| 11:24 PM: | Angry Clinton supporters tell party leaders: 'Let's go McCain!' Democratic leaders hopeful that a deal to seat delegates from Florida and Michigan would mark an end to the deep division the controversy has brought to the party got some instant and less than encouraging feedback as they finalized the measure Saturday evening. CNN. | |
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| 11:22 PM: | The new math in Florida and Michigan. After a day of wrangling in Washington, the magic number for the Democratic presidential nomination is now 2,118, and Hillary Clinton nets 24 largely symbolic votes. Salon. | |
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| 11:22 PM: | Capitalizing: A Nod to the Insiders. Yes, the cry is in the air: Change Washington. But the behind-the-scenes players will remain at their posts. And maybe that’s not all bad. NYT. | |
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| 9:44 PM: | Hillary Clinton to be offered dignified exit. Hillary Clinton will be offered a dignified exit from the presidential race and the prospect of a place in Barack Obama's cabinet under plans for a "negotiated surrender" of her White House ambitions being drawn up by Senator Obama's aides. Telegraph (U.K.). | |
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| 9:21 PM: | Clinton Supporter Thrown Out of Rules Committee Meeting. Her name is Harriet Christian. I'm sure we'll see her on Letterman. YouTube. | |
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| 8:54 PM: | USA political election logos 2008 - 1960. Check it out. Jim Posner. | |
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| 8:35 PM: | The New Math. Out of the day, Clinton got 87 pledged delegates to Obama's 63 for a net of 24. (52.5 to 33.5 out of Florida; 34.5 to 29.5 out of Michigan.) MSNBC. | |
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| 8:30 PM: | Late Night: A Few Words about F-Words. Let's say a few words about the F-word. Firedoglake. | |
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| 8:29 PM: | Rep. Wexler's excellent adventure. Camera-loving congressman steals the show at DNC meeting. Politico. | |
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| 8:29 PM: | I'm wearing armor right now. And Harold Ickes was right. Harold Ickes, speaking on behalf of the Clinton campaign, came in for a lot of criticism for his remarks on the Michigan compromise, under which the pledged delegates were split 69-59 in favor of Clinton, but each getting only a half vote. Daily Kos. | |
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| 8:22 PM: | Hastings boycotting Democratic convention. At least one high-profile Florida Democrat is not ready to set aside the dispute with the national party: U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings of Miramar said he would skip the nominating convention in Denver. Miami Herald. | |
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| 8:15 PM: | Obama Camp Had Votes For Better Deal, But Didn't Press. Obama actually had the votes to get a 50-50 delegate split out of Michigan -- but by just a vote or two. However, it was decided to go with the 69-59 split to win a larger majority. That measure passed 19-8. Daily Kos. | |
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| 7:36 PM: | Clinton in VP Slot? Um... Not Likely. A few of the TV heads were positing that what Clinton primarily wanted today is something that can give her claims of "winning the popular vote (minus all the other states that don't count)" some degree of legitimacy, which she will then use to leverage Obama into giving her the Vice President slot. Daily Kos. | |
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| 7:35 PM: | Text of Obama's church remarks. The transcript of a news conference by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) In Aberdeen, S.D., as provided by the campaign. Politico. | |
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| 6:49 PM: | THE GAUNTLET. Obama aide Anita Dunn, per ABC News: "Asked if Obama would wait to get a concession call from Clinton before claiming the nomination, Dunn said the onus was on Clinton now that the Democratic Party has firmed up the number of delegates needed to claim the party’s nod." Time. | |
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| 6:48 PM: | Obama Forgoes Chance at More Delegates, Looks to Heal Wounds. Democratic party rules-committee members said Barack Obama turned down two chances to increase his share of the disputed Florida and Michigan delegates. He instead instructed his supporters on the committee to agree to seating plans for the two states that allowed Hillary Clinton to narrow his lead. WSJ. | |
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| 6:38 PM: | Bonus Quote of the Day. "My momma taught me to play by the rules and respect those rules. My mother taught me, and I'm sure your mother taught you, that when you decide change the rules, middle of the game, end of the game, that is referred to as cheatin'." -- Donna Brazile, quoted by NBC News. Political Wire. | |
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| 6:36 PM: | Democrat: "I'm voting for John McCain, are you kidding me?" So says a Democrat at today's meeting of the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee. Redstate. | |
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| 6:31 PM: | Hillary Clinton's Idea of Fun... ABC News' Eloise Harper reports: Does standing for six hours in a moving pick-up truck with dirt and wind blowing in your face, waving and waving the whole time, sound like fun? Well according to Sen. Hillary Clinton it was... ABC. | |
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| 5:45 PM: | McCain's McClellan Nightmare. Americans don't like being lied to by their leaders, especially if there are casualties involved and especially if there's no accountability. We view it as a crime story, and we won't be satisfied until there's a resolution. Frank Rich. | |
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| 5:41 PM: | Democrats compromise on Florida and Michigan. The Democratic Party backed a compromise to seat half of the disputed Michigan and Florida delegations on Saturday, sparking anger from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and a threat to press the issue all the way to the August nominating convention. Reuters. | |
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| 5:40 PM: | Protests Illustrate Problems Facing Divided Democratic Party. As Democratic party leaders debated the fate of the Florida and Michigan delegation, protestors outside illustrated the divide between many Obama and Clinton supporters. Newsweek. | |
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| 5:40 PM: | Scott McClellan on Cheney, Rove, Partisan Politics. Scott McCellan reflects on the reaction to his highly critical book about the Bush administration. Newsweek. | |
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| 5:29 PM: | Barack in Charge. Make no mistake about it. The decision rendered today by the Democratic National Committee's rules panel showed that Barack Obama has displaced Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, as boss of the party. Craig Crawford. | |
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| 5:28 PM: | Clinton Supporter Ejected From Rules Meeting, "McCain Will Be Our Next President" Things grew increasingly contentious toward the end of the Rules Committee meeting, and a Clinton supporter -- who identified herself as Harriet Christian -- was ejected from the room. I followed her into the hallway and she had her say for the cameras... Firedoglake. | |
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| 5:27 PM: | Clinton Reserves Right to Challenge Michigan Ruling. Shortly after the news broke of the RBC's decisions regarding Michigan and Florida’s delegation, Clinton campaign spokesman Mo Elleithee read a statement from the campaign to the press corps. WSJ. | |
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| 4:21 PM: | Ickes' Threat. The sociopath's option: "Mrs. Clinton has reserved her right to take this to the credentials committee." Andrew Sullivan. | |
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| 4:20 PM: | Thirty Pieces of Silver From the Pulpit. CNN is reporting that Barack Obama is leaving Trinity United Church of Christ. It is a little late for that. He has been there for twenty years. Why is he leaving all of a sudden? Is it because there is another untold story out there? Does he suspect the media will stop covering his connections to Wright and Pfleger if he now throws the church under the bus? Redstate. | |
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| 4:20 PM: | Rules and Bylaws Committee: Michigan Decision. In a decision mirroring Florida's fate, Michigan's 128 pledged delegates will be heading to Denver, Colo., this August for the party's national convention but with one half of one vote assigned to each delegate. WSJ. | |
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| 4:19 PM: | Michigan: A Done Deal But Bitterness Lingers. The Rules and Bylaws Committee approved a motion that would seat Michigan's disputed delegates based on a complicated allocation formula. Washington Post. | |
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| 4:08 PM: | 50% solution for Florida passes 27-0. A Florida solution is unanimously approved. Ben Smith. | |
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| 4:07 PM: | Ickes On MI Proposal: Here it is: Hillary Clinton 69 votes, casting 34.5 votes; Barack Obama 59 votes, casting 29.5 votes. Don Fowler Says it's not his first choice. But the proposal is the result of extensive negotiations and discussions and is in "the best interest of electing a Democrat in November." Natl Journal. | |
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| 4:01 PM: | Motion: 50% For FL. Despite seeing her earlier motion go down, Alice Huffman supports the new one. And she firmly beats back boos and shouts from opponents in the audience: "We cannot leave here and not do something for relief for Florida. The world is not perfect but it's good." Natl Journal. | |
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| 4:01 PM: | Florida compromise passes. A motion that would seat the entire Florida delegation and give them all a half vote just passed unanimously. That measure would net Clinton 19 pledged delegates (Clinton picks up 52.5, Obama gets 33.5, and Edwards 6.5). In addition, all Florida superdelegates will be seated, but with half a vote each. MSNBC. | |
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| 4:00 PM: | Florida: The Deal is Done. After months of uncertainty, the morass of the Florida Democratic primary has been resolved. Washington Post. | |
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| 3:41 PM: | Rules committee reaches deal. The rules committee has come to an agreement on both Michigan and Florida, a rules committee member confirms to First Read. Florida was not a problem during the luncheon meeting, but Michigan was an all together different story. It looked as if the agreement they were going to come to was going to pass by a razor-thin, one or two person, majority, but they went back because they didn't want that. MSNBC. | |
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| 3:31 PM: | Obama Resigns Church Membership. The resignation came just over a month after Obama denounced his former pastor and friend the Rev. Jeremiah Wright after the pastor made a series of controversial comments seen as unpatriotic and divisive and just days after new that another long-time Obama associate, the Rev. Michael Pfleger had delivered a sermon ridiculing Hillary Clinton from the church's pulpit. Both men's comments were captured on video. Natl Journal. | |
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| 3:30 PM: | Obama Quits His Church. Jake Tapper, George Stephanopoulos, and Sunlen Miller report: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., today resigned from his controversial church, Trinity United Church of Christ on the South Side of Chicago. ABC. | |
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| 3:30 PM: | Obama Quits Trinity. A rough day. And the Clintons will not relent. They'd rather destroy the party than hand it to Obama. Andrew Sullivan. | |
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| 3:23 PM: | Obama leaving his church. Sen. Barack Obama is leaving Trinity United Church of Christ, his longtime religious home on Chicago's South Side and a place that has triggered repeated controversies during his presidential bid. Chicago Tribune. | |
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| 3:19 PM: | Clinton camp signals it's not so close on Florida. Just outside the ballroom where the Democratic Party's Rules and Bylaws Committee is deciding how to handle the seating of the Florida and Michigan delegations, the Clinton campaign said Saturday it was unwilling to concede the "concession" offered by the Obama team during morning remarks. CNN. | |
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| 3:18 PM: | Report: Obama Resigns from Trinity United Church. Reported by the Chicago Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet. Time. | |
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| 3:08 PM: | Gore, Dean Headline 'Unity Dinner' Fundraiser. The former candidates attend high-dollar gathering at private residences Saturday evening in Manhattan. Time. | |
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| 3:08 PM: | Among McCain's Strongest Supporters. Clintonites. And check this one out. If these are typical of Hillary delegate, it's going to be one hell of a convention. Andrew Sullivan. | |
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| 3:02 PM: | Where They Are Sunday. Obama: Sioux Falls, Mitchell, SD. Clinton: San Juan, Puerto Rico. McCain: Washington, DC (No public events). Bill Clinton: Stevensville, Anaconda, Great Falls, Helena, MT. Time. | |
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| 3:00 PM: | McCain Meets with State Chair of N.Y. Independence Party. U.S. Senator John McCain met briefly with the state chair of the Independence Party of New York, Frank MacKay. The story hints that McCain is seeking the Independence Party’s nomination. Ballot Access. | |
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| 2:57 PM: | The waiting game. The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee is more than an hour late returning from its lunch break -- could they be working on a deal? Salon. | |
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| 2:55 PM: | 12 Angry Men? Or 30 Angry Men, Women. Oh to be a fly on the wall inside the extended "lunch" the rules committee is taking. The scene here is full of speculation and buzz. No one seems to actually know what's going on, and there is hopeful anticipation that the committee will come back with a decision. The longer the members are out, the more possible that reality becomes. MSNBC. | |
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| 2:54 PM: | On the Road: Obama at Rushmore, Too. On the campaign trail this weekend, Senator Obama stops by the national landmark. And voters offer their views. NYT. | |
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| 2:54 PM: | History: Presidents Who Hid Their Health Problems. Some U.S. presidents have gone to great lengths to hide their physical and mental illnesses. Is that kind of deception necessary or even possible today? Newsweek. | |
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| 2:18 PM: | No Road Map for Democrats as Race Ends. The party faces the drama of how, when and even whether Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will drop out. NYT. | |
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| 2:18 PM: | The Man Who Made McCain. The presumptive GOP nominee attributes his maturation to Mo Udall. Newsweek. | |
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| 2:17 PM: | Sunday NY Times: Clinton Coming to Terms With Likely Defeat. Advisers tell the Paper of Record she has begun adjusting to the "near-certainty" of her loss to Obama. Still, questions remain about when she may drop out and endorse Obama. Time. | |
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| 2:16 PM: | Scott McClellan: The Gift that Keeps on Giving. McClellan, like 98% of Bush's second term staff, has no honor, but we should still be thankful for him. He has brought the nuts out of the woodwork, and the louder our alarm clock, the faster this nation will wake up. MyDD. | |
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| 1:59 PM: | Obama Picking Up Republican Donors. Beverly Fanning is among the campaign donors who'll be joining President Bush at a gala at Washington's Ford's Theater Sunday night, but she says that won't dissuade her from her current passion: volunteering for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. She isn't the only convert. Daily Kos. | |
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| 1:48 PM: | The scene at halftime. After the rules committee took its late lunch break, Clinton campaign representatives -- led by Harold Ickes -- held a press conference. Asked if the Clinton campaign was willing to make a concession like the Obama campaign made over Florida's delegation (allowing Clinton to net an extra 19 delegates), Ickes replied, "A concession? Give me a break." MSNBC. | |
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| 1:47 PM: | Obama: McCain should admit he was wrong on surge comments. Democrat Barack Obama accused Republican John McCain Saturday of not owning up to what Obama calls his "mistake" — saying that the U.S. has drawn troops down to pre-surge levels in Iraq. CNN. | |
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| 1:29 PM: | A Clinton Hurricane Hits Outside the DNC Hearing Room. There was a tornado watch outside the Democratic National Committee's Rules & Bylaws Committee meeting at the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel Saturday afternoon. And there was a brewing storm inside the hotel as well. ABC News. | |
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| 1:21 PM: | Boston Herald Article on Chances of National Popular Vote Bill Passing in Massachusetts. The May 30 Boston Herald has this article on the chances of the National Popular Vote Plan bill passing this year in Massachusetts. Ballot Access. | |
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| 1:20 PM: | Rules Are For Chumps. I think for 2012, Californians should unilaterally decide that our state will be worth 5,000 delegates. Sure, it'd be against one piffling party rule, but I fail to see why the voters of California should be disenfranchised by not seating them all. Daily Kos. | |
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| 1:19 PM: | More Headaches for McCain Camp. For weeks now, John McCain's presidential campaign has faced awkward questions about the outside activities of several top advisers. Add one more name to the list: former Texas senator Phil Gramm, McCain's longtime friend and one of his five campaign co-chairs. Newsweek. | |
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| 1:17 PM: | Obama and Clinton Allies Vigorously Debate Seating of Delegates. Advocates for Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton vigorously argued competing positions this morning as the Democratic Party's Rules and Bylaws Committee sought a compromise to seat disputed convention delegates from Florida and Michigan... Washington Post. | |
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| 1:16 PM: | Reporting back from the DNC protest rally. If the people at this rally are representative of Clinton supporters generally, the Democratic Party is going to be in serious trouble, for two reasons: 1). They aren't particularly interested in backing down on this issue; and 2). It may have sounded like a typical Democratic rally, but it looked and smelled like one of ours. Which is to say: lots of American flags, almost no reek of patchouli. Redstate. | |
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| 1:15 PM: | Behind the scenes. From NBC's Chuck ToddIt's informed speculation, but there is some buzz circulating that the Clinton forces on the Rules committee right now are attempting to convince a majority of the members of the committee to punt the decision on Michigan to the Credentials Committee. However, there doesn't seem to be a majority on the committee to support the idea of NOT coming to a resolution on Michigan. MSNBC. | |
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| 1:04 PM: | The Man Who Made McCain. The presumptive GOP nominee attributes his maturation to Mo Udall. Newsweek. | |
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| 1:04 PM: | Quote of the Day. "Without a doubt, their understanding of the nominating process was one of the keys to their success. They understood the nuances of it and approached it at a strategic level that the Clinton campaign did not." -- Democratic strategist Tad Devine, quoted by the AP , on how Sen. Barack Obama's campaign " mastered some of the most arcane rules in politics ." Political Wire. | |
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| 1:04 PM: | Quote For The Day II. "My momma taught me to play by the rules and respect those rules. My mother taught me, and I'm sure your mother taught you, that when you decide change the rules, middle of the game, end of the game, that's cheatin." Andrew Sullivan. | |
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| 12:43 PM: | NewsJunk podcast with Joe Trippi. We just did a podcast with Democratic consultant Joe Trippi about today's Democratic Rules Committee meeting, and the next steps in the nominating process. Scripting News. | |
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| 12:41 PM: | The momma card. Donna Brazile plays the momma card. Ben Smith. | |
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| 11:28 AM: | Latest update on DNC Rules. Obama campaign acknowledges Florida compromise to give Clinton a net 19 delegates; Clinton campaign wants full slate with full voting powers, not full state with half voting powers; Sen., Carl Levin endorses MI Dem proposal to allocate 69 delegates to Clinton and 59 delegates to Obama -- a full delegation; Rep. David Bonior, speaking on behalf of the Obama campaign, wants a 64-64 seating but hints that the campaign would accept a 32-32 seating... Marc Ambinder. | |
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| 11:24 AM: | Liveblogging the Rules Meeting. The MI delegation is doing a much better job presenting its case than I thought it would. Firedoglake. | |
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| 11:23 AM: | Bonior, Booed. Former MI Rep. David Bonior, a Barack Obama backer, was booed and hissed today when he called for the RBC to split the state's delegates between the presidential candidates. Natl Journal. | |
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| 10:59 AM: | Stormy weather in DC. Strong thunderstorms likely. Storms may produce large hail and strong winds. High 87F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Weather Channel. | |
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| 10:57 AM: | Michigan's 69-59 proposal. For the past hour, Michigan's representatives here at the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee have offered this proposal: seat its delegation in full, with full voting rights, with a 69-59 Clinton-Obama split of its 128 pledged delegates. MSNBC. | |
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| 10:56 AM: | The Great Irony About Michigan. Had the Clinton campaign not prevailed upon their supporters to support Michigan jumping the queue, and had Michigan conducted a standard primary on Super Tuesday, Clinton would probably have won a solid 10-14 point win. But because it was a useless vote, many Democrats didn't vote (or voted in the Republican primary). Then Michigan became a controversy. And the whole thing got screwed up. Daily Kos. | |
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| 10:56 AM: | On the Scene: DNC protesters chant. Protesters outside the Democratic rules committee meeting call for every vote to be counted in Michigan and Florida. CNN. | |
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| 10:55 AM: | The D.N.C. Deliberates. The party's rules and bylaws committee will decide the fate of Florida and Michigan's delegates. NYT. | |
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| 10:55 AM: | Embedded vs. non-embedded inflation. The big economic debate of the moment is whether the Fed and its peers have made a terrible mistake by focusing on staving off financial crisis while more or less ignoring the rise of inflation. Paul Krugman. | |
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| 10:54 AM: | Levin v. New Hampshire. Blog: Carl Levin doesn't like New Hampshire Ben Smith. | |
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| 10:54 AM: | Obama Continues to Dig In on McCain. As the Democratic National Committee's rules and bylaws panel met in Washington to decide the outcome of the disputed Florida and Michigan delegations, Barack Obama stormed ahead with his attacks on likely Republican rival John McCain. WSJ. | |
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| 10:37 AM: | Levin: NH And IA Have A "Perpetual Privilege" Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) slammed the traditional lead-off role of Iowa and New Hampshire in the Democratic nominating process, telling the RBC that the early states aren't representative of the broader electorate. "No state should have a right to go first and second every election," Levin said. "So, we fought to open up the process." Natl Journal. | |
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| 10:32 AM: | Just to make your head hurt... Doing the math on if FL/MI are halved... MSNBC. | |
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| 10:14 AM: | Obama camp willing to compromise on Florida. Speaking on behalf of Barack Obama, a Florida congressman signals the campaign's acceptance of a rumored deal concerning the state's delegation. Salon. | |
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| 10:14 AM: | 69 - 59. A Michigan deal? Andrew Sullivan. | |
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| 10:06 AM: | The Michigan Line-up. Wow, what a mess of hilarious contradictions in the people testifying on behalf of Michigan. Daily Kos. | |
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| 10:04 AM: | Georgia Democratic Party Files New Lawsuit Against Photo ID Law. On May 23, the Georgia Democratic Party filed a new lawsuit against that state’s law requiring voters at the polls to show a government photo-ID. The suit depends on the Georgia Constitution, which sets forth the requirements for anyone to vote. Ballot Access. | |
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| 9:52 AM: | Obama Campaign Supports Florida Compromise. Sen. Barack Obama's campaign would agree to seat the full 211-member Florida delegation with half a vote each in order to end the impasse over how to allot the state's delegates at this summer's nominating convention, Florida Rep. Robert Wexler told the Democratic Party's rules and bylaws committee meeting. WSJ. | |
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| 9:27 AM: | Nelson Fights for Florida. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) has his Irish up. Washington Post. | |
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| 9:26 AM: | Liveblogging the Rules Meeting. State Senator Joyner of Florida gave an impassioned speech asking that the full delegation be seated. Rep. Robert Wexler responded with an equally rousing speech on behalf of the Obama campaign in support of the Ausman petition. The Ausman petition calls for full seating of superdelegates (23), 50% seating of pledged delegates (50%), and 3 unpledged delegates. Firedoglake. | |
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| 8:54 AM: | Hillary talks health care in Puerto Rico. For Hillary Clinton , health care is the universal language. She started her Saturday in the commonwealth here with an event at the San Juan Bautista Medical Center, promising as president to treat local hospitals the same as those on the mainland when it comes to Medicare reimbursements. MSNBC. | |
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| 8:35 AM: | IRC for Democratic Rules Committee Meeting. Since we had IRC for each of the major primaries this year, I thought we'd try the same for this event. Dave Winer. | |
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| 8:18 AM: | DNC meeting could hasten end of race. The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting could end to the controversy that has been a central focus in '08 -- what to do about Michigan and Florida. Politico. | |
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| 8:17 AM: | Rove Subpoenaed Again. The House Judiciary Committee yesterday sent former White House political guru Karl Rove a new subpoena to add to his document collection. It makes a matching pair with the subpoena from the Senate Judiciary Committee that he's been ignoring since last August. Washington Post. | |
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| 8:16 AM: | Dean's remarks. Dean focuses on healing. Ben Smith. | |
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| 8:16 AM: | Dean slams media coverage as he opens meeting. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean had tough words for the media on Saturday, saying that the presidential race had been plagued by "blatantly sexist comments, particularly by some members of the media — and blatantly racist remarks." CNN. | |
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| 8:15 AM: | Ausman's challenge. DNC member Jon Ausman is now presenting Florida's challenge. He is arguing 1) that the DNC was wrong to strip the state's superdelegates from the Democratic convention and 2) that Florida's 185 pledged delegates could only be subject to a 50% penalty -- not the 100% one the DNC enacted. MSNBC. | |
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| 7:51 AM: | Bill Clinton’s enemies list? The ex-president places the blame for his wife’s troubled primary run on a vast left-wing conspiracy. Politico. | |
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| 7:51 AM: | Hagels aren't boarding the Straight Talk Express. Once upon a time, Lilibet Hagel was a big supporter of John McCain . Back in the fall of 1999, the wife of Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) gave the Arizona Republican's 2000 presidential campaign $1,000, the maximum donation allowed at the time. Washington Post. | |
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| 7:49 AM: | Rove Subpoenaed Again. The House Judiciary Committee yesterday sent former White House political guru Karl Rove a new subpoena to add to his document collection. It makes a matching pair with the subpoena from the Senate Judiciary Committee that he's been ignoring since last August. Washington Post. | |
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| 7:48 AM: | Live thead at DNC meeting. I got a seat up in the front row of the balcony. On the way in, I chatted with Chuck Todd, who predicted that Florida will get seated with half the delegates, based on the primary results, and that Michigan gets seated 50-50, not counting the primary results... MyDD. | |
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| 7:47 AM: | Dean slams media coverage as he opens meeting. Howard Dean had tough words for the media on Saturday, saying that the presidential race had been plagued by "blatantly sexist comments, particularly by some members of the media — and blatantly racist remarks." "The media will…look for conflict," he said... CNN. | |
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| 7:45 AM: | Is there a Florida deal? After 5 1/2 hours of cocktails, chicken dinners, and coffee -- that lasted until 1:30am -- 28 of the 30 committee members generally agreed to the idea that Florida and Michigan would be given half of their delegate allotment instead of none. Less unclear is whether just half of their delegates will be seated or all will be seated, but just given half a vote each. Ben Smith. | |
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| 7:44 AM: | Ausman Speaks For FL. As Jon Ausman , a FL DNC committeeman, began his remarks a few moments ago, he noted that Sen. Bill Nelson and his wife, Grace , are in attendance, as are former Sen. Bob Graham and his wife, Adele . "I want this to be a healing process that unifies us that brings us together. ... that results in collegial bargaining," Ausman said. Ultimately, he said, he wants all Democrats to wear "blue jerseys" in November. Ausman said FL officials are asking that 185 pledged delegates are subject to the 50% rule. He said the party is not asking for the full delegation to be seated. "We recognize, in fact, that Florida has violated that timing rule," he said, acknowledging that FL moved its primary ahead of the party's Feb 5 restriction. The party's punishment, he added, is therefore "appropriate." ( JENNIFER SKALKA ) Natl Journal. | |
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| 5:43 AM: | Democrats' late night session falls short on MI, FL delegations. Bleary-eyed Democrats failed to reach consensus early Saturday morning on a plan to seat the Michigan and Florida delegations â€" setting up a potentially explosive hearing later in the day. CNN. | |
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| 5:41 AM: | Obama tags along on trip to Mt. Rushmore. Everyone in Barack Obama's traveling press entourage thought it was just a late night jaunt to Mt. Rushmore, sans the candidate. CNN. | |
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| 5:40 AM: | Pro-Clinton protestors make their way to Washington. After weeks of planning by unions, womenâ's rights groups and others supporting Hillary Clinton's push to seat Florida and Michigan delegates at the Democratic convention this summer, CNN. | |
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| 5:39 AM: | Is it Barack Obama's party now? It's not even 8am and the Marriott Wardman Park hotel is buzzing with anticipation. At a minimum, today's DNC Rules and Bylaws committee will finally put a period on the saga that has been the Florida-Michigan delegate dispute. MSNBC. | |
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| 5:37 AM: | The protest situation outside the hotel. 7:45 am ET, about 150 demonstrators -- all of them Clinton supporters -- had assembled outside the hotel where the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting will take place today. MSNBC. | |
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| 3:41 AM: | Dems Behind Closed Doors Til 1:30 am -- Still No Consensus. Democrats went behind closed doors until 1:30 am ET on Saturday but they did not reach their goal of developing a unified proposal regarding Michigan and Florida... ABC. | |
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| 3:41 AM: | Obama’s Need for a Healing Party Pageant. Barack Obama will have to make sure the Democratic National Convention is a healing one for the party — and that means he needs the help of Bill and Hillary Clinton... WSJ. | |
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