Why I'm To Blame For The Michigan Democratic Party Being Censured...

December 1, 2007

If you follow politics at all, you're probably aware that a number of states have moved their primaries up, or tried to: Michigan, Florida, Nevada...

I live in Michigan. I'm a Democrat. 

Here's part of the recent news on this:

VIENNA, Va. - Democratic leaders voted Saturday to strip Michigan of all its delegates to the national convention next year as punishment for scheduling an early presidential primary in violation of party rules.

Michigan, with 156 delegates, has scheduled a Jan. 15 primary. Democratic Party rules prohibit states other than Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina from holding nominating contests before Feb. 5.

Florida was hit with a similar penalty in August for scheduling a Jan. 29 primary.

Michigan officials anticipated the action by the Democratic National Committee's rules panel. But Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer said before the vote that he didn't think the delegates would be lost for good. He expects the Democratic presidential nominee will insist the state's delegates be seated at the convention.

Well, anyway, the article goes on and mentions that many of the Democratic candidates have pulled their names from the ticket as a result, etc, etc.

I will say that if the Democratic National Committee wanted to alienate Michigan's democrats for the next year or so... or forever ... and assure that the state, which currently has a Democratic Governor, becomes landlocked (so to speak) by the Republicans, they've certainly done a fine job of it. (Way to go, assholes!)

Here's why I'm to blame:

Back in the last Presidential Election, a Democratic pollster called to ask who I would be voting for in the Michigan Primary. To say that I wasn't polite would be an understatement. I was blunt, to say the least. And look, I'm a registered Democrat and proud of it, even if most of what critics have to say about the Democratic Party is true (incompetent, unfocused, unorganized...). I just don't find the Republican Party remotely palatable and I could go on about that, but when a political party has to tack on the word "compassionate" as an adjective, it suggests to me that they're anything but.

Anyway, this poll took pace sometime after the Iowa and New Hampshire Primaries and the caller asked who I would vote for. I said, and this is pretty close to a direct quote:

"It doesn't matter because they won't even be in the race by the time they get here."

The pollster then tried again. "Yes, sir, but if you were to vote today, who would you vote for?"

"No," I snapped. "You don't get it. By the time of the Michigan Primary, the presidential candidates are pretty much chosen."

It went on like that. And it was true. Look, I voted for John Kerry. Why? Because John Dean had his meltdown long before I had a chance to vote.  I might have voted for Dean, but hell, he was through long before my chance to vote for him arrived.

And frankly, I'm essentially undecided, as of today, who I would vote for. Maybe Clinton, maybe Obama. In truth, I rather like Richards, and have followed his impressive career for a very long time. And in a period when the U.S. is mired in international messes, one after another, I think a guy who was the Ambassador to the U.N., etc., would be a good candidate.

Do I think he would make it to the Michigan Primary? Hey, whoever wins Iowa (the Ethanol Gas Tax State) or New Hampshire (The We Have No Known Economy State--I mean, what the hell do people in New Hampshire do, anyway?) is 99% likely to be the candidate.

Which is why I think we need to start thinking about a National Primary, where they're all done on the same day (yes, but what the hell would the media do for the rest of the year????). Or, if that's too bizarre for people, eliminate the primaries and caucuses in general and throw the power to select candidates back to the Party Conventions, which now nobody pays attention to and are pretty much rubber stamps for the people who made it to the end of pre-election anyway.

Cheers,

Mark Terry