Non-candidate Election Brouhaha Diary

(Just to be honest, I'm kinda para-phrasing a bit I saw last night on television, sadly, I was so tired before falling asleep that I cannot for the life of me recall which show or whom the speaker was).

So, once again it appears that there are two candidates running neck-and-neck, and the voters of the State of Florida may very well cast the deciding vote on who wins the prize.

Nope, it's not 2000, and I don't mean Bush v Gore.

Still, there's more than a bit of 'deja vu' in the air, dontcha think?

What just struck me, as I was perusing the nightly craptacular candidate diary festival, was the particular feeling that suddenly made sense, when I shifted my perception slightly.

Imagine that you have been a resident of the State of Washington your entire life.  You got the chance to cast a vote for presidential primary candidates for the first time in 1980.

The very first time your vote was counted and weighed in the balance when the decision of whom was chosen as the Democratic candidate for President in the Democratic Primary process, was 2008.

That's right, 28 years, seven presidential election cycles.

Year after year, decade after decade, I've been voting.  If fact, if you talk to any of the people whom I've known during that entire time, you'll learn that I've been trying to get my friends and acquaintences to register and vote ever since 1980.

I convinced a number of people, including my ex-husband, the value of their participation in the democratic process.  As my father used to say, "If you don't vote, ya can't bitch about who you get".  It's a rather simplified version of my own feelings, but true nonetheless.

Now, knowing that my vote in the presidential primary was actually counted for more than just a single night's local TV news coverage, I feel somehow more connected to the entire process.  You've got to understand - I was the local chairman of the Dean campaign in my legislative district, I've been a PCO (precinct committee officer). I've been involved before, but I've never really felt like I do this year.

Which brings me to the comments that I keep reading in the postings about the current imbroglio of what the fuck do we do with Michigan and Florida?  Mostly I seem to get the idea that the voters of those two states are incensed that their votes may not be counted.

What did I miss?  Didn't the DNC and the state chairs of every stinking state and territory with delegates allowed to vote at the nominating convention agree to a specific set of rules?  Weren't the consequences of violating those rules made plain to all who agreed to abide by it?

I understand that the Florida State government, republican controlled, set the date for the state sponsored primary election.

With over six months of lead time, why didn't the Florida State Democratic Party ask for some assistance from the national party to be in compliance and fund their primary on a date which would not violate the national party rules?

Likewise, why didn't the Michigan State Democratic party do something to ensure their primary voters would have their votes counted?  

And please, do not attempt to make this some sort of diatribe against the stranglehold of Iowa and New Hampshire on 'retail politics' and the 'first-in-the-nation' status the two have managed to keep locked-down tight for years now.

As much as anyone, I want a truely national primary process.  There should be a two-day open-polling period, to ensure all democratic party voters have a chance for their voice to be heard when it comes to choosing our nominee.  This should be a closed primary.  It's our party, we should have the choice of whom we send an invitation to.  It would only require a person elect to be recognized as a member of the Democratic Party to participate.

But putting the current candidates into a death-match struggle as a way to move from our current crazytown system to something more suited to modern life and lifestyles is absurd.

So, in closing, to all the primary voters in Michigan and Florida, I feel your pain, because I've felt that same damned feeling myself for way too many years.  Should you get the chance to upset the applecart with hindsight re-voting?  I'm sorry, I can't see how that is in any way even close to fair.

Besides, the real truth is that your votes did count.  Whom you cast your ballots for was duly noted in the nightly political roundups.  The only thing that you won't get, is a chance to validate those votes by proxy through delegates at the nominating convention.

Perhaps this mess will be the one that causes the Democratic Party to climb into the 21st Century and change their 19th Century nominating process to reflect a nation of people who refer to their country as The United States and no longer as These United States.

If you think on that for just a moment, you will see the vast difference between the two.

Today, American's think of themselves as just that, citizens of the The United States.  During the 19th century, most citizens in this nation thought of themselves as Washingtonians or Oregonians or New Yorkers, who lived in These United States.

I don't think that anyone will come up with any solution to the current dilema that makes even half the people involved happy.  I just can't figure out how a do-over will help matters.

Comments happily accepted.

•  You know the drill

  tips, flames, etc.

  by Angie in WA State on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 09:14:18 AM PDT

  •  Thanks for posting, Angie. Fla had no choice.

    Republicans set the date moving up the primary date and making the Democrats in violation of the rules on purpose. The state ran the primary and the Republicans run the state.

    They hoped to make Florida voters so mad at the Democratic party  that they would vote Republican or stay home in the fall. Without Florida we haven't won,;ately.  

    It is thought that it made one million, seven hundred thousand Democrats voted anyway so that the party would know they cared.

    by itsadryheat on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 09:57:18 AM PDT

    •  I did note that in the diary

      but what I don't understand, as I wrote above, is why the Florida State Democratic Party didn't appeal to Howard Dean and the DNC for some assistance in funding a primary process outside the state republican controlled date of voting.

      This would certainly have been an end-run around the Republicans, and avoided the entire 'WTF do we do now' problem that exists.

      Do I blame the voters of Florida, no, but I certainly blame the state party leadership.

      by Angie in WA State on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 02:47:05 PM PDT

•  Well, Angie, whereas you are here in WA

  Tell us exactly how we are going to impose partisan registration on these gomers here.

  by Ivan on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 09:17:57 AM PDT

  •  why not the same way other states do it

    require that you sign in to register at the voting venue.

    The registration form has three columns, democratic, republican and independent.

    You choose which party to sign in under and receive a ballot for ONLY that party.

    Remember, this is for the primary process only.  Each political Party is allowed, under federal voting laws, to determine it's nominee in any manner it chooses.

    Why this is so hard to understand is beyond me.

    by Angie in WA State on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 09:26:21 AM PDT

•  Angie, look at this:

  March 5th entry from my friend regarding primary voters!

  by TX Scotia on Sun Mar 16, 2008 at 02:51:42 PM PDT