Michigan and Florida

March 6, 2008 on 8:24 am | In Uncategorized |

So once again we’re seeing the debate over the delegates from Michigan and Florida and whether or not they should be seated.

This debate has been on-going for a while now and there are many people who feel passionately about it on both sides of the fence. Chairman of the DNC Howard Dean insists that the party’s early ruling holds and they will not change the rules in the middle of a campaign.

But I am happy to see that finally both Democratic campaigns are open to the idea of holding a new race for both of those states with full participation from the candidates. I think we can all agree that the people of Michigan and Florida really got the short end of the stick on this deal. Because their state party wanted to participate earlier in the race, the people’s voices get muffled and don’t really count. That’s damaging to any democratic process no matter how you justify it.

The irony is that both states moved up their primaries because they wanted them to matter more in the presidental race, but with such a hotly contested and extremely exciting race on our hands it turns out their states would have made a huge difference regardless. It’s just like people here in Texas not thinking our votes would really be so important to the process. Who knew?

I think the DNC working with the party in both states to find a way to make a new election happen is the best route for everyone to take. Both candidates have their supporters and there are still undecided people out there who don’t know which way their planning to go. At least creating a situation where we can put the spotlight back on two states who got brushed aside during the political process can help to add another interesting chapter to what has already been an exciting competition.

Regardless, in my opinion every voice matters and it is important to let the voices that weren’t able to be heard speak out for their candidate of choice. But it needs to be done fairly and it needs to be done in a way that can accomodate the large outpouring of voters who are sure to be participating.

Let’s hope when we reach the national convention that we’ve got all 50 states represented there.