Here is the truth about what happened in the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting when the members of that committee voted to take away the delegates for Florida and Michigan to the convention. I was there, and so was Sarah John and she can verify the accuracy of this very long report. The meeting I am referring to took place on 1 December 2007 and it finalized what had been voted on during the August meeting in Chicago in 2006. Here now is what happened.

First of all the representatives from Florida and Michigan were once more told that they could change their primary and caucus dates and move them up to 5 Frbruary 2008 (Superduper Tuesday), but by vote of all the Committee members that took place in August of 2006 in Chicago it was agreed that only Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina would be permitted I to vote in the January calendar. Michigan and Florida were reminded that they AGREED TO THE RULES.

Then Michigan and Florida representatives were given a chance to argue just why they felt they should be able to move into the January time frame. Michigan wanted to move, I believe, to 15 January…AHEAD of the established date for New Hampshire, and Florida wanted to move to 23 January the EXACT SAME DAY as the South Carolina sanctioned date. The committee ruled against them and said that they thereby would forfeit their delegates if they insisted to moving to those dates.

Donna Brazile and several others spoke for the Committee’s ruling and said it wasn’t fair to the other 48 states who were adhering to the rules. Her argument was that for over 4 years (ever since Terry McAuliffe, not mentioned by name) had charged the Rules and Bylaws Committee with putting other states into the January early voting calendar, the Committee had been debating which states to allow that privilege. The criteria set down and agreed to by all participants was that which, Governor Dean was able to insert during the last 2 years of deliberation once he got elected to the DNC Chairmanship. First and foremost, Iowa was to retain its status as the “First Caucus in the Nation” and that “New Hampshire was to retain its status as the “First Primary in the Nation”. Second: the states chosen had to represent ethnic diversity. Third the states chosen had to represent a geographic spread that included the whole country. Fourth: the states chosen had to represent Retail Politics. That means that the states had to have the candidates able to move throughout the state from every corner of the state, meeting voters one-to-one at small House Parties, Town Hall Meetings, Picnics Back Yard BBQs where they can clearly answer questions asked by the voters themselves and not the typical huge media events that take place in larger states where the so-called “professionals” and the talking heads ask pre-selected questions. It makes the candidates really have to think and to be really knowledgeable about the REAL issues.

There were a total of 10 states that did include Michigan and Florida and Hawaii plus 7 others that applied to enter the January calendar. There would be one Caucus state selected and one Primary state. Nevada and South Carolina were chosen. Nevada met all the criteria. It was a small state that allowed for Retail Politics, a western state that fulfilled the geographic requirement. It met the ethnic diversity rule with its large Hispanic population and it was a Caucus state and was placed after Iowa the first Caucus and before New Hampshire the first Primary. South Carolina was selected because it represented the South geographically. It too was a small state and could provide Retail Politics, and ethnically it had a very large Afro-American population. It was placed after New Hampshire as the second Primary state. So the official calendar was established representing the Northeast, the Midwest, the West and the South. Retail Politics was alive and well. The status of Iowa and New Hampshire as the first Caucus and the First Primary was not violated and there was finally the ethnic diversity that everyone wanted. The entire Committee had voted on the calendar and it was approved by everyone INCLUDING MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA.

Along about early spring of 2007 Senator Carl Levin of Michigan and the Democratic Party leaders from Florida started agitating and wanting to break the rules that they had all agreed upon. They wanted to move up in the calendar and so did California and about a dozen other states. Finally there was a bunch-up of states all clamoring for the 5th of February. The DNC Rules Committee all said as long as they didn’t violate the January Calendar, they could move their respective Caucus and Primary dates. Carl Levin and the gang in Florida were not satisfied, and insisted on moving into the January Calendar ahead of New Hampshire and in the case of Florida…on the same day as the South Carolina Primary. All of the candidates had also agreed to the calendar and promised not to campaign in any state that violated the agreed to Calendar dates. In Michigan, they even removed their names from the Michigan Ballot except Hillary. She never plays by the rules unless she makes them herself.

Now that the history is over, back to the DNC Meeting of the Rules and Bylaws Committee on 1 December 2007. After Michigan and Florida had presented their continuing arguments why they thought they should be allowed to jump into January, and refused to back down, Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina wished to present their cases for moving their sanctioned dates. Nevada wished to keep its original date. Iowa requested that they be allowed to move their Caucus date to 3 January because of the illegal moves on the part of Michigan and Florida into January. Then New Hampshire was congratulated by the Committee Chairman because our Secretary of State Bill Gardner requested the 8th of January a week after Iowa which had been the tradition instead of moving New Hampshire to December 2007 as had been threatened. Next South Carolina requested to move its Primary date so that it wouldn’t fall on the same day that Florida had illegally jumped on.

The Committee then ruled. The members based their ruling on the following. The state of Michigan had its chance to present its case during the previous selection period and did not meet all the criteria for a January date. Its State Party led by Carl Levin insisted that it break the rules to which it had PREVIESLY AGREED and it was offered the date of 5 February which it turned down knowing the consequences. The Committee Chairman gave the representative from Michigan one last chance to back down. He refused. A vote was taken and the Committee denied Michigan its right to delegates.

Next Florida was given the same chance. Their argument was a bit different. They said that the Republican controlled Legislature voted to move up the date and the Governor signed the bill. However, the Democrats in the State Legislature voted with the Republicans to move the date. So, the Committee also gave them one last chance to accept a February date and they too refused and like Michigan lost their delegates by vote of the full Committee.

As for Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina’s request to move their dates, they were granted permission to do so because…..the dates they requested were WITHIN the SPIRIT of the Committee’s original ruling and because the requested date changes were ALL STILL WITHIN THE JANUARY ESTABLISHED CALENDAR. Iowa was able to move itself away from Michigan’s illegal date. New Hampshire did the same placing itself a week after Iowa but before Michigan. Nevada stayed the same and South Carolina moved to a week earlier than Florida instead of the same day as Florida’s illegal choice. NO RULES WERE BROKEN by Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. The other states were permitted to change their voting dates to 5 February, but declined the offer and violated the rules. That is why they lost their delegates and are now crying about it. All the rest of the 48 states abided by the rules. So why punish them?

One of the most intelligent suggestions I heard during the entire meeting came at the end. One of the Committee members stood up and said that she was tired of all the petty bickering about “who was going to go first”. If the 10 states with the greatest population would only use their collective power of having sufficient number of delegates to collectively determine who the nominee will be. They should use that power wisely and hold their elections in April. Then it wouldn’t matter at all what happened in Iowa or New Hampshire. Enough time would have elapsed that the voters would have forgotten all about those early elections. The candidates who lost, would have time to re-group and raise more money to continue their campaigns. And, the candidates would come to those 10 states to be heard. The 10 states are California, New York, Ohio, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Massachusetts, and I can’t remember the last one. It could be either Virginia or Maryland.

So that is what really happened. I hope that I will be one of those selected to attend the final decision on Michigan and Florida which will be taking place this Saturday. In this week’s Time Magazine, Chairman Howard Dean says that he wants the Rules Committee to be guided by three principles: 1) Fairness to the voters; 2) Fairness the to campaigns, who started off under a set of rules believing that Michigan and Florida would not be seated; 3) Fairness to the 48 states who did the right thing and stayed with the process. He continued by saying; “I do believe that Michigan and Florida will be seated in some way”. That’s Howard Dean, always wanting to do what is right and what is fair.

Representative Marcia Moody