Dodd: Prolonged Democratic race 'devastating'

[harun]

Source: CNN.com

"We've got five more months to go before the Democratic convention at the end of August and, candidly, we cannot go five more months with the kind of daily sniping that's going on and have a candidate emerge in that convention," said the Connecticut senator.

"Over the next couple of weeks, as we get into April, it seems to me then, that the national leadership of this party has to stand up and reach a conclusion," he added.

"I think the elections that are yet to come deserve to be held because the people from Pennsylvania to Puerto Rico to all the others that are waiting in line deserve to be heard. And I think that's part of the good," Clinton said Wednesday. Former President Bill Clinton also reiterated that sentiment, saying Wednesday, “my family’s not big on quitting.”

But Dodd said Thursday allowing the race to continue indefinitely would be "irresponsible". Allowing this sort of to fester over the months of June, and July and August, I think, are irresponsible," he said. "I think you have to make a decision, and hopefully the candidates will respect it and people will rally behind a nominee that, I think, emerges from these contests over the next month."


Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/27/dodd-prolonged-democratic-race-devastating/

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I think the party leadership, even those pulling for Hillary are starting to admit to themselves this fiasco may just sink the ship if they aren't careful.

[gateley]

1. If some of the statements on DU

about not voting for the "other" person, or voting for McCain are indicative of the general populace, then it's a valid concern.

[OwnedByFerrets]

2. I want it to end

very soon because the way its going, sever damage is being done to the party. If, however, both candidates would spend their time against McSameasbush, it could instead help the party as a whole. I would at least like to think that.

[mike_c]

3. why isn't anyone reaching what seems a rather obvious conclusion...?

The real problem is that we start the process of campaigning WAY too far in advance of the convention. Limit political campaigns to three months prior to the convention-- I pulled that number out of my butt, but you get the point, I'm sure. That way, if a candidate hasn't emerged the convention can be brokered, or whatever, but without such a prolonged (and expensive) period of discord.

[Bok_Tukalo]

6. You cannot limit the campaigns

You can compress the primaries (and even that is not certain considering even now people are crying about Michigan and Florida getting hit for breaking the rules) but you can't stop people from campaigning. The Free Speech issue it to organic to this nation.

[Benhurst]

7. And get the damned money out of the process.

It wasn't long ago that all progressives wanted the money out of the process. This year, some of our candidates and their supporters have bragged about how much money they have raked in, even making the absurd claim that raking in the cash proved them qualified to govern.

And a million small contributions mean nothing so long as the vested interests are allowed to make their larger ones.

[roseBudd]

14. But at least one of the candidates is raking in MILLIONS of small donor donations

and that I think is a good thing

[Benhurst]

20. A possible improvement. But as long as large donations are

accepted, money rules.

[ladywnch]

10. I agree competely! this has been going on almost, what now, 15 months?

buy the time the GE comes around, people are so burned out on the whole thing they jsut ignore it all. And that does no go for our country. Also, as posted later in this thread, get the money out of it. I know you can't completely do it, but you gotta start somewhere.....set a cap on it all.

[Vincardog]

4. When the Democratic turnout country wide is running at TWICE the rePIGlickers I do not think

Hill can stink it up so bad that we can not recover.

[harun]

5. I hope you are right (n/t)

[ladywnch]

8. I completely disagree with you. It is so going to fracture the party

many of those who have shown up for the earlier primaries are going to be so disgusted or disheartened thinking 'politics as usual' they will fail to turn out for the GE. This MUST STOP NOW.

[depakid]

9. Unfortunately, politics as usual is EXACTLY what will happen

in the general election- and ANYONE who thinks that Obama can win by taking the "high road" would do well to look back at what happened to Dukakis, Gore and Kerry.

[Vincardog]

12. Tell Hillary I don't like it but I can not stop her.

[ConcernedCanuk]

11. Democratic Party is ripping itself apart with all this visible sniping.

.
.
.

Hill and Barack should sit down with the party and make some sort of pact and present a UNITED front for the voters.

Republicans HAVE a united front, albeit not one that I prefer.

Disunity in ANY party is gonna shy voters away when the time comes.

Dems gotta unite - a divided party is not what the USA needs now

Continued fighting among the Democratic candidates just might get the Republicans a win

And I don't think anyone on this board wants that.

I sure don't want it . .

By the way - anyone wanna buy our Harper?

Oh, too late, -

the BushGang already did that.

[gratuitous]

13. What prolonged? My calendar still says March

I'm not worried, and Dodd really should know better than this.

[Muttocracy]

15. maybe it's because the GOP wrapped up so much more quickly.

McCain gets to sit around and spend less money more like an incumbent?

[Muttocracy]

16. Dodd used to be DNC chair, right? what was he like at that? nt

[UTUSN]

17. Yip, welcome pResident McNASTY and Veep Condo!1

AND since McNASTY is 71 AND has had multiple cancer thingys, it's gonna be pResident Codo OR Jeb Crow Shrub!1

[fshrink]

18. Yeah, that'd be so much easier

if handled by a few select high-rankings behind closed doors. Like that, the stupid masses, us, would be offered the ideal product-leader and would be allowed to march in lock-steps towards democracy. Come to think of it, we wouldn't even need to bother voting.

[sofa king]

19. What a load of poo.

Here's a dispatch from the crystal ball:

Analysis: How (Clinton or Obama) Won

By Drinky McWhore, Washington Post

Within 48 hours of the (Clinton or Obama) landslide victory of November 4, FEC officials were investigating reports of literally billions of dollars in illegal campaign donations to the GOP and the McCain campaign, from countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to military industrial giants like Boeing, Halliburton, and General Dynamics. Dozens of Republican campaign accountants have committed suicide, left the country, or gone into hiding. Records of bribe payments to every major television network news department have been revealed from Atlanta to Washington. Shareholders of Fox News, which called the election for McCain at 7:45 pm on November 4, have demanded the resignation of its entire senior leadership. The loss of electoral votes from Florida and Ohio, both plagued by rampant electronic vote theft to the point where the electors from those states have yet to be seated, mattered not at all in the long run, with McCain only picking up his home state of Arizona and Alaska.

With the deck stacked so high, how did (Clinton or Obama) win?

"Traditional issues which motivate the heartland of America failed to gain traction this year," said Karl Rove, while packing his bags for a flight to Dubai. "Instead the American public became interested in the issues which were debated by the two Democratic front-runners in the primaries."

Exit polls suggest Rove is correct. Voters seem to have completely forgotten about gay marriage, welfare babies, or safeguarding the right of women to vote, all divisive pet issues of the Republican Party. Instead, voters were interested in ending the Iraq War, revamping health care, and safeguarding the nation from the type of economic collapse which has led to the Second Great Depression. Then-Senators Clinton and Obama debated the finer points of these issues for six full months in 2008, leaving little room for coverage of anything but flash-in-the-pan scandals which appear to have only further excited voter interest.

While bitter at times, the eventual reconciliation between Clinton and Obama in early August came too late for McCain to benefit from a desperate dirty-tricks campaign which fired off its ammunition too soon against Obama in an attempt to swing the nomination to Clinton. Two decades of slander and innuendo invested in Clinton also failed to pay off.

President Pelosi, who took the oath of office yesterday, promised to begin investigation of every one of the thousands of allegations against the Republican party, "we will not rest until George Bush and Dick Cheney are found and brought to justice."

....

See? Everything's gonna turn out all right, as long as you get your friends to register to vote right now, and try to read some news outside of this place. My crystal ball says so.

[mbperrin]

21. No, it's designed to be prolonged. All of these primaries were

set by the party, and as we are so often reminded, playing by the rules is important. All of the primaries need to be run. That's how it started, and that's how it needs to go. Besides, any candidate(s) who can't take nasty things said in the primaries would do well to avoid the GE, which in the past has included Willie Horton, small girls blown to bits by nuclear bombs, and much, much worse.

No one said politics is simple or pretty. The purpose is to pick the best candidate, period.