Should Hilary throw in the towel?
May 8th, 2008 by Jeff
Hilary Clinton is now being asked by many political pundits to step down from trying to beat out Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination. It appears that the only way she can win the nomination is for the Super Delegates to hand it to her. This would mean that the Super delegates would have to go against what the majority of democrats voted for. Obama has won the popular vote (and this won’t change after June 3rd) , has won more states (this won’t change after June 3rd), and has won more delegates (this also won’t change after June 3rd). It seems as though Obama has this in the bag. However, there are those super delegates, and they can vote for whomever they choose. And there are enough of them that they could bring Hilary Clinton to the magic number to win the Democratic Nomination.
I don’t anticipate this happening though since it would be political suicide to take an election away from the people and give the nomination to the person who got fewer votes, fewer delegates, and fewer states than the other candidate.
So this brings me to the original question. “Should Hilary throw in the towel?” No, not yet. Don’t get me wrong, I think her campaign is over. But she needs to stay in this race until June 3rd. And I believe that is exactly what she is going to do. This isn’t about dividing the party or unifying the party. It is about choice. I do believe this is still America, where we get to choose our leaders. So, the States that have not voted deserve a choice, and if she drops out they will have no choice.
If you have ever read my blog before, you know that I was and still am a Mike Huckabee supporter. I am truly disappointed that Republicans in the remaining states have no choice. John McCain is their nominee. The primary system simply isn’t as democratic as I think it should be. So I am glad that Florida and Michigan moved up their primary dates. In fact, I think more states should do it to pressure both parties to reform how they get their nominee. No group of States should be able to determine the nominee before everyone else gets a chance to vote. My preference would be a national popular vote system for each party. None of this delegate non-sense.
So for any Hilary Clinton advisor that might be browsing the blogosphere. Ask Hilary to stay in this race. Give your party a choice through June 3rd, and then it will be time to step down and begin supporting Barack Obama for the November election.
http://www.thebristows.com is an OpenID for Jeff Bristow
While the nomination process would still be in the hands of each party, the National Popular Vote bill being discussed state-by-state, is a promising approach for mending the Electoral College system, to make every vote equal in presidential elections. The bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and D.C.).
Under the Constitution, the states have exclusive and plenary (complete) power to allocate their electoral votes, and may change their state laws concerning the awarding of their electoral votes at any time. Under the bill, all of the states’ electoral votes in the interstate compact would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and D.C. The bill would take effect only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes — that is, enough electoral votes to elect a President (270 of 538).
In less than two years, the National Popular Vote bill has been signed into law in the small and large states of Maryland, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Illinois — states possessing 19% of the electoral votes necessary to bring it into effect (50 of 270). The bill has passed one-sixth of the legislative chambers in small and large states of the U.S. — one house in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina, and Washington, and both houses in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, and Vermont.
For more information, see http://www.NationalPopularVote.com
I really hope Hilary doesn’t quit the Democratic presidential race. I’ve been a Democrat in the past but may defect or not vote at all. I’m really ticked off she’s not going to be the candidate.