Accepting Responsibility

by | 1 June 2008 | ChizBlog, Politics and Ethics

I spent most of Saturday watching the Democratic National Committee Rules Committee debate the fate of Michigan and Florida’s democratic primary delegates.  I know, I know—for many of us, watching my toenails grow may have been more entertaining.

Nevertheless, I am fascinated by election processes.  I’m proud of the RO Model UN program which boasts a belief in honesty and transparency in governance.  Not surprisingly, I share those ideals.  So, for those of you who find it all confusing, here are some salient points from the process (clearly edited in detail!) and my take on the issue.

  • Spring 2007:  The long debate with the Democrat continues and intensifies:  Why should Iowa and New Hampshire always have the first primaries? Why should they always claim the national attention and set the course for the remainder of the primary season?  Wouldn’t it be more fair to let other states have a chance?  Perhaps rotate the primaries? However, in Michigan, since we are now about to begin a primary election season, members of the Michigan Democrats propose we move our primary earlier in the calendar to “force” the DNC (National committee) to reform.
  • May 2007:  The DNC warns Michigan and Florida clearly:  If you change the dates on your own, attempting to usurp the national rules, your delegates will not count at the National Convention.  Again, the rules are the rules.  If Michigan and Florida break the rules, their votes will be forfeit.  Michigan holds off changing its primary date until it sees what happens to Florida. On May 21, Florida moves its primary to January
  • August 25, 2007:  The DNC strips Florida of its delegates, exactly as promised.  It gives Florida 30 days to change its mind and move back to the date established by the rules.
  • August 30, 2007: Michigan’s congress, at the behest of its Democrats, send a bill to Governor Granholm to move its date to January 15.
  • September 1, 2007:  Clinton, Obama, and Edwards sign a pledge to skip states which break the DNC rules.
  • September 4, 2007:  Granholm signs the bill, officially moving the date to Jan. 15.
  • Dec. 1, 2007: The DNC strips Michigan of its delegates, exactly as promised.
  • January 2008:  Michigan and Florida hold their illegal primaries.  Clinton wins both, but in Michigan, there are numerous votes for “Uncommitted” and illegal “write-in” ballots.
  • April 4, 2008:  Michigan concludes that it is unable to run a new primary, both for financial and logistical reasons.
  • May 27, 2008: DNC lawyers say the DNC Rules Committee has the authority to seat delegates from Michigan and Florida, but not without penalty.

This weekend, the DNC Rules Committee split the votes of Michigan and Florida in various fractions to allow them to sit at the National Convention with ½ vote each.  Clinton supporters are upset that Clinton was not offered more delegates than were awarded her.

I won’t debate the fractions here, though trying to guess what Michigan’s “Uncommitted” votes were (let alone what might have happened if all Michigan’s Democrats had voted in a legal primary rather than an illegal one or if they had voted Democrat instead of Republican since Michigan’s primaries are open) is hardly an enviable position.  I spent my Saturday morning listening to the speeches.  And then DNC Rules Committee member Donna Brazille told former Michigan Governor Jim Blanchard:  “You have to play by the rules.”

I’m afraid it’s as simple as that.  Rules can be biased, processes unfair.  But the time to correct these are between moments of crisis, not after candidates discover that the rules aren’t working to their own benefit.  The rules were simple:  hold an illegal primary and you lose the delegates. Michigan held an illegal primary.  The role of the DNC Rules Committee is to interpret these rules and enforce them.

CNN roles tape of crying Democrats who claim that democracy is ruined.  Nonsense.  As a voter (who voted “Uncommitted” on January 15) I walked into the booth knowing that I was likely voting in complete futility.  Other voters may not have realized this.  But ignorance of the law is no excuse for violating it (so say our courts over and over).  Do I blame the DNC for making my vote worthless?  Not a bit.  They stated their position—and, by the way, they’re in charge.

Blame the rule-breakers.  Blame those who knew fully what would happen, who in late August and early September watched the DNC strip Florida of its delegates and who rolled the dice anyway, despite what I might have wanted.  Were Michigan voters asked about their preference for primaries?  The fact is, some Michigan Democratic leaders gambled with my vote and lost.

The DNC may have a flawed system for primaries (and I wouldn’t argue its fairness), but it’s right to defend that system now.

But isn’t democracy at stake?  Shouldn’t all votes be counted, as Clinton supporters ask?  Surely. But at this moment in the party’s crisis, counting those votes fairly is an impossibility.  There was no solution for the DNC Rules Committee that could be entirely fair and accurate.  The only solution which could be supported by a fair and open process is to do exactly what the DNC said would happen all along:  discount the votes in an illegal election.

Election reform is a necessity (and not just in the DNC).  Democracy is as much about honesty and transparency (which are enforcement mechanisms for legitimacy and fairness) as it is about votes. Don’t forget, Saddam Hussein always won his elections in landslide victories to record voter turnout.  Voting alone is not democracy.

I am not losing sleep over my semi-lost vote on January 15, and I am not overly concerned about the end of democracy in the United States—that is, if we place responsibility for the Democratic mess in Michigan soundly where it belongs, upon the elected leaders who gambled with our votes for political points.

 

Want to know who the primary players are? Here is the short list with links on how to contact them. Holding leaders accountable is critical to democracy, too.

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