Hmmm....
Looks like Hillary Clinton is trying to win this thing come hell or high water and isn't going to let any little thing such as ethics or DNC rules get in her way.
1. The Michigan and Soon the Florida PrimaryBy now we should all know that Hillary "won" Michigan. But with her name being the only major democratic name on the ballot and only garnering 55% of the vote (compared to the 40% who voted uncommitted), I'd hardly call hers a win decisive.
However. If Hilary was really playing fair (or by the DNC rules) she would have taken her name off of the Michigan ballot since their delegates are "not" going to be seated at the convention. At least that's what the DNC said the punishment was going to be for Michigan (and Florida) for moving their prmary up in the schedule against the DNC's wishes.
Recently Obama accused Hilary of campaigning in Florida against DNC rules regarding the FLorida Primary. Well, instead of saying "Of course I'm not doing that since it is against the rules." She said,
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.That doesn't soud like a woman who's going to abide by er council's rules and not campaign in state that (technically) has no delegates.
Now why would Hilary be shilling in a state with no delegates to be seated? Well
Attytood has it's theories:
What if the primary season ends and none of the candidates have enough votes for the nomination -- unless you seated the delegates from Michigan and Florida?
Hmm. What if indeed. He goes on to say,
The process would be fraught with peril for the Democrats. Would they really not seat the delegates -- and risk offending voters and losing Florida and Michigan to the GOP in November? But what if seating the two states swung the balance of delegates from Obama to Clinton? Would African-American voters bolt the party over such a slight, penalizing the would-be first black president after he had played by the rules? (I think they would, frankly).
Who said 08 was going to be business as usual.
Dirty Trick #1: We'll call this the State Shake-N-Bake.
2.
Teachers Sue to Block Hotel Workers' Union Vote in Nevada CaucusLAS VEGAS — Nevada’s state teachers union and six Las Vegas area residents filed a lawsuit late Friday that could make it harder for many members of the state’s huge hotel workers union to vote in the hotly contested Jan. 19 Democratic caucus in Nevada.
The 13-page lawsuit in federal district court here comes two days after the 60,000-member Culinary Workers Union Local 226 in Nevada endorsed Senator Barack Obama, a blow to Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Obama addressed the Culinary Union at their hall earlier Friday.
The lawsuit argues that the Nevada Democratic Party’s decision, decided late last year, to create at-large precincts inside nine Las Vegas resorts on caucus day violates the state’s election laws and creates a system in which voters at the at-large precincts can elect more delegates than voters at other precincts. The lawsuit employs a complex mathematical formula to show that voters at the other 1,754 precincts would have less influence with their votes.
The at-large precincts are being established because thousands of hotel workers cannot leave work to participate in the midday caucuses in their home precincts. The Nevada State Education Association has said it would not endorse any Democrat, but some of its top officials have endorsed Mrs. Clinton. The association’s deputy executive director, Debbie Cahill, for instance, was a founding member of Senator Clinton’s Nevada Women’s Leadership Council.
So "technically" these are Hilary supporters and not the Clinton campaign itself. But when the decision was made last May to allow the hotel workers to use the casinos as caucus sites no had any objections. Of course back in May Clinton was the consensus front runner and was guaranteed the Culinary Workers Union endorsement.
Oh what a difference a few months make.
Dirty Trick #2: The Caucus Bait and Switch
3.
It's a Race About Race - But No Not Really- Those Were Just Slips of the TongueBy now I'm sure all are familiar with the Race Baiting that's been going on by the Cinton campaign against Senator Obama. Recently a truce was called though I don't know what Obama was trucing against since he didn't start the mess.
To keep track of all the "slips of the tongue" you can check out the
Clinton Attacks Obama Wiki over at Jack and Jill Politics.
Dirty Trick #3: Will call this one the (Race) Freudian Slip
Hilary has learned well from Slick Willie on how to play politics. Who said the sexes were that different. Seems like in the game of politics men and women are more alike then not.
