Another Petition

by Todd Beeton, Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 04:30:29 PM EDT

The Denver Post has the update on the roll call situation (h/t DemConWatch):

The move being worked out between the Obama campaign and officials behind Clinton's suspended bid, would work in two parts: Delegates would cast votes at their hotels Wednesday morning; that night, at the Pepsi Center convention site, the roll-call process would rely on the votes cast that morning, the delegates said.
...
The evening event would call on the delegation from Illinois, which Obama serves as the junior senator, and then move to New York, which Clinton represents.
After New York delegates applaud Clinton's long-fought and historic candidacy, a motion would be made to accept the votes cast at breakfast.

Hillary delegates are not happy. I ran into a woman as I was entering the hard perimeter on my way into the Pepsi Center collecting signatures to a new petition demanding a public roll call. As she told me:

We circulated the 300 petition to get Hillary a roll call vote and they gave it to us but now they're trying to nullify it...They want everyone to do a ballot at breakfast, turn it in behind closed doors. We believe all the people who voted for Hillary should be represented.

This is the same sentiment I heard from Hillary delegates at the California delegation breakfast this morning, particularly Gloria Allred, who was protesting having been "gagged" from organizing a gathering of Hillary delegates and from speaking at the California delegation. What she said she wants is for every Hillary delegate to be able to vote for her on the first ballot. The reason she intends to vote for Hillary: she represents thousands of Hillary voters and she owes it to them. But also, she feels it is her obligation per DNC rules. Whatever the technicalities of it, every Hillary delegate I spoke to expressed the desire to vote for her, to express their support for her, but not to the exclusion of supporting Barack Obama ultimately. This is what most "Democrats in disarray" storylines don't seem to get. These delegates are excited to support Barack Obama, they're all for him, but they want the opportunity to vote for her publicly and they see some sexism in the prohibition from being able to do so (why no roll call vote for Hillary when it's been done before.)

More on this as I hear it. I'm in the blogger lounge right now because the sweet blogger section in the hall lost internet. Hopefully it's back and I'll be able to liveblog everything coming up tonight.

Tags: DNCC, Hillary Clinton (all tags)

Comments

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Re: Another Petition

Sigh.

by Skaje 2008-08-26 04:33PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

So basically Hillary supporters won't be happy until the entire Democratic party has been destroyed?

by cmize 2008-08-26 04:35PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

This would not be the first time to have a public roll call.

If you keep up that attitude, then frankly yes, I would rather see the Democratic Party destroyed.

by PhillyGuy 2008-08-26 04:42PM | 0 recs

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I think the party is strong enough

for a full roll call vote.

As an early and ardent Obama supporter I am disappointed in the way party leaders are trying to stage manage this roll call vote.

by Lefty Coaster 2008-08-26 04:44PM | 0 recs

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Re: I think the party is strong enough

I want to know what Hillary's thoughts are about this.

by yitbos96bb 2008-08-26 05:08PM | 0 recs

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Re: I think the party is strong enough

I agree on all counts... also as an ardent Obama supporter who hung onto his MyDD posting privileges by the skin of his teeth during primary season :-)

Have the floor vote!

I don't think it's any secret to America that the Democratic primary was extremely close, fairly hard fought - probably the hardest fought since '72.

What I'm just not getting... Who in the hell is behind blocking the floor vote? I have seen no indication that the Obama camp is blocking it. The DNC seems tight-lipped.

This is over-management by... well... by whomever is trying to overmanage it.

The election this fall is not going to turn on whether the floor vote is a walk through or a real accounting of the delegate totals.

So Obama clears the hurdle by 100 delegates... so what...

by zonk 2008-08-26 05:08PM | 0 recs

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Your comment reads better

if you ad the word "some" before Hillary supporters.

by kevin22262 2008-08-26 04:53PM | 0 recs

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Re: Your comment reads better

Thank you, someone said it.

by RJEvans 2008-08-26 04:59PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

If the Democratic Party cannot survive a roll call vote, then it has already been destroyed.

Seriously, who do the Obama people think they're kidding? Do they think that if they hold the vote at breakfast, the media won't notice...that the story of the day won't be "Obama was afraid of a roll call vote so he tried to slip it by when the cameras weren't rolling..."? This is the Democratic Party...trying to turn it into the Republican Party in stylistic terms isn't going to work...the more Obama tries to exert control, the more the media is going to hype the PUMAs. Better to let them have their moment in spotlight and then move on, rather than trying to squelch them, which isn't going to work.

by Alice in Florida 2008-08-26 05:10PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

Dammit, Obama, just do this the normal way and suck it up. Any "disunity" taht gets shown will be more than made up for by the goodwill that a little humility will make.

by vcalzone 2008-08-26 04:37PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

I don't see any indication they ARE the ones trying to block it.

The quotes out of the campaign certainly say otherwise and the rumor mongering at places like Politico seem to indicate they're in favor of it.

I absolutely agree with having the floor vote... but it's not at all clear exactly who is trying to snuff it.

by zonk 2008-08-26 05:10PM | 0 recs

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Boo

And might I add: hoo. Hillary: the first person EVER to not get a nomination! This is such utter bullshit I hardly know where to start.

by Tangie3 2008-08-26 04:38PM | 0 recs

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Re: Boo

I'm with ya on this one.

by vcalzone 2008-08-26 04:38PM | 0 recs

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Re: Boo

Can you even imagine if the roles were reversed and she had won and Obama was demanding this kind of crap? This whole thing is making me sick.

by cmize 2008-08-26 04:42PM | 0 recs

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Re: Boo

Keep in mind, Clinton is not requesting a public roll call, her supporters are.

by RJEvans 2008-08-26 04:44PM | 0 recs

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Re: Boo

That's a really fair and great point. I'd like to here her thoughts on this, but we never will.

by yitbos96bb 2008-08-26 05:09PM | 0 recs

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Re: Boo

Knock off the bullshit. There's no indication whatsoever that Hillary Clinton wants anything to do with this.

Yeah, she has some people supporting her who optimists would refer to as "passionate" and pessimists would refer to as "zealots." Just like Barack Obama does this year. Just like Howard Dean did in 2004.

Clinton isn't demanding a fucking thing. Get your facts straight as opposed to just adding to the swarm of crap.

by Jaxon 2008-08-26 04:54PM | 0 recs

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Re: Boo

i think that is a critical point that should be added to the diary for context, it may not be widely known

by KLRinLA 2008-08-26 05:07PM | 0 recs

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how about a vote early in afternoon

the convention begins at 5:00 PM

have the vote at the beginning of the schedule.

by Al Rodgers 2008-08-26 04:38PM | 0 recs

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Re: how about a vote early in afternoon

Similar thought:

Do the public state delegate roll-call vote early, then pull in the super vote right before his speech. That way, he's not the actual nominee until the nomination process finishes (so he can accept when he's announced according to the plan) and you get the roll-call vote.

by TCQuad 2008-08-26 04:56PM | 0 recs

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Gloria

I am sure glad Gloria does not speak for me! What an attention grabbing POS.

by Monkei 2008-08-26 04:40PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

All this for something that no one will remember in a few weeks anyway.

by thezzyzx 2008-08-26 04:49PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

I know that tradition is for a full roll-call vote.

But this is a very important year. We have the House and Senate, so if we win the presidency we can get an amazing number of policies through. We're in a war and our economy is in the trash. The Supreme Court is teetering on the brink of return to conservatism, possibly for a generation.

Not only that, but I think we've learned the lessons from men in the past who made the wrong choice by not fully supporting the nominee of the party (it would be rather tasteless to spell that one out right now). While it's possible that a roll-call vote will have a net positive effect, it could also have a net negative effect, especially taking media coverage into account.

Can Hillary supporters at least entertain the notion that one can oppose a roll call vote without being sexist?

Hillary and Bill both have prime-time speeches, on separate days. I don't think anybody is sweeping them or their supporters under the rug.

by randomscientist 2008-08-26 04:50PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

As a woman living in a deep red state, I fully intend to write in Hillary's name on my ballot in November. McCain's up more than 20% here, in a state that's never gone Dem, so no chance Obama even stands a chance here.

You won't understand, but I have and still do tear up at the idea of casting a vote for Hillary for president, for a serious woman candidate who deserves my vote. It is important to be able to vote for her. TO do so at a convention, for show's sake, before closing the door forever on the chance that she'll be president (honestly, 8 years will be too late for her), that's something reasonable for people to want.

If the situations were reversed, and the African-American community wanted the same opportunity, to voice their support for Obama, absolutely we'd do it.

by milton333 2008-08-26 04:54PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

I get it.

by vcalzone 2008-08-26 04:59PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

I don't think it's unreasonable for people to want it. I totally understand the desire of people who worked so hard for her to have a symbolic record of her support and her candidacy.

I just think that the concerns of the country far outweigh that benefit.

If Clinton had won, I like to think that my answer would be the same. But we can never know :)

by randomscientist 2008-08-26 05:02PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

If Clinton had won, I'd KNOW my answer would be the same. I preferred Obama, but I was more than willing to support whoever won.

by thezzyzx 2008-08-26 05:03PM | 0 recs

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"The concerns of the country"

I'm concerned that if the Democratic Party puts all this effort into opposing a roll call vote, it will be the centerpiece of McCain's speech next week..."My opponent is such a coward he wouldn't even allow his party to hold a roll call vote"--he will capitalize on it big time, he will have commercials about it, it will live on. Avoiding the vote is a stupid idea that we just can't afford. We need to let these people speak in order to get them on board--this election is too important. It's time for Obama to be a little less "audacious" and a little more "Democratic".

by Alice in Florida 2008-08-26 05:21PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

I'm hoping an awful lot of this goes away after her speech tonight. I understand their point about wanting the opportunity to fulfill their duty and to vote for the candidate to whom they've pledged, but it doesn't change anything in the long run.

As a former Clinton supporter myself, it really is time to let it go. Obama's the candidate, and he's infinitely, insanely better than John McCain.

Maybe they should channel their energy into something that benefits everybody. Like maybe driving Mark Penn out of the party.

by Jaxon 2008-08-26 04:58PM | 0 recs

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Hillary

is giving it her all!

Aides: Clinton to make strong case for Obama
Speakers take more aggressive approach in turning focus to McCain
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26404528/

by kevin22262 2008-08-26 04:56PM | 0 recs

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Public roll call is good

I'm long on record here as a hardcore Obama supporter. But I have sympathy for those committed Hillary supporters who want a chance to vote for the candidate they were pledged to support. I saw that delegate from Maryland who seemed to waver on the McCain v. Obama and it had mostly to do with how the party was treating her. It seemed that if she had a chance to vote for Hillary, she'd feel that her voice was heard and she could come on board for Obama.

That seems the right move.

The only oddity is if Hillary herself calls for the roll call to end. Then what?

by elrod 2008-08-26 04:59PM | 0 recs

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Re: Public roll call is good

That's is what's going to happen? Will people's heads explode when even Hillary says enough is enough, it's time to vote on policy?

by Hillis45 2008-08-26 05:07PM | 0 recs

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Who really cares?

Middle America doesn't give a shit about a roll call, they want answers about the economy, foreign policy, and the direction in which Obama wants to lead us. This is typical political bullshit where people are just a bunch of attention whores. This party makes me do a facepalm on a regular basis.

The Republicans are enjoying watching you people fuck everything up. Congrats!

by hocuspocus 2008-08-26 05:04PM | 0 recs

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Keep your eyes on the prize people

The purpose of this convention is to build support for November - period.

All these morons are achieving are:

1. helping to get McCain elected

2. f***ing Hillary's chances of ever winning a nomination again - the next time she stands, be it for President, Governor or Senator this will not be forgotten. The AnybodyButHillary candidate will get a huge head start - not just among AAs and progressives but by a large percentage of ordinary Democrats.

by prem28885 2008-08-26 05:43PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

This is... silly. It really is.

The evening event would call on the delegation from Illinois, which Obama serves as the junior senator, and then move to New York, which Clinton represents.
After New York delegates applaud Clinton's long-fought and historic candidacy, a motion would be made to accept the votes cast at breakfast.

That seems like a pretty rational and appropriate idea. It gives Hillary the public nod that it seems her supporters want, it gives Obama the traditional acclimation from Illinois... I really no longer understand this issue.

by auronrenouille 2008-08-26 05:51PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

It's because the unhinged Hillary supporters have gotten way too much media coverage over the last two days so they are going to continue howling until they destroy the party. This whole thing should have been a non-issue but the media is looking for a story and the PUMAs are there to give them one.

by cmize 2008-08-26 06:08PM | 0 recs

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Re: Another Petition

I'm not at the convention but it seems to me that the reason the election is being taken care of in the morning is obvious. Conventions have become prime time opportunities to make speeches. If that time is lost to boring floor votes you will lose the attention of viewers. Democrats have made this mistake before. Carrying floor votes that delay the speeches till 2 or 3 in the morning. That is just stupid! Get the voting done during the day, and bring on the speeches. It is what people want to see.

by captcoyote 2008-08-27 07:18AM | 0 recs