Michigan Democrats Are Still Fighting

In the wake of last week's ruling reinstating a January 15 Michigan primary, state legislators in Michigan today will try to force Democratic presidential candidates to participate.

They're passing a law today that will finalize a ballot, adding the names of those Democrats who opted out of the earlier incarnation of the primary.

That means that, absent a legal challenge, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Joe Biden's names will once again be on the ballot, joining Chris Dodd's and Hillary Clinton's. (The DNC won't budge: Michigan will not be allocated any delegates).

The Michigan Democratic Party's executive committee meets tomorrow night, and the votes are there for Jan. 15. But the state party's executive director, Mark Brewer, is going to throw up road blocks -- he really wants a caucus -- but he is fast running out of allies.

Comments

I wonder if HIllary supporters are behind this effort to force the others onto the ballot because they want to have a state in which name ID trumps all to conuteract the early states in which campaigns are engaged and votrers are making informed decisions. Since HIllary is the only major dem on the ballot now, she will get little or no bouce from a win there...but if the others are on the ballot, a victory there will be more easily spun as having meaning that it does not. Is it even constitutional to force someone to be on a ballot?

Posted by RKA | November 26, 2007 10:52 AM

"I wonder if HIllary supporters are behind this effort to force the others onto the ballot"

This is like saying, "I wonder if the sky is blue."

Posted by Petey | November 26, 2007 11:18 AM

The split between Brewer and Granholm is long-standing. Generally, Mark takes the union side, and from the union folk I know, they're backing the more populist Edwards. The Granholm endorsement of Clinton coupled with early primary date does open up the threat (at least) of a rift in the state party.

Posted by Harris | November 26, 2007 11:19 AM

How is it possible to require a person to participate in a primary? Unless there was a problem with their paperwork, it seems to me that this is more bluster than anything else.

Posted by Keith | November 26, 2007 2:02 PM

Call and email the MDP:

ANd tell them how you feel.

Be Mark's ally!

Posted by philgoblue | November 26, 2007 4:31 PM