Circle your calendars

Posted: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:06 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: Democrats

From NBC's Mark Murray
The next big date on the calendar isn't June 1 (Puerto Rico) or June 3 (Montana, South Dakota). It's Saturday, May 31 -- the date of the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee hearing on Florida and Michigan.

The DNC has just released the details on the meeting: It will take place in DC; it has a morning session (oral arguments) that begins at 9:30 am ET and an afternoon session (consideration and debate); and it's allowing the public to attend.

But there are caveats to this attendance: Space is limited and guests must pre-register. Also: "In order to maintain the decorum of the meeting, banners, posters, signs, handouts, and noisemakers of any kind are strictly prohibited. Also, please be advised that the agenda for the meeting does not include time for questions from the general public."

Of course, it's once again important to note that seating the Florida and Michigan delegations -- even exactly as Clinton wants them -- doesn't do much to change the delegate math. Clinton still needs to win an overwhelming number of the remaining superdelegates to clinch the nomination, whether the magic number is 2,026, 2,210, or somewhere in between.

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Comments

Hillary's last hurrah.

The real question is will she get misty-eyed New Hampshire style when they finally tell her to get lost.

CitizenJ (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:39 PM)

Kate- nice John Prine reference.
Cowboy Jack- Obama leads McCain by 8 in Pennsylvania poll and is tied with him in Ohio. If you use the Kerry 2004 map and give Ohio and Florida to Bush and Obama wins in Colorado, Iowa and New Mexico(which he leads in the polls vs. McCain and Clinton trails in 2 of 3 of the same states) he wins. A different road map. And by the way if the scenario went as you described he would still win. Get over it, he won, she lost.

Mike Tampa (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:39 PM)

YES, THIS IS AMERICA!!! AND RULES ARE RULES!!!

SO YOU "RULE BREAKERS" ARE ALWAYS ASKING FOR "DO-OVERS" LIKE PRE-SCHOOLERS!

AND LET ME GUESS YOU WANT THE VOTES TO COUNT WITHOUT ANY PENALTIES?

DOES THIS MEAN THE OTHER STATES WHO FOLLOWED THE RULES GET TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS AND HAVE A DO-OVER BECAUSE THEIR CANDIDATES ARE NO LONGER IN THE RACE?

WHY DON'T WE ALSO BREAK THE RULES AND JUST GIVE THE NOMIATION TO CLINTON -- WOULD THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY?

ALL YOU CLINTON SUPPORTERS ARE BIG WHINNERS AND HAVE NO INTEGRITY! HOW PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WILLIS, TEXAS (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:39 PM)

forget the math, forget the delegates, Hillary is in understudy mode. She is trying to shine in the rehersals. She is waiting to see if something happens to the lead actor in the play before opening night so she can substitute and take the stage. It is the only thing that makes sense.

Who's Sane (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:40 PM)

Hillary "Repugnant" Clinton doesn't give a damn about the people of Florida and Michigan. Her false claims of wanting to see every voter vote and every ballot counted are nothing more than a smokescreen of her true intentions: to steal the nomination now or to wreck Barack Obama's chances to win in November so she can try again in 2012.

The Wicked Witch of the East is disgusting in how she keeps helping our common enemy "Bush Hugger" McCain. Even my Daughter, who was a firm Clinton supporter, has been disgusted with Hillary's continued nagging and is now a firm Obama supporter.

If she were more electable then she would already be our presumptive nominee. I will never, ever vote for her for anything because of her disgusting self serving lies.

Go Obama 08/12!

Eric, Salinas, CA (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:41 PM)

if the public is allowed at the meeting, then they had better make sure it isn't all hillary supporters there.....it better be evenly split between the two.

I'm going to be upset if they give MI and FL the delegates as they are now....
THEY ARE THE ONES THAT SCREWED UP! OBAMA SHOULDNT HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT!!

Angie (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:42 PM)

to whoever keeps saying "IT WAS THE REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS THAT MOVED UP THE PRIMARY DATE IN FLORIDA"

yes, the republicans are/were the majority but the vote passed UNANIMOUSLY. Unanimous means (for those less educated) that all of the Democratic lawmakers approved moving the primary forward as well.

christian (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:43 PM)

DNC: DO NOT REWARD BAD BEHAVIOR ... and do not give in to these Clintonian tactics/arguments ... they'll do and say ANYTHING to get what they want.

Remember what happened to Vince Foster????

Crazy for Obama - Glenwood, IL (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:44 PM)

Then why bother counting votes republicans do that too.Why not have howard dean just pick the winner.ENJOY being thrown under the bus like rev wright when OBAMMA is done using you elite college types and the real team appears AL SHARPTON,FARRAKAHN,AND THE REV WRIGHT WILL come back and consel obamma again AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH by the way I cant vote DUMB ASS I jusyt would have liked a center of the road type not another IDEALIST like GEORGE BUSH again.

kenn (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:45 PM)

This isn't second grade. There are no do-overs. FL along with MI knew the consequences of their actions. All involved agreed to the terms. Even Hillary signed the agreement, (before she realized that she lost). She was against it - before she was for it!!

Besides, what about the people that didn't show up to vote in those primaries knowing that their vote wouldn't count? What about them? There must be thousands of voters that obeyed the rules. It is not fair to penalize the folks that played by the rules and now their voices won’t be heard.

judesuper (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:45 PM)

What would it look like if it were winner take all like the republicans? Who holds the lead then?The leftist or the centrist?
kenn (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:12 PM)
-----------------------------------------------------
Well it isn't winner take all, it isn't the Republican primary, and since the two senators voted the same about 94% of the time, which one is the leftist and which one is the centrist?

JB, Memphis TN (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:45 PM)

THE CLINTON SUPPORTER WHO OFFERED $1MILLION FOR TWO SUPERDELEGATES TO SUPPORT CLINTON MEANS THAT BIG DOLLARS ARE AT STAKE FOR THE CLINTONS TO GET BACK INTO THE WHITEHOUSE.

SOUNDS LIKE THE CLINTONS ARE PLANNING TO SELL AMERICA FOR PERSONAL GAIN OF THEMSELVES, ASSOCIATES AND FRIENDS!!

THERE NEEDS TO BE A FEDERAL INVESTIGATION!!!

WILLIS, TEXAS (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:46 PM)

I have some questions for HRC and all of ehr supporters that are now whining about Michigan and Florida:

Where were you al waaaaaay back a year ago when they set these rules and the states decided to break them?

Was HRC DEMANDING that these states delegates be seated back then? Was she out stating "undemocratic" back then?

what about all of her supporters that are so mad now? Were they equally mad waaaaay back when the rules were set? Were they DEMANDING that their voices be heard then? Were they floating petitions then?

And what about the states legislators? Yes, I know the "repubs are the ones that did this " in Florida, but where was the outrage back then? Where was Debbie Wasserman Shultz DEMANDING that the voters be heard?

I don;t remember hearing ANYTHING about people mad waaaaaay back then.

Only when HRC started losing did she think it was important and started whining about it.

Well I say Too BAD!!!

You should have been concerned about it waaaaaaay back then.

Rules are Rules.

Stop whining already.

MORE VOTES.
MORE DELEGATES.
MORE STATES.
PLAYS BY THE RULES.
DOEN'T WANT TO OBLITERATE ANYONE.

Obama 08

obama 08 (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:46 PM)

Bobbi in Wisconsin: You are wrong, the Dems introduced it and it was passed unanimously by the Fl legislature. Please check your facts. This is just an excuse the Dems like Wasserman-Schultz are using!

LB, Virginia (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:47 PM)

HILLIARY FOR PRESIDENT ON a INDEPENDANT PARTY ticket OOOHHH THAT WOULD MAKE US HOLIER THAN THOU DEMORATS QUIVER LISTEN YOU CAN HEAR CHRIS MATTEWS CRY why is she doing this to us,operitive word us they are all demorats at msnbzzz its as bad as fox tv.

KENN (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:47 PM)

a week ago, I though that HRC was positioning to concede on 6/3 . . .

I now starting to think that she really plans to take this thing all the way to the convention

what a shame . . . she certainly appears at this point to only care about her own run in 2012

Independent in TN (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:49 PM)

she doesn't care if FL and MI aer seating. Ask her she only wants them seating if the delegate split goes a certain way.

Ask her what she would settle for. Call her bluff. Then split the difference

kathy marsh (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:51 PM)

SO AL GORE didnt win because of democrat rules or republican rules IM sorry its easy most votes wins not for democrats its simple division percents and process supers who should ratify not pick why have supers then?

kenn (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:52 PM)

She won the states Democrats need to win in november. So? It doesn't mean she will win them over McCain, the deep south is so idiotic that it doesn't matter if Bin Laden was running as the Republicunt candidate, they don't think when they vote, they're just like sheep. Florida is America's retarded child, just put it in the corner and foggedaboutit!

D. Blas (Sent Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:52 PM)

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