Florida and Michigan won't have revotes? GOOD. FUCK 'EM. There shouldn't BE a revote.

Anyone who thinks that Florida and Michigan should get a revote is either stupid or intellectually dishonest. There are two big reasons why this vote should not happen:

1. They broke the rules. Period. The DNC set down rules that other than Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina (which had been granted exemptions from the party), no other state was to move their primaries ahead of Feburary 5, Super Tuesday. If the DNC cannot enforce its own rules to show that actions have consequences, then the primaries for the 2012 campaign will officially kick off on January 21, 2009. This rediculousness of moving primary dates has to stop NOW and this is the best way to do it. Ironically enough, if neither state moved ahead their primaries, they would have been plenty relevant and had a say in this primary season. And speaking of having a say in the primary season...

2. People in each of those states who want a say in the primaries should suck it up and pay for the revotes themselves. This is the dirty little secret that some in the Clinton campaign don't want out there since she wants those primaries to count (surprisingly enough because she won them by big margins and she is woefully behind in states won, delegates won and popular vote). I'm not a Democrat. I did not send the DNC any of my money. But if I did, I don't want to pay for something that could have been preventable. Also one of those dirty little secrets that people don't want to release is that both states had 60 days to change their primaries after the DNC warned both states what their actions would cause. Both states proceeded without changing their dates. The individual states could have changed the dates that the Democrats elected their convention delegates back to where they were. I'm sure that the DNC would have chipped in to help pay for them. But don't try to get the money donated from millions of people to help run the DNC to fix both of those self-induced screwups caused by Florida and Michigan themselves.

Clinton is also calling on Barack Obama to push for re-votes in both states, when the only thing he can do is to suggest it. NEITHER of them have the power to call for a revote, the STATE LEGISLATURES do and BOTH legislatures have decided to pass on the option. I also don't buy the arguement that Florida should be seated as is because all names were on the ballot. Bullshit. Florida law states that names cannot be removed from the ballot unless the candidate drops out. Had that law not been in place, Obama and Edwards and Dodd and Biden definitely would not have been on that ballot and possibly Kucinich and Gravel as well. All of the Democrats agreed to not campaign in Florida and Michigan and as a part of solidarity voluntarily pull their names from the ballots in Michigan. Strangely enough, Clinton refused to do so in Michigan. She also held a fundraiser in Florida and the night of the unsanctioned Florida primary, had a non-victory victory celebration.

Oh yeah, by the way, Clinton said herself in an interview on New Hampshire Public Radio on October 11, 2007 (that is when she was running as the inevitable Democratic candidate) that the votes would not count and also the only states that had a higher Republican turnout than Democratic turnout were Florida and Michigan. By a lot. Seems like to me that the ones who disenfranchised the voters of Michigan and Florida are the state legislatures of Michigan and Florida and the governors who signed that legislation into law. Both states have a Republican majority in one state house, draw your own conclusions.

But looking at exit polling data, many people up until that point did not decide who to vote for until the last days before the primary. Obama may have had a few ads run as part of a regional ad buy in a package (which was inevitable that would run in Florida in the border markets and on national television, I can recall seeing some Obama ads on MSNBC) but he did not campaign there. Clinton actually was there pressing the flesh. Clinton only won big there based on name recognition and nothing more. And any Democrat who is still undecided or favors Clinton as the Democratic nominee, consider this- Clinton has and will do anything to win the nomination. This includes endorsing her Republican opponent over her Democratic one, calling her Democratic opponent inexperienced, but wanting him as her running mate who would have to assume the presidency should something happen to her. This includes trying to sanction and legitimize elections that the Democratic National Convention ruled as illegitimate and unsanctioned and that SHE, HERSELF AGREED TO ABIDE BY THAT DECISION.

Clinton needs to do the Democratic party a huge favor- drop out now while her party still has a viable chance at the White House. But if she is not going to do that, then she needs to accept a compromise fair to all parties- cut the delegates down to say a low number, say 10 for both states. Award half to Clinton, award half to Obama. That way, both states are seated, both candidates get their supporters heard, but both states are sufficiently punished and have no factor in the nomination process.