More, more, more
Wasn’t that the title of a disco tune? Anyway - While it is always fun watching Bill (from Liberal Oasis) beat himself up, I’m not sure it’s all that useful. Several things happened in Ohio and Texas which were unforeseen.
- Barack Obama changed his style and delivery. We saw it first in Houston. I’m not sure whether Senator Obama was responding to criticism from outside his campaign or from within his campaign but, remember, he gave a 43 minute speech without notes. Very little of the inspiration that he has become famous for was heard in that speech. Instead, this was a policy speech. If this was your first exposure to Barack Obama, he was in trouble. This is the same speech that could have been delivered by John Kerry or Al Gore. Huge mistake by Barack Obama. Place all the intricate policy details on your website. For your victory speeches, keep it short, keep them inspirational and keep people wanting more.
- Republicans actually listened to Laura Ingram and Rush Limbaugh. Large number of Republicans voted in the Democratic primary. According to exit poll data they may make up as much as 9% of the overall total. Hillary Clinton got 46% of these crossovers.
- Barack Obama began to talk about immigration. He did this in the debates. He said secure the borders. I think everybody agrees with this. He said we cannot round up 12 million economic refugees (my words, emigrants to other folks) and send them back. I think most reasonable people understand this. He said there has to be a path to citizenship. I think most Latino voters agreed with this. Then… he said, “they will have to go to the back of the line.” I almost fell off the couch when I heard that. There are probably four or five really good reasons not to say that. Even if it is something you believe in, it is phrased poorly and will be received poorly. “Back of the line” has so much racial heritage, and all of it is bad, I am flabbergasted that even brought it up. If you watch that debate, in Texas, you can almost see Hillary Clinton began to smile. She was smiling because Barack Obama just lost the Hispanic vote.
- The inroads that Barack Obama made into the average white middle-class voter completely evaporated in Texas and in Ohio. The 3 a.m. commercial clearly had something to do with this. The much talked about group of white women which he went overwhelmingly to Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, came to her rescue again in both Ohio and in Texas.
The thing that I find most interesting about the Democratic nomination process (specifically this contest) is that nothing has changed. For all the money that was raised and all the money that was spent, nothing has changed. Barack Obama still has a triple digit lead in delegates. Barack Obama still leads in the overall state’s won. The race remains close. Unfortunately, the delegate math continues not to add up in Hillary Clinton’s favor. Without some hanky-panky with regard to the superdelegates, it’s near impossible to see how Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic nomination.
Over the last two days, we’ve heard more about disenfranchising Michigan and Florida voters and we’ve heard in the previous six months. I really think there are only two possibilities that are reasonable to answer the question, what to do with Michigan and Florida? First, you can leave everything exactly as it is. The legislatures of both Michigan and Florida, knew the rules and they knew what they were doing. They intentionally told their Democratic constituents to take a hike. Therefore, the Democratic and independent voters of those states, should let their representatives know how pleased they are, that they are now on the outside looking in on one of the most historic presidential races in modern history. Secondly, you can do it all over again. Have primaries in both Michigan and Florida. Schedule them sometime in May. Let the voters decide who gets the delegates. Don’t tell me we can afford it. If democracy is truly important to our Union, then we can afford it. We can find the money. We can raise the money. Hell, if Scooter Libby can raise money for his defense fund, we can raise money for democracy. Finally, any other solution that gets proposed, in my mind, is grossly unfair. The arguments for the unfairness are obvious.
As a Democrat, I like competition. I think that the thoughtful exchange of ideas is always better for our party. On the other hand, I think that candidates who drag each other through the mud and expose weak spots for Republicans to take advantage of later, is not helpful to the Democratic Party. So, my question to you is what is best for the party now? How can we put the Democratic Party in the best position to have a great convention in the summer and to win in November?
