We now have Texas to go along with Michigan and Florida as proof that insane rules dreamed up by political big shots are more important to the Democratic Party than people who just want their votes heard.
Liberal activists have spent years criticizing the electoral college and Supreme Court for choosing George W. Bush over Al Gore in 2000 even though Gore won the popular vote by some half a million votes.
Yet the DNC continues to encourage a nomination process that allows delegates and superdelegates to trump the will of the people — not unlike the electoral fiasco which put left-wing boogeyman Bush in the White House.
Clinton supporters have long argued that Obama’s success was predicated on dubious caucus results. The arguments have included the reasonable suggestion that the time-specific, overly complex caucus setup shuts out older voters and working class voters — who presumably have less time and inclination than, say, college kids or the elite leisure class to sit around for hours arguing politics and navigation obscure rules. Clinton’s people have argued in favor of primaries, where citizens cast votes privately, relatively quickly, and at hour they can spare time to vote.
Now the anti-caucus voices have proof. Hillary bested Obama in the Texas primary by over 100,000 votes, a clear democratic mandate. But who cares? After the latest round of Texas’s month-long caucus “mess”, Obama is walking away from the Lone Star State with a 5 delegate edge.
Bush v. Gore anyone?
First on the list of people who should care about this dishonorable outcome are Texas’s Democratic primary voters, whose popular mandate may be negated by Nancy Pelosi and other bigwigs who prize delegates over votes.
Second on the list? All other Democrats, including both candidates, and all superdelegates. The Texas caucus results raise serious doubts about the reality of Obama’s electability. The general election resembles a primary, not a caucus, both in setup and voter diversity. What is to say he would have won the caucuses in Iowa and elsewhere — and the momentum that went with them — if they had been primaries? If the majority of Democratic voters don’t really prefer him to Clinton, can Obama beat McCain in the privacy of a voting booth?
The undemocratic Texas results prove the delegate count is not a legitimate criteria for picking a nominee in a race this close. Hillary Clinton and her supporters are now obliged to dismiss any pledged delegate total that favors Obama as unreflective of the popular will.
Large numbers of potential defectors will view the eventual Democratic nominee as legitimate or illegitimate depending on three things: 1) the outcome of the popular vote; 2) how the discounted numbers of Michigan and Florida affect the popular vote; and 3) the importance superdelegates place on the popular vote.
Texas’s wacky outcome has given Hillary a kosher opening. She and her surrogates should savage the delegate count and make the case for the national popular vote. This appeal to democracy coupled with a win in the popular is her only shot at securing the nod, barring a catastrophe in Obamaland. It is also her best chance at getting Michigan and Florida counted, since she must also continue to declare invalid any popular vote tally that excludes two of America’s most populous states.
If Obama ends up with a popular vote margin small enough for Hillary to claim the lead had Michigan and Florida been
counted or revoted, there will be hell to pay with angry Clinton Democrats. They will rightfully feel Mrs. Clinton was robbed by arcane rules and will sign-on as McCainocrats faster than Obama can say “unity.”
The Texas caucus fiasco and polls indicating looming defections makes it all the more suicidal that Democrats keep stalling on a resolution for Florida and Michigan’s votes and delegates.
Obama is already in disenfranchisement hot water. Clinton harangues him daily for having sat idly by whistling Dixie while his lawyers helped block the Michigan revote. This story has, predictably, gotten little traction in the mainstream press. Eventually though, Obama will have to pay, since the story has had traction among Clinton supporters who, like Bill and Hillary, don’t find revenge distasteful…hence the polls indicating nearly a third of her voters will either vote Clinton or bust. These are not idle threats. The long memories of these angry Democrats would make them easy pickins’ for the GOP nominee, who would no doubt offer up weekly reminders of Obama-enabled vote suppression.
What do to?
First, all campaigns and superdelegates need to agree that the popular vote outcome is more determinative than the pledged delegate count. Second, all need to publicly agree that the popular vote is only valid if it includes totals from all contests. Third, all must work together to quickly and fairly make sure that the popular vote includes totals from Michigan and Florida.
The rules may have stipulated Florida and Michigan be stripped of their delegates – but not stripped of their popular votes.
Lastly, the Democratic Party’s nomination process is a laughingstock, embarrassing evidence of left-wing incompetency. Rather than insulting voters by pretending nothing is wrong, Howard Dean and Democratic leaders should publicly pledge to reform the primary system as soon as it is feasible.
The Obama cult would prefer to shrug away this mess. They have taken to dismissively saying, “Rules are rules.” Ha. They will soon learn that “lost votes are lost votes” when it comes to disenfranchised, angry citizens. If the Democrats use rules we didn’t make to ignore millions of us and force an illegitimate candidate, they can kiss our votes goodbye.
