I don't know about you, but this worries me...
Mark Ambinder of the Atlantic.com is reporting that Clinton's Name Likely To Be Placed In Nomination at the Democratic National Convention!
More after the jump...
What is happening appears to be that both the Clinton people and Obama's campaign have independently come to the conclusion that this would be a good idea!
The rationale is that this would be the best way to welcome and acknowledge Clinton supporters. This conclusion was reached in spite of the fact that Clinton did not ask for this during the negotiations with the Obama team earlier this summer.
According to several people who have spoken with her, Clinton originally believed that if her name were included in the roll call on Wednesday, August 27, she would inevitably wind up with fewer delegates than the 1896.5 she earned from the primaries. That would look bad and could demoralize her supporters.
So what happened? My guess is that some of the die-hard HRC supporters, may be even some of the PUMA gang, managed to somehow twist some arms, or at least leave a mark. Alternatively, or in addition, this might have something to do with donors for the HRC campaign. Remember that "catharsis" comment Clinton made recently?
[W]ithin the past week, Clinton advisers informed the Obama team that many of Clinton's staunchest supporters felt strongly that something had to be done, and that Clinton had concluded that, in part for the sake of unity, their wishes ought to be respected. They heard back immediately: the Obama campaign had always been open to having her name placed in nomination alongside his.
(emphasis with bold font added)
It seems to me, given that around 45% of delegates were for HRC during the primary, that some on both camps worry that some HRC delegates might be restless at the convention. How all this will take place, remains unknown, and seems to have not been worked out yet.
The report goes on to state that media portrayals of tension between both camps have been vastly exaggerated, and
multiple sources in both campaigns have described the negotiations as relatively free of acrimony.
Let's see what this means:
* HRC's delegates would participate in the official roll call;
* HRC might have her own set of nominating and seconding speeches;
* Although it is just about impossible, if some Obama delegates change their mind, HRC could theoretically win the nomination. (This is not what I'm worried about)
On the other hand, Clinton could just seize the opportunity to ceremoniously release her delegates to Obama.
Now, call me paranoid, but here is what I am worried about:
I fear that this move will do nothing but embolden the PUMA gang, and provide them with time and opportunity to actually stage some kind of loud protest, or pull out en block on live television.
That would be demoralizing to me.
So please share your opinions, and hash out the pros and cons of this.
Peace!
Update#1 Thanks for a lively discussion! I even got a few recs! This is certainly turning out to be a controversial decision based on what comments I've read so far.
PS. I was late adding a tip jar. Here it is.
Update#2 It seems that their may be disruptive plans already being worked out! h/t to 2questions for alerting to this in his comment below.