As all of us here well know, her only opponents in MI were Gravel, Kucinich, Dodd and uncommitted. But counting on a less-well-informed public [and interviewers on MSNBC who hear BS with equinamity] I was horrified to note that Hilary herself [McClatchey interview] as well as supporters such as Nita Lowey [Jan 21 on MSNBC interview] are touting her “win” in Michigan. Now I realize she was just exploiting the situation from the beginning. YUCK.

So far, it is the DNC Credentials Commission (a sub set of the DNC) that has made the ruling regarding Florida and Michigan. Outside the window, the Convention will not seat the delegates. But this can be appealed.

After delegations from each state and territory are set, each delegation will appoint two members, one male, one female, to the Convention Committees such as rules, Platform and Credentials. You can be sure that who ever controls the delegation numerically in each state will appoint committee members favorable to their candidate. The appeal of a credentials ruling by the DNC Commission would go to the Credentials Committee of the Convention. There are about 110 members of these committees (Americans Abroad, Guam, Virgin Islands, etc., all get one member).

Hillary must anticipate that she will control (hold the majority) in at least 50% of these delegations — and she may, we certainly don’t know yet. At any rate, the Credentials Committee will issue a ruling, but if there is a viable minority (I think it is about 25% of the committee members) it can be further appealed to the floor. In which case, floor fight will transpire. The decision of the convention is final. Remember, in calculating who controls a delegation, you have to add in the Super Delegates, many of whom are not yet selected, (The State Legislators, city and county elected officials selected as Superdelegates) and many others are not yet declared.

Depending on how things come out Feb 5, it could well be a floor vote on the credentials matter could tell us how the nomination will come out.

In other news, you might be amused, M, that Obama just happens to be speaking downstairs from my office on Monday… at the same time I’ll be going through election judge training so that we can avoid what happened around here in the primaries two years ago, heh heh (although apparently we’ll be going back to paper/optical-scan ballots in 2010).

Obama seems to swing from offense to defense, roll with the punches sort of like the seaweed rolls with the tide. He is listless. Then, he abruptly lashes out with a good zinger. Then he complains about having to campaign against two Clintons. And then he tag-teams with his wife in family self-defense. And somehow this is perceived alternately as clever and desperate.

Obama fooled around with the rules and technicalities. Hillary fooled around with the rules and technicalities. And the Superdelegates are laughing and meeting in their own backrooms to deal with who gets the biggest chunk of delegates in the real world barring some tidal wave change of election dynamics.

Edwards is right. The system is rigged from top to bottom. It IS broken and this H&O crap is living proof.

I am sticking with Edwards. All. The. Way.

That’s okay, I suspect I won’t get as warm a welcome from Granholm next time I see her.

I’m just angry that I don’t get to see any of the candidates make campaign appearances in the state and now all of a sudden one of the candidates is saying we’ve had a fair and equal process in Florida so go ahead and seat the delegates. Floridians haven’t even seen the candidates in person at all. How is that a fair process?

There are 5 FL congressional members (Sen. Nelson, Reps. Hastings, Wasserman-Schultz, Meek, & C. Brown) who are backing Hillary Clinton and they have been some of the loudest voices in favor of the changed date and against the DNC after the FL legislature voted. Does that mean anything? I don’t know much about Karen Thurman other than what I read in the press and in emails from the FL Democratic Party but she, Sen. Nelson, and (former judge) Rep. Hastings seem not to have a clue about the well established legal precedent that national parties make their own rules as well as the recent example of Delaware in ‘96 and ‘00 holding a beauty contest primary and then awarding delegates by caucus later in the process.

As for the Florida Legislature – maybe it’s too much to expect them to have any sense of the national politics but the 118-0 vote in the House sure doesn’t help the case of the Florida Democratic Party who claim to be victims of the GOP agenda to the DNC.