The Do Over Debate

Instead of listening to Chris Matthews and Jack Cafferty yell and scream. I propose that we have a responsible and civil DO Over Debate.

Here's the issue: Due to an incredible mess up on the part of the DNC Leadership both Michigan (MI) and Florida (FL) delegates are currently not counted. Both states moved up their primaries in violation of DNC edict and they were then disqualified. The details are a little different. In MI it seems it was a local Dem power play and in FL the Republicans had a lot to do with it. Never the less here we are.

Clinton won both these highly flawed contests and it would give her about 75 delegates more if they were counted. As things stand these delegates will not be counted at all.

The Clinton Campaign is saying they want to seat the delegates and have them count. And, of course, Obama says they should not be counted. Currently, the decision officially is in the hands of the DNC leadership.

Instead of just letting the future play out with these DNC insider folks making some sort of politically supercharged decision sometime this summer, it is clearly time, while we still have the time to engage in a Do Over Debate.

I think we the people, Obama supporters and Clinton supporters need to come together and pressure the campaigns and the DNC to do whatever is possible to get a valid result out of these two states.

Right now neither campaign wants to have a Do Over. Clinton is counting on getting the delegates seated and Obama is hoping he can stop that from happening. Honestly, it seems that it could go either way.

If MI and FL are disenfranchised it will be bad for the Democratics in the fall. We don't need any reminders of what a critical role FL can play in a national election. It may well be the case that whomever wins the contest for these delegates, the loser will be all of us if it throws the race to McCain.

I think that we Democrats need valid results from MI and FL and we need to count them.

People will say. They broke the rules and they need to be penalized. Well, it wasn't the people that broke the rules, and in any case the importance of these states can not be denied. We really do want to win in November.

There should be a Do Over, and I think that this is the time when you might be able to get both campaigns and the DNC to agree that this is the best course, particularly if there is a grass roots consencus.

Whether you are a Clinton supporter or an Obama support I ask you to consider coming to agreement on this matter. Right now we have two all or nothing propositions, and the inevitable result will be that one group or the other feels betrayed. In any case, the Democratic residents of these states feel betrayed. It is not a good situation, and it can be fixed.

Set the date after the last primary. It will extend the primary season and cost some money, but there is time and it is the only way to include these voters in the noninating process that in any way approaches fairness.

People will say that a Do Over is rewarding them for breaking the rules, and I guess that's somewhat true, but as it is now it is a disaster. Perhaps the deal should involve forcing MI and FL to hold their primaries at the very end for the next election cycle or two as punishment. But, the important thing is that the Democratic Party gets out of this mess without giving the Republicans a tremendous advantage.

I am anticipating a lot of flack here saying that MI and FL should not count. They broke the rules. I am also expecting comments about how we need to seat the delegates from the flawed results. I ask you to think about this issue more than as a partisan for your candidate.

We need to do more than win a nomination. We Democrats need to win in the fall. We need to think now about how we will emerge from the primaries. Fairness is important. Fairness to Clinton, fairness to Obama, and fairness to the people of MI and FL. It may be impossible to acheive perfect fairness, but a Do Over is the only at least half good option at this point.

What do you think?