Michigan Democratic Primary: Is the Party Trying to Lose Another Election?

What were they thinking? The primary process is so convoluted nobody seems to have noticed, but votes in Michigan's Democratic primary didn't count this year.

My first instinct was to say that put Michigan voters at about the same level of representation as Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and Guam. None. But after some research, I found that these "states" actually vote and send delegates. Yes, that means what you think it means:

Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and Guam have more say than Michigan this year deciding the next president.

This was the Party's way of "penalizing" Michigan, since Michigan moved its primaries earlier than the Party wanted.

Voters in Michigan should be outraged. And the Democrats were foolish.

The Democrats narrowly lost the presidency in 2004 in an election they should have won. The general consensus is that they "blew it" in 2004, which is starting to sound like a broken record, since many think they did the same in 2000. The word Democrat is becoming synonymous with electoral incompetency.

The broken record continues. They'll get away with it this year, but they Democrats are risking blowing another election they should easily win. Michigan is a swing state that picked Kerry over Bush in 2004, 51% to 48%.

Should Michigan's moderate Democrat swing voters vote for the Democrats in the general election after the Party chose Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and Guam over Michigan? My instinct is no, and the Party should have realized this.

Are the Democrats trying to alienate voters in a swing state? Are they trying to blow another election? The Republican Party was wise enough to count Michigan Republican votes at 50%, which is still wrong but makes the Republicans look great compared to Democrats, which is the norm during election years.

They'll probably get away with it and still win the election. The odds are stacked so much in their favor in 2008, that even the Democratic Party can't blow this one. But I hope the Democratic Party, which I usually vote for, will be a little smarter in the future. I prefer many of their policy stances, but competency rules in the end. We need government to represent us, not to disenfranchise.

And bravo to Hillary Clinton for being the only Democrat contender to put her name on Michigan's ballot. Last I checked, every adult taxpayer gets a vote, and it looks like Senator Clinton felt the same.