Now seating Florida and Michigan fall in line with the Civil Rights Movements & Abolishing Slavery...
This in my mind crosses a line because I think it's beyond the pale to invoke Civil rights and Slavery when trying to circumnavigate the will of the people, deduced by rules previously established and agreed upon prior to the start of the contests, especially when the will of the people chose an African American.
BOCA RATON, Fla. - Hillary Clinton compared her effort to seat Florida and Michigan delegates to epic American struggles, including those to free the slaves and win the right to vote for blacks and women.
Full Quote Below
"This work to extend the franchise to all of our citizens is a core mission of the modern Democratic party," she said. "From signing the Voting Rights Act and fighting racial discrimination at the ballot box to lowering the voting age so those old enough to fight and die in war would have the right to choose their commander in chief, to fighting for multi-lingual ballots so you can make your voice heard no matter what language you speak."
Those people, she said "refused to accept their assigned place as second-class citizens. Men and women who saw America not as it was, but as it could and should be, and committed themselves to extending the frontiers of our democracy. The abolitionists and all who fought to end slavery and ensure freedom came with the full right of citizenship. The tenacious women and a few brave men who gathered at the Seneca Falls convention back in 1848 to demand the right to vote."
She also burns the bridge to 2000 by invoking the unspeakable
"In Florida, you learned the hard way what happens when your votes aren't counted and the candidate with fewer votes is declared the winner," she said. "The lesson of 2000 here in Florida is crystal clear: if any votes aren't count, the will of the people isn't realized and our democracy is diminished."
I think it's getting the point that Hillary really needs to be sidelined. I'd personally like to see Obama and Co come out ahead of May 31st and endorse a plan publicly to seat the Delegates... In full even, because by most accounts he'll end up with the most Pledged even with Florida and Michigan, regardless of the remaining contests.
Just today she's hinted that she'll drag this out to the convention.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Clinton was asked whether she would support the states if they continue the fight.
The presidential candidate said Wednesday, "Yes I will. I will, because I feel very strongly about this."
Hillary went to Florida today and tried to deepen the resentment of the state and build negative will towards Obama who already has high negatives in that state.
The fastest way to shut up this trainwreck is to seat the delegates and call her bluff. It's rebuild good will in Florida and subvert her future efforts to devalue his nomination.
UPDATE: Axelrod has some new comments via NPR
"We are open to comprise [sic]. We are willing to go more than half way. We're willing to work to make sure that we can achieve a compromise. And I guess the question is: is Senator Clinton's campaign willing to do the same?"
Axelrod continues: "Well, obviously, any compromise is going to involve some give, and that means if there's something on the table, we're willing to consider it. That may include us yielding more delegates than perhaps we would have, simply on the basis of the rules."
It's also pointed out in the Politico Post this great piece in discussing how seating the delegations in full still won't change the outcome.
Barack Obama can fully accept Hillary Rodham Clinton’s terms on Michigan and Florida and still win a majority of pledged Democratic delegates on June 1, allowing him to lay claim to the nomination under the New York senator’s own rules.
A Politico analysis of the delegate numbers after Tuesday’s primaries in North Carolina and Indiana shows Obama can concede to Clinton’s position on Michigan and Florida and still claim victory — potentially forestalling the Democratic nightmare scenario of a floor fight at the Denver convention.
A lighter take on the situation