May 17, 2008 - 4:23pm
Democrats talk unity; Dean mum on primary
By James W. Pindell
Category: US Senate, House, LocalTags: Howard Dean, Kathy Sullivan, Jim Demers, NHDP, Eleanor Kjellman, Ricia McMahon
MANCHESTER -- As the presidential primary battle continues between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton nationwide, local Democrats stressed unity during their annual state convention Saturday.
They talked as if talking about unity would actually heal the wounds playing out at the grassroots. Call it the audacity of hope.
At one point former party chair Kathy Sullivan, a Cinton supporter, addressed the 800 pound donkey in the room by making all delegates stand, raise their right hands and pledge they'll support the Democratic presidential nominee, whoever that might be. Jim Demers, an Obama state co-chair, repeated the same call for unity.
Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean tried to make a joke of the contest by saying that "when I began to map out a 50 state strategy I did not intend 50 state primaries."
Many in the audience felt betrayed by Dean in the time since he has been national party chair. They felt he went from pledging as a presidential candidate that New Hampshire's presidential primary should always be first to presiding over a party that openly discussed scrapping it.
After Dean arrived in the building and went into a private room, U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes (D-Concord) was asked if Dean would be a President Obama's pick as party chair. Hodes is a national co-chair for Obama.
"There are going to be many issues for Obama to look at and that will be one of them," Hodes tried to say diplomatically.
But any protest of the speech came from two Clinton supporters.
State Reps. Ricia McMahon (D- North Sutton) and Eleanor Kjellman (D-Hopkinton) held signs asking that Dean seat Florida and Michigan delegations at the national convention even though they violated party rules.
Dean didn't say anything on the issue nor did he pledge to keep New Hampshire first in the future as other party chairs have in the past. Immediately after he spoke he left out a back door, got in his rental convertible and left before taking questions from reporters. (It should be noted that Michigan Democrats believe Dean is too close to New Hampshire and Iowa.)
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"State Reps. Ricia McMahon (D- North Sutton) and Eleanor Kjellman (D-Hopkinton) held signs asking that Dean seat Florida and Michigan delegations at the national convention even though they violated party rules."
How could they have violated the rules ? The rules are whatever Bill says they are. These two were an embarassment to NH, and the Democratic Party. Kjellman told me directly that if Obama were the nominee she would leave the slot blank and not vote for the Party's nominee. I guess they are living in a fantasy world where whatever the Clinton's want is reality. In the world I live in, a blank vote is a vote for McCain and the Republicans.
Dumb question
What a weird question Pindell posed to Hodes, and even weirder that he thought it worth including it in his story. It is May 17, 2008 and James is asking who a potential President Obama would want as the Chairman of the DNC - an election next February? Tabloid journalism.
The calls for unity may make
The calls for unity may make the grasstops feel good, but the grassroots are still very upset with the way things have gone down in this primary season. We all got to witness the traditional party leaders pull out all the stops for their candidate and leave no ground uncharred in the process. Shame on McMahon and Kjellman. Any attempt to seat the delegates of Florida and Michigan is a complete erosion of the NH Primary and will further jeopardize our standing as the first-in-the-nation.
at least he shows up
Whatever you make of the forward looking question, at least Pindell shows up to practically everything.
I didn't see the monitor, distaso or landrigan anywhere for an event with nearly a 1,000 democrats.
This site never ceases to disappoint me.
"They talked as if talking about unity would actually heal the wounds playing out at the grassroots. Call it the audacity of hope."
This kind of commentary found here at the ticker is often wrong, rarely agreed with, and generally makes the site and its reporting less respectable. Tickers are for news, not analysis; particularly not bad analysis.
Standing Headline: Clinton Reneges on Agreement
Once again the Clintonistas broke the rules. The party leaders wanted the convention to focus on state candidates and not get sidetracked by the Obama-Clinton race. The party worked out a deal with the Obama and Clinton camps: a spokesperson for each campaign would give a unity speech and neither campaign would use the convention to campaign.
So what happened? The Obama folks kept to their end of the bargain. The Clintonistas? Two of her supporters displayed signs throughout Dean's speech. No attempt was made by any of Clinton's supporters to ask them to take down their signs and live up to the agreement, which made it appear it was planned by the Clinton campaign.
By the way, McMahon worked in Slick Willie's administration and apparently wants to go back to DC.
Also, where was Bill Shaheen? When is he going to come back from exile. Here's my guess: Jeanne will keep him in hiding as long as her campaign is doing well, much like Hillary kept Slick Willie hidden after he embarrassed her in the early primaries. Just as Slick Willie returned when after Hillary's campaign went downhill and she got desperate, expect to see Bill Shaheen's re-emergence when the wheels start to fall of Jeanne's campaign and she gets desperate.
What?
Conorlarkin, nobody "worked out a deal" with the Clinton and Obama campaigns. A couple of weeks ago, the NHDP asked me and someone from the Obama campaign to speak on behalf of Unity '08. There was no "deal", no discussion of not campaigning - if you didn't notice, the NH primary was in January? What is there to campaign for? And making a scene by running up and asking them to take the signs down would have been a little obnoxious and disruptive to Gov. Dean's speech. So, why don't you come out from behind your nom d'blog and let us know which it is - are you fibbing to cause trouble, or repeating baseless rumors to cause trouble?
No Plot
Kathy's right, this was not some plot. More like a kid at the fair, when the ride's over either you get off, or buy another ticket. I supported my candidate for 6 years, but anti white male sexism drove him from the race. Not. He lost, plain and simple. Time to move on. I thank Kathy and Jim Demers for burying the hatchet, and not in each other's skulls.
It was a for real Unity meeting, and I have signed on. However you want to play it, we must have a Democrat in the White House 1/20/09.
"Deal cried the losers, while the winners cracked jokes"
Next time there may be no next time
Convention demonstration
Since when are Democrats embarassed by demonstrations? The signs were a reminder to Gov. Dean to "keep your word" and count MI and FL. He told Tim Russert twice(!) that they would be counted. The rules committeee meets on the 31st-Dean is part of that. At this point, I cannot vote for Obama because I believe he is unqualified to be President, and we have had enough of amateur hour in the Bush White House. For me to express that publicly is a heads-up to the superdelegates- that they need to do what they were put in place to do -select the person who can prevent us from having another George McGovern-style defeat. I represent more than 50% of Democrats in the states with the most electoral votes.
No anti white male sexism, but misogyny aplenty
Finally someone spells out in detail the reasons I have been repeatedly ourtraged at the blatant sexism I have seen during this primary. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/14/AR200805.... The last glass ceiling in America - the Presidency- is carefully guarded by misogynists and it is hardly mentioned in the press. We would never tolerate a tap dancing doll with an Obama head, but take a look at what this op-ed documents about the vicious and blatantly sexist attacks on Hillary. With so many women identifying strongly with her, the resentment from not even having the issue addressed by the Democratic leadership is going to be a huge problem in November. She speaks for millions of wonem and Democrats need the women's vote. Hillary spoke up to defend Barack on the "apppeaser" comment by Bush. Why is he silent on the sexism-if it were directed at his wife, he'd speak up,right?
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