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Democrats Kick Around Mail Revote for Florida, Michigan •
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Two Clinton Backers Offer a Way to Stage New Primaries
By John M. Broder and David W. Chen
The New York Times
Monday 10 March 2008
Two of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's biggest supporters, who are also
two of the Democratic Party's most successful fund-raisers, have offered
to help raise millions of dollars to stage new primaries in Florida and Michigan.
Gov. Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey and Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania
said Sunday that they would be willing to raise half the $30 million it would
take to run new contests in those two states. Mr. Corzine and Mr. Rendell submitted
their proposal to The Washington Post.
The two governors argue that the Democratic National Committee, and not taxpayers
in Florida and Michigan, should pay for a re-election in those states.
Democrats have been struggling to find a way to seat the delegates from Michigan
and Florida, who were excluded when those states held primaries in January,
violating national party rules.
With a virtual tie in both convention delegates and the nationwide popular
vote, the dispute over the two states has the potential of deciding the overall
race.
Mrs. Clinton won in both states, though Senator Barack Obama's name did
not appear on the Michigan ballot and neither candidate campaigned actively
in Florida. Her supporters at first pressed for the disputed delegates to be
seated, but both campaigns and Democratic Party leaders have been searching
for an alternative solution.
Talk of the problem dominated the Sunday morning political television programs.
"I think it's very unlikely that Florida and Michigan, given how
close this race is, are going to be seated as is," said Howard Dean, the
Democratic national chairman, on "Face the Nation" on CBS. "But
everybody's going to work very hard to find a compromise within the rules
that's fair to both campaigns that will allow Florida and Michigan in
the end to be seated."
Mr. Rendell raised the fund-raising proposal on "Meet the Press"
on NBC as he pressed for re-votes in the two states. Former Senator Tom Daschle
of South Dakota, speaking for the Obama campaign, also appeared on the program
and said he would go along.
"We don't have any problem with that," Mr. Daschle said.
Mr. Rendell said that, in the submission to The Washington Post, he and Mr.
Corzine offered to "help raise the approximately $15 million which would
be half of the $30 million it would take to run those two contests."
Asked about the proposal by WNBC-TV on Sunday, Mr. Corzine said it had not
been cleared with the Obama campaign. He also said the best time for new contests,
were they to happen, would be after the last scheduled primaries are held in
early June.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Corzine, Deborah Howlett, later said: "He doesn't
think that the states or the taxpayers in Michigan or Florida should pay for
the election. And he's glad to help the D.N.C. raise money to cover the
costs."
Asked if Mr. Corzine, a former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs who spent $100
million of his own money to win an election to the United States Senate in 2000
and the governor's office in 2005, would be a contributor, Ms. Howlett
said: "He's been pretty generous with causes he believes in. I wouldn't
be surprised if he donated money. But he's not going to underwrite the
whole thing."
In his appearance on CBS, Mr. Dean urged the parties to find a solution quickly,
saying that with the lead Democrats hold in polls and in fund-raising, "the
only thing that can beat us is if we're divided."
In a separate interview, on ABC, Mr. Dean suggested that a compromise might
involve using mail-in ballots to restage both primaries, with the cost -
perhaps one-third that of conventional elections - to be absorbed by Democratic
donors.
Another possibility would be to split the delegates in half, but that would
effectively cement Mr. Obama's delegate lead in place and thus be unacceptable
to Clinton supporters.
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Democrats Kick Around Mail Revote for Florida, Michigan
By Richard Simon
The Los Angeles Times
Monday 10 March 2008
That's one option leaders are floating
to resolve the dilemma over delegates the national party disqualified for breaking
scheduling rules.
Washington - Do-over Democratic primaries in Florida and Michigan drew
new interest Sunday as party officials struggled to find a solution to a crisis
that has taken on greater significance in the tight race for the Democratic
presidential nomination.
"This is a big - bigger issue than Florida and Michigan," Democratic
National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said on ABC's "This Week, with
George Stephanopoulos" warning that a solution is needed to unite the party
behind the Democratic presidential nominee - whether it's Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton of New York or Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois - against the presumptive
Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona. "The only thing that can
beat us is that we're divided."
To punish Florida and Michigan for violating party rules by moving their primary
dates to January, ahead of the party's set schedule, the Democratic National
Committee stripped the two states of their delegates to the party's nominating
convention in August. But as the race between Clinton and Obama has tightened,
Democrats from both states have stepped up efforts to ensure that the voters
of Florida and Michigan - key states if Democrats hope to win the White House
- get a role in choosing the Democratic nominee.
As of Sunday night, the Associated Press' count had Obama with 1,578 delegates
and Clinton with 1,468. The nominee needs at least 2,025 delegates. Before the
party punished the two states, Florida was to have 210 convention delegates
and Michigan 156.
On Sunday, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) advanced the idea of another election,
this time by mail. If party officials refuse to seat his state's delegates,
he told CBS' "Face the Nation," "the only thing I know to do
is to do it over."
But Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said that the state had never conducted
a mail-in vote - and that an election as important as this one was not the
time to experiment.
"We had 1.75 million Democratic voters cast ballots on Jan. 29,"
she said on "Fox News Sunday." "It was a record turnout. And
the likelihood of getting that many people to mail a ballot back in is very
small."
The difference of opinion over the vote-by-mail idea underscores the dilemma
facing Democrats.
Party leaders must find a solution that satisfies both the Clinton and Obama
camps. Clinton got the most votes in the Florida and Michigan primaries, but
Obama's name was not on the Michigan ballot, and both candidates agreed not
to campaign in either state.
"Everybody, including me and, I think, both candidates, wants to find
a way to seat Florida and Michigan," Dean said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
"But it has to be done in such a way that you don't change the rules in
the middle of the game."
Party officials are racing the clock to come up with a solution and, if they
choose to hold another election, must figure out a way to pay for it. They plan
to hold more discussions this week.
Though the idea of a mail-in election also is being explored in Michigan, Sen.
Carl Levin (D-Mich.) saw problems. "Not just cost, but the security issue,"
he said on "This Week."
He added, "If there is a practical way to do it which people feel is secure
and fair, I believe a couple of million dollars could be raised" to pay
for it.
Though the states can appeal to a credentials committee at the convention to
have their delegates seated, Dean told CBS, "I think it's very unlikely
that Florida and Michigan, given how close this race is, are going to be seated
as is.
"But everybody's going to work very hard to find a compromise within the
rules that's fair to both campaigns that will allow Florida and Michigan, in
the end, to be seated."
He added that the national party would not pay for a do-over. "Right now,
our job is to ... convince the American people that our nominee is better
than Sen. McCain. And that's what we're going to be using our resources for."
State parties might pay.
Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-Fla.), a leader in the effort to settle the Florida
and Michigan disputes, is open to the idea of another election, perhaps by mail.
"I still don't know how we can tell 1.7 million Democrats that Jan. 29
was just a dry run," Hastings said.
"Look, if we can find the money and the voters want it, then I'm open
to being convinced that this is the best course of action."
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richard.simon@latimes.com
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