It has been stated and repeated by Hillary and her supporters that Obama opposes counting the votes in Fl and MI. This is just another example of Hillary's ambition exceeding her care for party and country. There was no vote in Fl nor MI and for her to actually try to count all her votes and no others is the height of arrogance..

The DNC legitimate primary proces:

Let’s look at the Delegate Selection Rules of the DNC :

No meetings, caucuses, conventions or primaries which constitute the first determining stage in the presidential nomination process (the date of the primary in primary states, and the date of the first tier caucus in caucus states) may be held prior to the first Tuesday in February or after the second Tuesday in June in the calendar year of the national convention.

Provided, however, :

1. that the Iowa precinct caucuses may be held no earlier than 22 days before the first Tuesday in February;
2. that the Nevada first-tier caucuses may be held no earlier than 17 days before the first Tuesday in February;
3. that the New Hampshire primary may be held no earlier than 14 days before the first Tuesday in February;
4. and that the South Carolina primary may be held no earlier than 7 days before the first Tuesday in February.
5. In no instance may a state which scheduled delegate selection procedures on or between the first Tuesday in February and the second Tuesday in June 1984 move out of compliance with the provisions of this rule.

The first Tuesday in February was the 5th, so that 22 days prior would be January 14th.

Thus, the Nevada caucuses could be held no earlier than the 19th,

the New Hampshire primary could be held no earlier than January 22nd, and so on.

Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina all moved their caucuses and primaries in violation of DNC rules, and yet suffered no penalty, not even the standard 1/2 reduction in delegates.

So why were Michigan and Florida afforded such draconian treatment?

This is what the DNC said the primary calender should look like, in their own words.

The new DNC Rules and Bylaws for the caucus and primary 2008 calendar schedule is as follows:

* Iowa holds the first-in-the-nation caucus on January 14.

* New Hampshire holds the first-in-the-nation primary on January 22.

* Nevada conducts a caucus between Iowa and New Hampshire on Saturday, January 19.

* South Carolina holds a primary 1 week after the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, January 29

This is what ACTUALLY HAPPENED........

Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina all moved their caucuses and primaries in violation of DNC rules, and yet suffered no penalty, not even the standard 1/2 reduction in delegates.

(1) Iowa

The earliest Caucus could be held = 1/14/2008

The Caucus was held = 1/3/2008 - A violation of 11 days

(2) New Hampshire

The earliest the Primary could be held = 1/22/2008

The Primary was held = 1/8/2008 - A violation of 14 days

(3) Nevada

The caucus was held January 19th, but was changed from second in the schedule to third in the schedule.

Nevada was supposed to be the second Caucus, ahead of New Hampshire, but New Hampshire and Nevada switched positions around, while Nevada still kept their date of January 19th.

South Carolina

The earliest the Primary could be held = 1/29/2008

The Primary was held = 1/26/2008 - A violation of 3 days

These 3 states violated the rules but are still having ALL their delegates seated at the convention.

Then there is the rest of the story

Michigan

The earliest the Primary could be held = 2/5/2008

The Primary was held = 1/15/2008 - A violation of 21 days

Florida

The earliest the Primary could be held = 2/5/2008

The Primary was held = 1/29/2008 - A violation of 3 days

The DNC is in violation of it’s own rules.

I would ask this about Michigan and Florida : WHY only Fl and MI were punished?

Why were the others given waivers?

Dreambird - that's all pretty interesting. Any idea why it's not covered at all in the last 5 months???

Moving all of the dates up was in response to Michigan and Florida's attempt to change the order of the primaries.

They were sanctioned for trying to change the order of the primaries. It is incidental that all of the dates were forced to move up.

That makes sense.

BTW, I had a conversation today with someone who has worked pretty high up in the Florida Senate for aobut 8 years now.

She said that there is no way that this was stuffed through by Republicans. That didn't and couldn't happen in the coalition-driven Senate. This was hashed out at the top levels of each State party.

The Dems thought it was a safe bet because Hillary had it locked, and the Republicans felt they could live with losing half their delegates because they were super confident that Florida would remain red.

Both parties, at the State level, are flummoxed and floundering for some kind of way to come out of this without looking ridiculous.

They can't.

before the voting started. She only cared about the voters when she lost her 40% after running a terrible campaign. Her crockodile tears are only fooling those who want to be fooled.

dreambird,

In re DNC violating its own rules -

The DNC established its primary calender in 2006. In August 2006, the DNC Rules and Bylaws committee adopted the rule that for the 2008 primary, only Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina (the states you claim are in violation of the rules) would be permitted to hold primaries or caucuses before Feb. 5, 2008.

Those states were in compliance with the rules. MI and FL were not.

Further all the Democratic presidential candidates, including and especially Hillary Clinton, signed the attached pledge which states that,

"I shall not campaign or participate in any state which schedules a presidential election primary or caucus before Feb. 5, 2008, except for the states of Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina"

<link>

I hope that clears up any confusion about alleged violations of states other than MI and FL.