Rep.: Half of House Dems may vote Hillary Clinton at DNC

[Incognito]

Rep.: Half of House Dems may vote Hillary at DNC
By: Amie Parnes and Ben Smith
August 16, 2008 10:27 AM EST

Rep. Loretta Sanchez says she’s happy for the chance to vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Democratic National Convention — and she predicts that as many as half of the Democrats in the House could join her.

Just how many former Clinton supporters will vote for the former first lady during the symbolic first ballot is anybody’s guess, but each of them will be called upon to do so — whether they want to or not.

On Friday, the Obama campaign confirmed that the floor vote in Denver, intended to assuage Clinton supporters still stewing over her narrow loss, will be conducted as a state-by-state roll call. Under proposed convention bylaws, delegates would be forced to register their votes on a tally sheet with the convention secretary — the rules could be altered or suspended before the start of the convention.

“By putting her name in nomination, you're putting people on the spot,” said former delegate counter Matt Seyfang, adding a second potential drawback: “Having a roll call ... just chews into your broadcast time.”

Lower-key options were available. For example, Clinton’s name could have been entered into nomination, followed by laudatory speeches, ending with her release of delegates to Obama and proposal that he be nomination by acclamation, Seyfang said.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the “mechanics” of the roll call vote are still being worked out, but he conceded that Clinton probably will garner many votes on the first ballot.

For Obama’s camp, the roll call is a ritual that will defuse any potential tension with Clinton or her supporters without affecting the outcome or the theater of Obama’s dramatic nomination.

Said Sanchez: “I believe there are a lot of supporters for Hillary among the superdelegates, especially now that they’ve agreed to place her name in nomination. I think half the House Democrats would probably be Hillary supporters, especially women. ... I felt she was the most experienced and the best candidate and I still feel that way.”

Clinton herself has said she plans to vote for Obama.

A longtime Clinton adviser said it was “crazy” to guess at numbers but estimated that the former first lady would garner between 600 and 1,200 delegates — considerably short of the approximately 1,800 she had collected at the time of her departure from the race in early June.
“It’s a bizarre strategy,” said one Democratic strategist of the roll call. “It could backfire and show that her influence is waning. Chances are, she’s not going to have as many delegates vote for her on the floor as she had in the primary.”

Indeed, many Hillary diehards, including at least one member of the New York delegation, are reluctant to vote for Clinton after switching over to Obama.

“I think that most superdelegates, including myself, are going for Obama,” said New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, who campaigned with Clinton around the country. “I made my decision for Obama, and I’m not switching again.”

Other onetime Clinton backers are reluctant to reverse course for fear of angering their black constituents.

“My boss is totally conflicted about it — and pissed Hillary is putting us in this position,” said a congressional staffer for another New York House member. “We still haven’t made up our mind and I don’t know when we are going to.”

Another New York delegate, speaking on condition of anonymity, predicted that as much as 30 percent to 40 percent of the New York delegation would pick Clinton over Obama during the symbolic vote.

Obama’s decision to accept a roll call vote, which came after weeks of talks with the Clinton camp, doesn’t mean he’ll let the process get out of hand, observers say.

“The convention is about nominating Barack, so his people want to speed through the vote as fast as possible so it won’t take too much TV time,” said a Democratic delegate who plans to vote for Clinton. “They also want to avoid a scenario where she’s leading at any point.”


Rep.: Half of House Dems may vote Hillary at DNC - Amie Parnes and Ben Smith - Politico.com

[kingcap72]

Obama’s decision to accept a roll call vote, which came after weeks of talks with the Clinton camp, doesn’t mean he’ll let the process get out of hand, observers say.

I'm glad that Obama is aware that he can't let this get out of hand.

As for Hillary, and some of her die-hard supporters, they have to be very careful in their actions at the convention, because whether Hillary has a political future will be determined in Denver.

If she, or her supporters, try to pull off a coup or create a huge ruckus, her political career will basically end at the convention. Because there's already a lot of mistrust and bad blood toward Hillary in the Democratic Party, so if she tries anything it's going to blow up in her face.

[Sasha]

Originally Posted by kingcap72

I'm glad that Obama is aware that he can't let this get out of hand.

As for Hillary, and some of her die-hard supporters, they have to be very careful in their actions at the convention, because whether Hillary has a political future will be determined in Denver.

If she, or her supporters, try to pull off a coup or create a huge ruckus, her political career will basically end at the convention. Because there's already a lot of mistrust and bad blood toward Hillary in the Democratic Party, so if she tries anything it's going to blow up in her face.

Not if she actually manages to win the vote, and if the op is any indication, I wouldn't discount such a possibility. Obama was a fool and a tool for allowing this to happen.

[*DIVA!]

^^How do you think she will win the vote? There will be pissed off people all over.. the folks who helped her stage this coup, will lose their seats. It would be a huge disaster for her and her ilk!

[Sasha]

Originally Posted by SSDiva

^^How do you think she will win the vote? There will be pissed off people all over.. the folks who helped her stage this coup, will lose their seats. It would be a huge disaster for her and her ilk!

Especially inside the Convention hall, which is why I said on the other thread we can look forward to Chicago '68 x 1000, in which there was a highly volatile floor fight between McCarthy and Humphrey delegates, and police and protester rioting outside the hall.

It CAN be done, especially if a particularly nasty "scandal" about Obama were to break just prior to or during the convention. The article says half of House Dems may vote for her already, and the Clinton's don't play, people.

[kingcap72]

Originally Posted by Sasha

Not if she actually manages to win the vote, and if the op is any indication, I wouldn't discount such a possibility. Obama was a fool and a tool for allowing this to happen.

Hillary won't win the vote. And if she did, the Dems would be handing McCain the election, because the party would split right there. You can't have a presumptive nominee, and then switch to the person who came in second place.

And like I wrote before, there's a lot of bad blood and mistrust among Democrats toward Hillary. Her getting the nomination now would just cement that for a lot of people. And she wouldn't have a chance in hell of winning the election, because Republicans hate her and will never vote for her, and the Obama supporters won't vote for her if they think she just stole the nomination. Plus, her career in the Senate would be over because a lot of voters would blame her for the Dems losing the White House and wouldn't vote for her come re-election time.

And I wouldn't count on half of the House Dems voting for Hillary. They all want to get re-elected at some point.

Even Bill Richardson said he wasn't happy about the roll call for Hillary, but once the Obama people told him why they were doing it, and the precautions they took, he was okay with it. Obama's not stupid. He covered his bases.

[Sasha]

Kingcap, I hope you are right, but here are a couple of things to consider.

1-In your estimation of what could and should happen, you are presuming Hillary, and her supporters, are reasonable and sane. They are not.

2-If Hillary manages to wrestle the nom, the party leadership would urge unity and would back her to the hilt. They are all cowards. Look how long it took the supers to get behind Obama-they were pissing their pants in fear of the Clinton's.

3-The Clinton's "know" things about people. Do you think they would hesitate to use such knowledge to strongarm votes at the convention?

4-The media will soothe and cajole the populace, telling us to get over it, just like they did in 2000 when the election was stolen right before our eyes.

5-The Dem base has no power. We get screwed time and time again by the party and it's leadership.

6-When has the Dem party ever cared that they were "handing" an election the Republicans?

[kingcap72]

Originally Posted by Sasha

Kingcap, I hope you are right, but here are a couple of things to consider.

1-In your estimation of what could and should happen, you are presuming Hillary, and her supporters, are reasonable and sane. They are not.

2-If Hillary manages to wrestle the nom, the party leadership would urge unity and would back her to the hilt. They are all cowards. Look how long it took the supers to get behind Obama-they were pissing their pants in fear of the Clinton's.

3-The Clinton's "know" things about people. Do you think they would hesitate to use such knowledge to strongarm votes at the convention?

4-The media will soothe and cajole the populace, telling us to get over it, just like they did in 2000 when the election was stolen right before our eyes.

5-The Dem base has no power. We get screwed time and time again by the party and it's leadership.

6-When has the Dem party ever cared that they were "handing" an election the Republicans?

You make some good points, Sasha. But consider this:

1-In your estimation of what could and should happen, you are presuming Hillary, and her supporters, are reasonable and sane. They are not.

No matter how insane Hillary, or some of her supporters, may be they can't successfully pull off a coup without a LOT of collateral damage.

2-If Hillary manages to wrestle the nom, the party leadership would urge unity and would back her to the hilt. They are all cowards. Look how long it took the supers to get behind Obama-they were pissing their pants in fear of the Clinton's.

The leadership could jump behind Hillary as much as they want, but that's not going to translate into votes. Especially not from the very pissed off Obama and Edwards supporters. Even some of Hillary's own supporters, who wanted her to just let it go, would probably turn against her.

3-The Clinton's "know" things about people. Do you think they would hesitate to use such knowledge to strongarm votes at the convention?

The Clintons don't have the kind of power they used to wield. Don't get me wrong, they still have power, but not enough to strongarm the entire party. The fact that former Clinton allies were jumping ship to Obama during the primaries proves that.

4-The media will soothe and cajole the populace, telling us to get over it, just like they did in 2000 when the election was stolen right before our eyes.

As much as Hillary whined about the media loving Obama more than her. Trust me, she'll get villified by a good portion of the media.

5-The Dem base has no power. We get screwed time and time again by the party and it's leadership.

Can't argue you with you there. The Dems are notorious for having no backbone.

6-When has the Dem party ever cared that they were "handing" an election the Republicans?

I agree with that, to a point. But considering all of the bitterness after the primary season, the Dems have been all about party unity, and even they know handing Hillary the nomination now would blow any unity out of the water. The Dems aren't that dumb, I hope.

[scooter]

Yes, and if he puts her on the ticket before the convention, it all goes away. The 18 Million Clinton supprters become part of the Obama Nation and the Dream Team ticket wins in a landslide. But the key is he has to do it before the convention or it will look like he was forced to do it, at best. Also, it would be helpful if you guys stopped calling 50% of the Democrats names. It doesnt win you any friends. You're going to need your friends to win this election. Did any of you guys see the article on the front page of the NY Times yesterday? I dont know how to scan and post them but if someone else does, it would be very interesting reading for those of you who dont get the NY Times. The title is "Seeing a Tougher Race, Allies Ask Obama to Make 'Hope' Specific" by Patrick Healy.

[witchcurlgirl]

^^ I read it yesterday, I'll post it as a thread

[Grimmlok]

The 18 Million Clinton supprters become part of the Obama Nation and the Dream Team ticket wins in a landslide.

A landslide? Are you utterly unaware what kind of right-wing fundie catalist Hillary is? They will turn out in DROVES just to vote AGAINST her. They hate her with a passion! They also have lots of ammunition to use against her.

Where is this misguided notion that Hillary would HELP the situation coming from?

The 18 million Hillary voters, whose candidate LOST, need to get over it. She lost because her campaign SUCKED. If she can't even run a campaign, she can't hope to run a country.

The world we live in isn't a "everybody wins, everybody gets a trophy, if you lose just stamp your feet and whine" world. People lose. Hillary lost.

get the fuck over it.

[kingcap72]

Originally Posted by scooter

Yes, and if he puts her on the ticket before the convention, it all goes away. The 18 Million Clinton supprters become part of the Obama Nation and the Dream Team ticket wins in a landslide. But the key is he has to do it before the convention or it will look like he was forced to do it, at best. Also, it would be helpful if you guys stopped calling 50% of the Democrats names. It doesnt win you any friends. You're going to need your friends to win this election. Did any of you guys see the article on the front page of the NY Times yesterday? I dont know how to scan and post them but if someone else does, it would be very interesting reading for those of you who dont get the NY Times. The title is "Seeing a Tougher Race, Allies Ask Obama to Make 'Hope' Specific" by Patrick Healy.

Scooter, Hillary isn't going to be on the ticket. Obama's confirmed that by Hillary's placement at the convention.

[scooter]

Just a question for Grimm and Kingcap....which is more important to you, BO winning in November or Keeping HRC off the ticket? Sometimes I cant tell from your posts what the priority is.

[Grimmlok]

If the Hillbots vote for McSame out of petulance, then I will laugh at every one of them when it goes immediately south.

[kingcap72]

Originally Posted by scooter

Just a question for Grimm and Kingcap....which is more important to you, BO winning in November or Keeping HRC off the ticket? Sometimes I cant tell from your posts what the priority is.

My top priority is Obama winning in November, which WON'T happen with Hillary on the ticket.

But based on your posts Scooter, I wonder what your priority is. Obama winning in November or getting Hillary on the ticket?