Hillary vs. Uncommitted
January 15, 2008
The primaries take place in Michigan today, but there are only two major choices on the Democratic ballot – Hillary Clinton and “Uncommitted.” That’s because Michigan’s Democratic Party is being chastised by the Democratic National Committee for moving the date of their primary. The DNC has determined that it will not recognize any delegates from the State of Michigan at National Convention, leading all of the top-tier candidates except Hillary Clinton to withdraw their names from the ballot. As a result, Democratic voters in Michigan are basically left to choose between Hillary Clinton and Not Hillary Clinton.
DNC rules stipulate that no state other than Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina may schedule their primary or caucus earlier than February 5, but Michigan decided to go ahead with plans to hold their primary on January 15. Mark Brewer, Chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, said that he didn’t believe the Democratic National Committee would impose the sentence, and that “the Democratic presidential nominee will insist the state’s delegates be seated at the convention” (AP via MSNBC).
There is a similar situation unfolding in Florida, where the local Democratic Party has scheduled their primary for January 29. There, also, most of the Democratic candidates have refused to campaign.
Officially Dennis Kucinich, Chris Dodd, and Mike Gravel are also on the Michigan ballot. However, supporters of Barack Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, and Joe Biden will find themselves unable to cast their vote for their candidate. For them, the only option is to choose between a different candidate and “uncommitted.”
