Key Lawmakers Say Michigan Dem Do-Over Is Dead

[Purveyor]

DetNews.com, MI - 37 minutes ago

Mark Hornbeck / The Detroit News

LANSING -- Key lawmakers said today the Michigan do-over primary is dead.

"It's not going to happen," said Senate Minority Leader Buzz Thomas of Detroit, a co-chair for the Obama campaign.

"We had no discussion on this in the Senate today and we confirmed with the majority leader that he isn't going to give a vote on the bill."

Matt Marsden, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, added: "There isn't going to be a vote. We have a few things to take care of and then we're done for today."

The primary redo bill is in the Senate. Today is seen as the final day for action, because the House leaves at the end of the day for a two-week recess. There would not be enough time when they return to pass legislation in time to allow state elections officials and local clerks to prepare for a June 3 contest.

---EOE---

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080320/POLITICS01/803200465/1409/METRO

[Teaser]

1. How many times must it die?

More "undead" than dead.

[DJ13]

9. More "undead" than dead.

[TwilightGardener]

2. They can't extend their session for something that's supposedly sooooo important

to their state? Now you see why they're such fuckups, why they ignored the rules to begin with and thought they could get away with it. Idiots.

[TahitiNut]

12. Let's try to avoid lumping everyone together in "THEY" ... OK?

In Michigan, there's a large constituency in favor of an early primary in order to gain some attention to the worst economic problems in the country - unemployment, foreclosures, etc. That ground became a battleground within the state and national Democratic Party ... with in-state and interstate factions positioning themselves and engaging in booby-trapping to gain internal partisan power. The state GOP enhoyed the spectacle. The VOTERS were thrown under the bus. It's a FUBAR and it's not a bell that can be unrung.

It's necessary to consider just how willing *some* are to engage in a scorched earth strategy that will surely shift about 5% of the statewide vote toward the GOP in November.

[David Dunham]

3. So Obama's henchmen (Thomas) killed off the revote. Go get 'em Hillary!

[madfloridian]

6. If Hillary gets the nomination that way...McCain will win.

I can assure you. People will not consider her a legit nominee.

[Cha]

8. Your drama is noted but it's a

lie like your Queen of Mean does over the tube so why should you be any better?

[bunnies]

11. One Obama supporter controlls the state of MI?

wow.

[TahitiNut]

14. Reading comprehension doesn't seem to be your forte.

The majority in the state senate is the GOP. They control the agenda. Dense much? :shrug:

[whistler162]

23. Actually.....

it was Senator Clinton's brilliant appearance in Michigan wearlier in the week that appears to have sealed the fate of a revote.

[madfloridian]

4. But the DNC offered it....so blame must rest on the states who don't want it now.

IMHO

Dean went on TV 8 times and said please feel free to have your do-over.

Now the two states can not figure out what to do.

Blame on the states again, where it always belonged.

[LakeSamish706]

5. I don't know what the resolution to these two states should be, but the DNC bares the brunt...

I'm certainly not second guessing there decision to enact consequences for changing primary dates, but they need a resolution to this.

[bobbert]

7. They already have a resolution to this

The same thing they said back in January before either state even voted. This bill could have been introduced into the senate months ago...

[TahitiNut]

10. The state GOP understands that the Democrats shot themselves in the foot.

Anyone expecting the GOP State Senate majority will help bandage that foot is an IDIOT!

[EFerrari]

13. So is this mostly dead or a little alive? Do you know? n/t

[nxylas]

16. It's just resting

It's pining for the fjords.

[TahitiNut]

17. It's Frankenstein's monster. Only "alive" as a bone of contention.

There's no unringing the FUBAR bell. NOBODY seeks to "solve" the unsolvable ... merely seeking to exploit it for narrow advantage, no matter what additional damage is added. Indeed, that's why it happened in the first place.

[EFerrari]

20. That's terrible. We need a national primary, imho.

This long series of races is fun in a way but the only thing it really does is give the media time to rake in millions while it chooses our candidates for us. I'm surprised that what happened to MI and to FL voters doesn't happen more often.:(

[Growler]

30. It would happen a lot more

> I'm surprised that what happened to MI and to FL voters doesn't happen more often...

It would happen a lot more if states like MI and FL were allowed to break the rules, then have someone else fund a re-do later. We need to stick to the rules now, or 2012 will be total chaos.

[EFerrari]

32. I trust Howard to stick to the rules. The Clintons will try to blame him

just as they tried to oust him, iirc, before this process started so they could manipulate a little better. He won't let that happen.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

15. Thanks to Obama and the people of MI will remember your silence come Nov......

another nail in Obama coffin...the Wright Scream and his disenfranchisement of the voters.

Obama has a lot to learn yet

[TahitiNut]

18. Reading comprehension ... it's essential.

Your post is sheer idiocy in light of the article that CLEARLY ascribes the state Senate agenda as being under the control of the GOP majority.

[thewiseguy]

19. They never read

They just go around this forum and spam spam spam without reading the posts.

[KAZ]

21. This one never lets facts get in the way of a good spam. This..

.. "thing" will end up posting the same disinformation 30 more times.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

25. !

[ElsewheresDaughter]

24. As to why it is dead.......read this

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/20/michigan.florida/


Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama also have to sign off on the plan. Obama's camp has expressed concern with the proposal, and Clinton has blamed him for holding up the revote.

Obama said he wants the delegates of Michigan and Florida seated, adding "however, the Democratic National Committee determines we can get that done, I'm happy to abide by those rules."

Obama fucked MI

[TahitiNut]

31. TOTALLY irrelevant. I'm a Michigan voter. STOP your condescending bullshit, please.

I realize that you regard the Gospel According to Hillary as inerrant. You OBVIOUSLY have not the slightest independent comprehension of the issues in this state. You OBVIOUSLY cannot detect unprincipled EXPLOITATION of a FUBAR for self-interest.

We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Hillary Clinton is not the least bit interested in solving it. She is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle-income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and character and counting the votes.

What was it she said about "talk"? :eyes:

[Texas Hill Country]

22. Could it be cause the Obama supporters blocked it? hmmmm....

[ElsewheresDaughter]

26. BINGO!

[Barack_America]

29. Do you have information that the GOP Majority Leader in MI is an Obama supporter?

Juicy! Do share the link!

[phrigndumass]

27. It is now impossible for Senator Clinton to even win the popular vote

Not that popular vote matters.

Senator Clinton should concede.

[Barack_America]

28. Good. The proposal was ridiculous.

All of this having to declare yourself a Democrat and having to certify that you didn't vote in the Republican primary, etc. Can you imagine the chaos that would've caused on the new "election" day? It would've been a total clusterfuck.

The only thing they could've reasonably pulled off in the alloted time-frame was a true "do-over". A "do-over" means you keep the same rules as last time and just do the damn thing again. The framework was in place for that.

But adding in all of these new rules and expecting that to fly with less than three months to plan it? No way.

[TahitiNut]

33. Hillary: "The Democratic nominee may be a BASTARD if the votes aren't counted from MI and FL."

Well... she actually said "may be illegitimate" (as reported on MSNBC) but the association is very clear.

[phrigndumass]

34. Once again, instead of conceding, Senator Clinton ...

... is acting like this whole primary season was unfair to her. She agreed to the rules, and we voted based on the rules.

Illegitimate my backside!

[Purveyor]

35. Detroit Free Press: Mich. Re-Vote Plan Dies In State Senate

By Dawson Bell, Detroit Free Press

LANSING, Mich. — Chances for a June 3 do-over of the Democratic presidential primary in Michigan evaporated Thursday afternoon when the state Senate adjourned for two weeks without taking action.

State Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, a Republican, said he saw no point in taking up the primary legislation since Democrats loyal to candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama disagreed on whether to go forward.

Thursday was considered the last chance to pass a bill to allow a primary before the state Legislature left for a spring recess. Florida Democrats scrapped their proposal for a primary re-do Monday after facing obstacles inside the party and the presidential campaigns.

---EOE---

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-03-20-mich-senate_N.htm