Breaking: Most Dems pulling out of Michigan primary...

[memyselfI]

Edwards, Richardson, Obama, and Biden so far. Hillary has till the end of the day to do so.

Breaking on CNN.

[SBK]

Shouldn't the headline to this be something more along the lines of:
Dems to Michigan voters, "Screw You!"

[recxjake]

I don't really disagree with them... these states are making the nomination process impossible....

1/3 - Iowa
1/5 - Wyoming
1/8 - New Hampshire
1/12 - Nevada
1/15 - Michigan
1/19 - South Carolina
1/29 - Florida

Then all the Feb 5 states...

[Hydrae]

Ok, I will go check this out myself but can one of the more learned people on here explain this to me?

[jAZ]

The DNC set a calendar for primaries to ensure NH, Iowa, Nevada and SC are the only early states.

Michigan moved their's up before that date, so the DNC is pulling their delegation and the candidates aren't campaigning there until they move it back.

I guess the same thing happened in Florida as well.

[recxjake]

Ok, I will go check this out myself but can one of the more learned people on here explain this to me?

Prominent Michigan Democrats are scrambling to try to persuade Democratic presidential candidates to reverse their decision to remove themselves from Michigan's presidential primary ballot.

Earlier today, candidates John Edwards, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson and Joe Biden informed the party that they would not participate in its Jan. 15 primary because it violates the Democratic National Committee's calendar rules.

As it stands, a Jan. 15 Michigan Democratic Primary would be little more than a beauty contest, but with a caveat: The Republicans, on that same day, will hold a real contest with real delegates at stake, and it will be a challenge for the media to completely ignore the Democratic contest.

The Democrats were acting in advance of a 4pm ET ballot deadline today. For weeks, Michigan Democrats have kept their heads down, hoping that a lack of overt pressure on the candidates would cause the deadline to float by without incident.

There's been no comment from Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign. She'd be the prohibitive favorite to win the state's primary.

[Forward Dante]

Smart thinking there pissing off a battleground state.

[Chief Henry]

Prominent Michigan Democrats are scrambling Earlier today, candidates John Edwards, Barack Obama, Bill Richardsonto try to persuade Democratic presidential candidates to reverse their decision to remove themselves from Michigan's presidential primary ballot. and Joe Biden informed the party that they would not participate in its Jan. 15 primary because it violates the Democratic National Committee's calendar rules.

As it stands, a Jan. 15 Michigan Democratic Primary would be little more than a beauty contest, but with a caveat: The Republicans, on that same day, will hold a real contest with real delegates at stake, and it will be a challenge for the media to completely ignore the Democratic contest.

The Democrats were acting in advance of a 4pm ET ballot deadline today. For weeks, Michigan Democrats have kept their heads down, hoping that a lack of overt pressure on the candidates would cause the deadline to float by without incident.

There's been no comment from Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign. She'd be the prohibitive favorite to win the state's primary.


I would think the DNC leadership in Michigan should worry about reversing the stagnant economy in Michigan before woorrying about something so trivial.

[Mr. Kotter]

I don't really disagree with them... these states are making the nomination process impossible....

1/3 - Iowa
1/5 - Wyoming
1/8 - New Hampshire
1/12 - Nevada
1/15 - Michigan
1/19 - South Carolina
1/29 - Florida

Then all the Feb 5 states...

Yet another reason for embracing a system of regional primaries, to be held on a rotating schedule.

[recxjake]

I would think the DNC leadership in Michigan should worry about reversing the stagnant economy in Michigan before woorrying about something so trivial.

Michigan needs fiscal discipline
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
By Rudy Giuliani
Special To The Press


When I look at Michigan, I'm reminded of the words of the great American philosopher, Yogi Berra. It's deja vu all over again.

I see unemployment rates that are much higher than the national average. I see government passing tax hikes instead of tax cuts, causing people and businesses to leave in search of better opportunities and a better quality of life.

I've seen this condition before -- the good news is that there is a proven strategy for improving the situation. It's called fiscal discipline: lower taxes, smaller government, less regulation and recognizing that when businesses thrive, people thrive.

I know, because that's how we turned around the City of New York. New York City had a 10.4 percent unemployment rate the day I walked into office in 1994. We had a $2.3 billion deficit. New York City had lost over 320,000 jobs over the previous five years. The city was averaging almost 2,000 murders a year and one out of every seven residents were on welfare. Fifty-nine percent of New Yorkers said they'd leave the city the next day if they could. There was civic decay and hopelessness, compounded by a cycle of taxing and spending.

In response, we put Republican ideas into action. I applied the lessons of the Reagan Revolution that I'd seen as his Associate Attorney General in the early 1980s. That's when I saw the impact that a pro-growth philosophy could have on the economy. That's when I learned that low taxes can lead to higher revenues.

I cut taxes 23 times and proposed many more cuts. We cut spending and the size of the bureaucracy while improving the quality of services. Pro-growth policies spurred the private sector to create 423,000 new private sector jobs, cutting the unemployment rate in half. We cut crime rates and welfare rolls in more than half while improving the quality of life for all our citizens.

Most importantly, we turned a situation of despair into one of hope -- making New York the city that most Americans wanted to live in or visit and also named twice as the best place in America to do business according to Fortune Magazine.

Over the past quarter century, America has learned what works. Tax hikes, like the $1.48 billion tax increase passed by the Michigan Legislature last week, lead to a deepening cycle of taxing and spending that drives businesses away and promotes greater dependence on the government. On the other hand, a low tax, pro-growth approach, enables the private sector to create new jobs and a cycle of prosperity throughout society. Michigan experienced this for itself under Governor Engler. When he cut taxes, welfare was reformed and Michigan briefly outpaced the nation in new job creation.

I'll continue my commitment to pro-growth policies if I'm elected president. I'll stop the Democrats from imposing their promised $3 trillion tax hike on the American people. I'll keep individual tax rates low and index the Alternative Minimum Tax for inflation to keep it from affecting middle class families. I'll work to keep America competitive in the global economy by reducing the corporate tax rates -- currently the second highest in the industrialized world -- so that American jobs stay in America. I'll end the death tax, so that families can pass a lifetime of hard work on to their families.

And instead of moving toward socialized medicine with government mandates, I'll apply American principles of individual choice to make health insurance more affordable and portable for all Americans.

Another way the president can help the economy -- especially in Michigan -- is to enforce our trade rules. The automotive industry has a serious problem with counterfeit parts being made overseas and then sold back to Americans.

Not only are these inferior products a safety issue for American consumers, but counterfeit automobile parts cost the automotive supplier industry more than $12 billion annually. It's estimated that if these losses were eliminated, the U.S. auto industry could hire 200,000 workers, according to testimony last year from U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg.

Nationwide, counterfeiting costs United States businesses and workers around $200 billion annually. Counterfeiting can no longer be ignored at the expense of American jobs and the terms of our trade agreements must be enforced.

Today, the Republican candidates are meeting in Detroit to debate our economic policies. It's time that we focus on putting Republican ideas into action so that jobs and business will return to our cities. Controlling government spending and keeping tax rates low lead to a strong economy. That will also help restore the spirit of optimism that has always been America's greatest asset -- a belief that our best days will always be ahead of us.

-- Rudy Giuliani is a Republican presidential candidate and former mayor of New York City.

[recxjake]

Clinton Won't Pull Out Of Michigan
09 Oct 2007 02:33 pm

Sen. Hillary Clinton's name is staying on the Michigan Democratic primary ballot.

A campaign aide said this afternoon that Clinton will not follow four of her rivals by dropping out of the Michigan contest.

"We will honor the pledge and not campaign or spend money in any state that is not in compliance with the DNC calendar, but it is not necessary to take the steps necessary to remove Senator Clinton's name from the ballot," said Howard Wolfson, Clinton's communications director.

[noa]

Clinton Won't Pull Out Of Michigan
09 Oct 2007 02:33 pm

Sen. Hillary Clinton's name is staying on the Michigan Democratic primary ballot.

A campaign aide said this afternoon that Clinton will not follow four of her rivals by dropping out of the Michigan contest.

"We will honor the pledge and not campaign or spend money in any state that is not in compliance with the DNC calendar, but it is not necessary to take the steps necessary to remove Senator Clinton's name from the ballot," said Howard Wolfson, Clinton's communications director.

Figures

[recxjake]

Figures

Hmm who will win...

Hillary Clinton
Chris Dodd
Dennis Kucinich
Mike Gravel

[Chief Henry]

Nowing Hillary, she'll probably run as Alla Babba Hillary Clinton in Michigan !!!