The Michigan Conundrum

To all of my Democratic Party Officials, State and National, Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and especially to Howard Dean and Mark Brewer:

In 2004 I was honored and privileged to be a Dean Delegate to the Democratic National Convention. There weren't many of us. Shortly after the Michigan primary Howard Dean stopped earning delegates. The Dean campaign had been a very special campaign that brought a lot of new people into the political conversation. He was a refreshing voice, and I was honored to have worked for his election, and to represent that legion of supporters.

In our congressional district, we elected two Dean delegates. By the rules of the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) the Kerry delegation could have swamped the Dean caucus and elected "one of their own". As it happens several people with a significant voice in the party stepped forward and said that the enthusiasm of Howard's supporters would be needed in the general election. Let the Dean supporters elect the Dean delegates. Even though it turned out to be not enough to get Kerry elected, they were right.

Here's the thing...at that point it did not matter to the outcome of the National Convention. Kerry had the nomination sewn up.

Michigan is in a very different position now. The outcome of the nomination process is not yet clear. Personally I am supporting Barack Obama. For that reason I should be happy that Michigan is not being counted. But I am not. I believe in universal enfranchisement. This process has disenfranchised me, and millions of others.

The election was fraudulent. You cannot tell people that an election is not going to count, and then later try and say it does. The results are bound to be skewed...especially if one of the candidate's name was not even on the ballot.

I am not writing with a solution. There were several workable solutions that either the national or state party could have embraced in the past. Those opportunities have slipped by. It is not up to me or ANY VOTER IN THE STATE to produce the solution. We are the victims of disenfranchisement, not the cause.

Blame can be shared between the MDP and Democratic National Party. And you cannot wait until it does not matter and seat a meaningless delegation. And yet, that seems to be what party officials are doing.

The stakes are high. Mitt Romney is going to be stumping for McCain in Michigan. And in spite of McCain's "lost jobs" comments during the primary, he has a history of bipartisan support in this state. Many democrats crossed party lines to vote for him in the 2000 primary. Yes, some of them were thumbing their noses at Engler...and it worked. The McCain victory was the beginning of the end of Engler's electoral political career. But tens of thousands of crossover voters fell for his "maverick" appeal.

I know that McCain is not a maverick. He is a very conservative politician who believes in the war in Iraq. As much as I would detest a McCain presidency, it remains that I have had no say in the selection of the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. And I am campaigning with all the enthusiasm of a disenfranchised voter. Exactly none. And I am not alone.

As I play with an electoral vote calculator I can find scenarios that allow a democrat to win without Michigan...but the options are limited. If the candidates are serious about winning in November, they have to sit down with the Michigan Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee to find a MEANINGFUL solution soon.

(If you have suggestions for a meaningful solution, let me know. Or even better, let Mark Brewer and Howard Dean know.)