Donnie Fowler: OMG...What if Florida & Michigan Outlaws Pick the Democratic Nominee?

by Donnie Fowler [courtesy of Politics on HuffingtonPost.com]

Democracy is messy. Yes, indeed. And sometimes its even got a wry sense of humor.

Wouldn't it be ironic if Florida and Michigan actually end up choosing the Democratic nominee for president? By voting last after fighting so hard to be first, the two big battleground states might get to be the real kingmakers in the Obama-Clinton brawl for it all. Even after Florida and Michigan broke rules that told them not to hold an election before Super Tuesday and got all their delegates stripped by the national Democratic Party.

Pshaw! to those superdelegates. I want to be a Democrat in Detroit or Miami, please.

One of the messiest problems the Democrats have right now is what to do with the two states that had elections in January but whose votes do not count because of the DNC's political death penalty on them. Democratic Party leaders from Chairman Howard Dean to the Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan and US Senators Carl Levin (MI) & Bill Nelson (FL) are working feverishly to find a solution. Even Republican Governor Charlie Crist (FL) wants to help the Dems ... altruistically, I'm sure.

And there are solutions. The most recent and possibly most necessary is finding a way to allow Florida and Michigan to hold another election. This will allow voters to express their choice for Obama or Clinton in a way that actually will count.

No Democrat at the end of the day wants to double-dis (disrespect or disenfranchise) two major battleground states they will fight for this fall. A -- it's just plain wrong. B -- what a nice talking point for McCain!

How might new elections happen? Each state is allowed to hold a second election later this spring under Democratic rules. Both states kinda sorta want to do this, but they don't wanna pay for it. Clinton seems OK with it despite the risk that she claims to have "won" the original election in Florida (where neither candidate campaigned) and Michigan (where Obama was not even on the ballot). It's not clear yet whether Obama is good with this idea.

But the lost story is still the ironic story. The two states that broke the calendar rules because they were jealous of Iowa and New Hampshire always getting to go FIRST might now be forced to go LAST. Who woulda thought before this crazy, crazy election year that the final states to vote could be the most important? Perhaps in 2012, Iowa and New Hampshire will fight for the tail end?