Let Democrats Vote

George Wenschhof

Why all the fuss about the democrats needing to settle on their nominee for president? It seems every day there is a democratic official calling for the primary to end so further damage to the party can be avoided.

Here is a article about how Governor Phil Bredesen of Tennesee believes the nominee will be determined by the superdelegates. He proposes the superdelegates meet and vote to determine the nominee in June after the conclusion of the primary schedule but prior to the convention in late August. Here is a good read in the Politico.com http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9217.html

Today, it was U.S. Senator Pat Leahy (Vt.) calling on Senator Hillary Clinton to drop out and support Senator Barack Obama. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/28/senator-leahy-to-clinton_n_93878.html

The chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Howard Dean has also expressed his concern about the nomination being determined at their convention in August. He agrees with Governor Bredesen that the superdelegates should meet in early June.
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1726131,00.html

How about letting the voters in the eight remaining states, Guam and Puerto Rico express their thoughts on who the nominee should be? It would seem that the most democratic action would be to support and encourage the voters in the remaining states to participate.

Contrary to what some democratic party leaders may feel, this is the first time in many years when the vote in each state will make a difference in determining the democratic party nominee for president. While voters are saying "McCain who?", the attention is on the democratic candidates as they express the need for a change in the present republican George W. Bush administration.

Instead of fretting and pooh poohing the situation, party leaders should be rejoicing at the record number of voters participating in each state as a result of the quality candidates the party has running in this election.

While they are at it, they should be encouraging a traditional state run revote in Michigan and Florida paid for by both the Obama and Clinton campaigns with financial assistance from the Florida and Michigan state democratic parties, whose actions precipitated the draconian sanctions by the DNC.

Forget about mail in primaries in these two states and forget about whether or not a democratic voter voted in the Republican primary of the previously sanctioned democratic primaries. Just have a redo state run primary for registered democrats in Michigan and Florida. A failure to have a do-over primary in these two states will have a much more harmful effect to the democratic party than a broker-ed national convention.

Howard Dean and the DNC should be preparing for the possibility of a broker-ed convention by making sure rules and guidelines are in place for the elected delegates who attend. This should not be looked upon as a negative, but rather as a positive. The democrats holding a convention that actually means something and where democracy will be in action would be a pleasant surprise.

As one who voted for Senator Obama, I want him to be the nominee as a result of the voters in all the states having the opportunity to vote in the democratic primary schedule.

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