Michigan Dems divided on who’s to blame for primary mess

As Michigan Democratic Party activists convene this weekend to select their congressional district delegates, no doubt the focus will be on the continuing primary mess. There’s little agreement among state party leaders about who’s to blame for failing to ensure that those Michigan delegates have a secure place at the party’s national convention.

The April 19 district conventions are the latest development in an ongoing interfamily drama stemming from Michigan Democrats’ decision to flout national party rules and push the state’s primary to Jan. 15. Party activists from across the state remain divided as to whether that audacious move was sound or if it undermined the party’s ability to do the work needed to take back the White House this fall.

“I think a lot of time and effort has been spent on making sure that everybody’s happy – and this includes the public – with what’s transpired,” said Brad Wilson, statewide community development director for the United Food and Commercial Workers.

“I think more time could have been better spent in making sure we have local party activists energized and moving toward working for the election in 2008 – making sure the precinct delegate system is up and running, getting ready for phone banking and knocking doors,” he added.

Continued - The reason for the energy drain, several party leaders said, was the failure of Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and their respective camps to come to an agreement over how best to resolve the dilemma of how, or whether, to recognize Michigan’s delegates.

“I don’t see it as being a Michigan Democratic problem – I think we’re on the same page,” said Diana Ketola, chair of the Grand Traverse County Democratic Party. “I think it has more to do with the candidates’ campaigns and the Democratic National Committee. Getting the two campaigns to agree has been the sticking point.”

Earlier this month, the state party’s executive committee said in a statement that it had “carefully reviewed several proposals for a Party-run primary or caucus as a means of resolving the dispute over the seating of the Michigan delegation” at the convention. Conducting a do-over primary or caucus “is not practical,” the committee said.

That statement came after months of haggling between the state party, the DNC and the Clinton and Obama campaigns that began before the state’s defiant Jan. 15 primary. Obama and John Edwards, among other candidates, removed their names from Michigan’s primary ballot in a show of the support for the DNC’s position. Clinton kept her name on the ballot but didn’t campaign in Michigan. She went on to earn 55 percent of the votes.

DNC chair Howard Dean has been adamant that the results of the primary will not be certified. But as the race between Clinton and Obama tightened and it became clear that neither would earn the nomination through pledged delegates alone, pressure built to find a way to seat Michigan’s delegation. Clinton supported holding a new primary but not a caucus, while Obama would not agree to a do-over primary. Other options never gained serious traction.

The original charge to move the primary was led by state party Chair Mark Brewer, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin and DNC member Debbie Dingell, and was motivated by frustration at the stranglehold Iowa and New Hampshire have on the primary calendar and the money those early primaries bring into the states.

“The bottom line is it’s not fair that Iowa and New Hampshire always go first,” said Ted O’Dell, chair of the Marquette County Democratic Party. “There’s no reason they shouldn’t share the wealth with the other states.”

Ketola said Brewer informed the rank and file of the decision last summer during one of the party’s statewide conference calls with party leaders.

“The decision was explained thoroughly last summer,” she said. “Until it got to be November and Obama and Edwards withdrew their names, I hadn’t heard any dissension whatsoever.”

But some feel that the state party could have done a better job getting the party faithful on board with the controversial move. Dave Woodward, chair of the Oakland County Democratic Party, said the party needs a “greater dialog of party leadership.”

“From the beginning a lot of these decisions were made in a vacuum, and a lot of people didn’t feel part of the discussion,” he said. “There needs to be more than a handful of people engaged in this process. We have leadership and should respect that leadership, but it’s a two-way street, and they have the responsibility to get that feedback from the rank and file. People haven’t felt heard in this process.”

But nearly all party leaders agree that when push comes to shove at the Denver convention, Michigan is too important a state to leave out.

“I’ve been reiterating this for months – the Democrat can’t win the White House without Michigan,” Ketola said. “They have to find a solution. And sometimes solutions make both sides a little bit happy and a little bit sad. But for November, both candidates need us.”

Wilson agreed: “I see Michigan’s delegates being seated, I really do. I don’t think they can leave Michigan out.”