe I’m reading it wrong, and he/she’s talking about some other massive problems. Maybe America’s not causing enough misery and suffering? Or perhaps it’s that America doesn’t quite have a hereditary aristocracy yet? Hmm…
East,
Good luck. When McCain and the neocons act again we’ll remember that you helped.
You’re fairly new here so you don’t know ecm’s history. Suffice it to say that every time Joe Lieberman opens his mouth, every time he stands up for McCain, every time he reminds us just how intellectually bankrupt he is, I remember that eastcoastmoderate helped put him there.
In fact given that history, ecm’s support of McCain is no surprise at all. He pretends to be a moderate, but he’s not. He’s a Republican troll and why he wastes his time at a prgressive site like BT when there are perfectly nice bridges to be lounging under this time of year is beyond me.
Ah… thanks for the background, Omir. I’m pretty much a noob here, too, so that explains a few things.
No offense, but this has the whiff of canned troll to me. No one says anyone controls any particular person. You vote for the person you think best represents you. If you don’t think that the Democratic Party represents you, you probably don’t come here very often. And also, your high dudgeon makes little emotional sense. You claim to be a pissed off Hillary supporter. What do you support her for? What particular policy do you want? Healthcare? Energy prices? Who do you think is going to deliver those things?
Anyway, enough. Go where you need to go, do what you need to do, and if you’re a Repub hire I hope you get better work. You will, under a Democrat. And better pay.
I just took a look at one Larry Johnson’s blog, No Quarter, where I used to be a contributor. Because he’s a staunch Hillary supporter, and I was curious to see his take on the RBC outcome. Well, needless to say, they plan on fighting this all the way to Denver. They’re continuing the Obama-bashing over there.
Do they want McSame to win?
Leslie,
I missed you after you left. I haven’t forgotten that Larry was (still is?) a Republican and said that he used to hate Hillary.
I’ve read enough of the comments to think that they will actively support McCain…with a vengeance.
Hi, yes they are so radical over there. I simply can not get over the fact of how that site has chance in such a dramatic way! It truly has become racist and bigoted. Such a shame too… I used to enjoy your contributions. I think now that you will have to do the same here..:o)//good to see you here..
Yes. That’s always been the plan for many Hillary supporters, I think. It’s the only way they could get Four More Wars, since anyone else would beat anyone the Republicans could toss up. Mike Gravel would have beat anyone the Republicans could toss up.
If Larry Johnson was a Republican doesn’t that make things clearer? And he’s a “former” CIA counter-terrorist operative. He understands the idea of “divide and conquer.” The CIA is the secret police of the status quo. Larry Johnson is just another guy in the trenches fighting to keep the White House in the power of the corporatocracy. When he first came out he said a few things that people already knew and he got some street cred in lefty blogs. But he’s revealed himself for his character and who and what he wants. The only question is who’s really backing him.
Whoo-hoo!
I loved the video!!! What a beautiful smile and that glow in your eye from happiness!!!!
منتديات–شات–دردشة–دردشه–شات
كتابي–دردشة كتابية–شات
صوتي–دردشة صوتية–شات
سعودي–دردشة سعودية–شات
الغلا–منتديات الغلا–تحميل
العاب–برامج كمبيوتر–كتب
مجانية–برامج جوال–مقاطع
بلوتوث–مسجات–نغمات–ثيمات–العاب
جوال موبايل–تصاميم–هكر–صور–صور
انمي–اخبار الفن–صور
فنانين–افلام–افلام
اجنبية–اناشيد–صور
سيارات–كاس امم اوروبا–تحميل
اهداف–محمد–سياحة
وسفر–منتدى النقاش–منتديات
عامة–منتديات اسلامية–صور
كاريكاتير–منتدى تعارف–نكت–الغاز–خواطر–قصائد–شعر–قصص–اساطير–روايات–حكم
وامثال–ازياء–منتديات
عروس–المطبخ–اطفال–طب–علم
النفس–منال العالم–مركز
تحميل–دليل مواقع–1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9–برق–19–p1–p2–p3–p4–78–71–20–21–59–60–58–61–67–53–56–9–a9–a1–a8–a12—a15–a16–a18–ماسنجر–صور
بنات–51–26–a–b–c–d–e–e–f–g–h–j–l–29–43–47–13–6–dd–p18–f8–12–62–65–49l–f11–f86–مسجات
حب–مسجات عتاب–مسجات
شوق–مسجات مقالب–مسجات
نكت–مسجات حلوة–صور
حب–صور بنات–شات
بنات–دردشة بنات–شات
الحب–دردشة الحب–دردشة
كويت 25–اغاني هيفاء وهبي–دردشة
بنت السعودية–عمرو خالد–ناصر
الفراعنة–صور نانسي عجرم–ياسر
القحطاني–شات بنات عوانس–نغمات
نوكيا–قصص–هشام
الراشد–تامر حسني–العاب–
the side-show we saw yesterday was just explained by Harold Ickes…”We didn’t think the primary would go past Super-Tuesday.” MSNBC..this morning.