Florida DOES count
On the local newscast tonight here in Tampa, Florida, there was a pretty long report on Obama's Florida memo "Florida's primary is meaningless." It has been making some waves in the print media as well as on-the-air media (TV, radio) and several somewhat politically involved Democrats I spoke with today knew about this. Generally, the tenor is that Obama's dismissive memo has been received very negatively. I guess nobody wants to be told that their votes don't count. It apparently is creating a bit of a backlash for Obama amongst Floridians, at least those who have heard about this.
The thing that is perplexing is that Obama made repeated statements to Florida boosters that he would indeed seat the Florida delegation. If that was an honest statement, how then would the Florida primary be "meaningless"? The only thing that makes sense, given Obama's previous statement that he would seat delegates, is that he now expects to lose Florida, and lose it big. That is why his previous vows to Floridians about delegates have gone by the wayside, and the Obama campaign now declares Florida meaningless. It makes Obama look desperate, frankly. Suddenly, after seeing the latest crop of FL polls (3 on the same day showing a grim picture for Obama's prospects here,) Florida is "stata-non-grata."
Those of us who know about Obama's previous statements to Floridians that he would seat the Florida delegates can only shake our heads about the tremendous hypocrisy displayed here. If the polls had shown a tighter race, there is very little chance that memo would have been sent. If the memo is "the word," then Obama's previous promises to Floridians were untrue.
This certainly does not make Obama look good at all in this state, any way you slice it. Florida is a pivotal, pivotal state, perhaps THE most important battleground state. We simply can't afford to NOT seat the Florida delegates and hope that voters here will "come around," flock to us anyway, despite the jilting the state's Democratic voters received. The Florida delegates will eventually be seated (unless the Democratic party has a freakish death wish and no interest in winning Florida in November,) which makes issuing the Florida memo even more of a boneheaded move.
Here the Miami Herald's publishing of the Clinton memo/response:
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpoli tics/2008/01/clinton-to-obam.html
Clinton to Obama: Florida does count
Regarding: Michigan and Florida Presidential Primaries
The Obama campaign today circulated a memo regarding today's Michigan primary and the January 29 Florida primary. This memo was concerning on several levels.
Let us be very clear. Senator Clinton signed a pledge that she would not campaign in any state that violates the DNC approved calendar. Therefore, we did not campaign in Michigan, nor will we campaign in Florida in violation of the pledge. We have two small scheduled fundraisers in South Florida on January 27, as explicitly permitted by the pledge, but we will not hold any open public campaign events. The Obama campaign has also held numerous fundraisers in Florida since signing the pledge. Contrary to the Obama campaign's memo, there are no events at large venues, nor have we organized in the
state. We intend to do so as our party's nominee in the general election, but will honor our pledge not to campaign there in violation of the pledge.Let us be clear about something else, however. While Senator Clinton will honor her commitment not to campaign in Florida in violation of the pledge, she also intends to honor her pledge to hear the voices of all Americans. The people of Michigan and Florida have just as much of a right to have their voices heard as anyone else. It is disappointing to hear a major Democratic presidential candidate tell the voters of ANY state that their voices aren't important.
Make no mistake -- the Obama campaign had no problems when its supporters and allies in Michigan ran radio ads and other campaign activities urging people to vote for "uncommitted" as a way to register their support for Senator Obama -- and to give him a chance to compete for those delegates at the national convention (http://facts.hillaryhub.com/archive/?id= 5218). Now, with polls in recent days showing that effort and their candidate running far behind in both states, the Obama campaign has shifted tactics to say that those who cast a vote in either state don't matter. We couldn't disagree more.
Senator Clinton intends to be President for all fifty states. And while she will honor the pledge she signed and not campaign in either state, she intends to continue to give every American a voice during this election and when she gets to the White House.
|
|
|
Permalink :: 37 Comments :: Post a Comment
|
In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.
If not, you can make an account right here. It's quick and free.
