Deciding a Dilemma of Riches

Can the Democratic Party allow Florida voters to be disenfranchised yet again? Is it fair for a state like Michigan, so terribly wounded by Bush economic policies, to not have a seat at the table? These are questions Howard Dean and the DNC need to answer.

Can anyone really blame states for wanting to move their primaries ahead? Heck, I'm firmly convinced that if the American People had their way, we would have held the general election LAST November. Everyone is so fed up with Bush Co. we just want it to be over NOW.

With the Democratic contest so evenly divided, who will ultimately decide?

It's looking more and more like the superdelegates will play a super role in the selection of the Democratic Party nominee. But at least one superdelegate is troubled by this.

Donna Brazile, who ran Al Gore's 2000 campaign and is herself a superdelegate, threatened to quit her leadership post in the party if the nomination were to be decided by insiders rather than the broader group of Democratic voters who have turned out in huge numbers.

Brazile, while pleased that the competitive race has invigorated the party, said Friday she was "deeply worried about our ability to ensure that this is a very smooth process."

Florida and Michigan together account for 366 pledged delegates and superdelegates. With the delegate count so close, this has become a huge point of contention between the Clinton and Obama camps. Before the "Super Duper" Tuesday vote, Senator Clinton supported letting the delegates be seated at the convention.

There is talk of now holding caucuses in the state, but I think this would be a HUGE mistake, and so does Senator Bill Nelson who said:

"You can't undo an election with a caucus where you would be switching 1.7 million private ballots with maybe as many as 50,000 attending a caucus," said Nelson, who has endorsed Clinton. "That just is not going to work, especially in a state that is so sensitive about having the right to vote and having it count as intended."

Another senior Democrat, Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, issued a similar statement Friday, noting that 600,000 Democrats voted in that state's primary and that it "would not be practical or fair to throw out the results of that
election."

So how do YOU think this dilemma of riches should be resolved? Inquiring minds would like to know.