For some Americans, democracy is a promise unfulfilled
That headline is the gist of today's editorial written by The New Republic entitled, "Voting block." The article takes a serious look at the disenfranchisement of not only Michigan and Florida voters, but also ex-felons, who in most states, cannot vote. What is striking is that some Dems. don't even seemed to be concerned about leaving out Michigan and Florida, despite the fact that 1 in 10 Americans hails from either state. Because it looks like Clinton is going to pull off a reasonable win today, Zogby's final poll has her up by 10, and because any margin of victory will probably keep Clinton in the race, failing to count every single state's vote will, according to the article, "undermine the system's legitimacy. TNR:
At this point, almost everybody cares more about settling on a candidate than about ensuring that the nominating process is fair. This is an understandable impulse, but, in a democracy, procedural questions cannot be disregarded so casually without eventually undermining the system's legitimacy. Sadly, this is all too often the case.
The editorial goes on to lament the unfortunate situation that appears before us. With no real solution, we will be heading toward disaster. Forget about anger over Clinton/Obama in-fighting. Without fully counting or revoting, a sense of bitterness will ensue, regardless of who gets the nomination. TNR:
Process issues like these aren't sexy, and no electoral system will ever be perfect. But, as the race for the Democratic nomination reminds us once again that sometimes every vote really does count, it's as good a time as any to focus our attention on the sad truth that, for too many Americans, democracy remains a promise unfulfilled.
Clinton knows where this is heading if she doesn't get Michigan and Florida to count, and she isn't going to drop out because she can see this very situation unfolding. Here's what I know: Democracy is the very principle upon which America is built. DNC rules, on the other hand, are just that, rules. And we all know what they say about rules.... they're meant to be broken.
Obama, Clinton, florida, michigan
