Clinton vs. The People of Michigan'uncommitted'

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Tuesday, January 15, 2008
In Democrats' race, it's Clinton vs. 'uncommitted'
Francis X. Donnelly / The Detroit News

Sonnie Williams summed up Michigan's marginalized Democratic primary better than any TV pundit could.

"That doesn't seem right," said Williams, 36, a Detroit cosmetologist. "I can't vote for the person I want?"

That's about it for Williams and other supporters of Barack Obama or John Edwards, two top Democratic candidates not on the ballot here. Hillary Clinton is the only major Democratic candidate on today's ballot. The truncated candidate list is fallout from the confrontation between Michigan and the national political parties over the state's move into the early part of the campaign calendar.

While all the Democratic candidates except Ohio U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich adhered to party edicts and refused to campaign in Michigan, Clinton is alone among major candidates to leave her name on the ballot. Now, supporters for her foes are seeking revenge. Few analysts doubt that Clinton won't win, but that has not stopped her opponents from trying to cut into Clinton's vote total by mounting a last-ditch push for Democrats to vote "uncommitted."
U.S. media largely absent

Obama and Edwards, competing with Clinton for the Democratic nomination, took their names off the Michigan ballot in October, saying that was the best way to honor their pledge not to campaign in Michigan. And national Democratic Party officials have penalized Michigan by barring the state's delegates from the national convention this summer.

Though it's likely the delegates eventually will be allowed to attend, the combination of factors has left Michigan with a non-contest being largely ignored by the national media.

Former Sen. Don Riegle told a Detroit rally Monday that Clinton has taken advantage of the fractured primary. Supporters of the New York senator dismiss the suggestions as typical politicking.

"When you get near an election, people start acting goofy," said former Gov. Jim Blanchard, a co-chairman of Clinton's organization in Michigan.

Riegle supports Obama, whose campaign coordinated his appearances.

"The bottom line is the Clinton people have managed to circumvent the process," said Riegle, a Flint Democrat who also spoke in Lansing and Flint. "Democrats should show there is a large number of people who don't like the railroad job they're trying to do for Hillary Clinton."

Much of the fuss stems from fallout after state Democrats rescheduled the primary from February to today in an effort to boost the state's clout.

Stuck in the middle of the sudden cross-fire between the Democratic camps are voters trying to decide which candidate to support.

Compounding their confusion is an incomplete ballot that doesn't allow them to vote for several of the people running nationally.

Although ballots list write-ins as an option, no candidates have filed paperwork declaring their intentions to mount such campaigns. That means any voters who take advantage of the option -- which isn't really an option -- will have their ballots tossed because elections officials consider them spoiled.
'Uncommitted' drive arises

Blanchard said Obama and Edwards could have copied Clinton by leaving their names on the ballot, and that their unhappiness should be directed at the national party for failing to recognize the Michigan primary.

Supporters of Obama and Edwards urged voters to vote "uncommitted."

If 15 percent of the vote in a congressional district is uncommitted, its delegates will be free to represent any candidate.

Bernard Parker, a Wayne County commissioner who supports Obama, said he was disappointed with Clinton for keeping her name on the ballot.

"I think she took advantage of the situation," he said. "If she hadn't done that, we would have had a different situation. Either all the candidates' names would be on the ballot or none would."

Last week, Rep. John Conyers Jr., a Detroit Democrat who supports Obama, began running radio commercials imploring party members to vote uncommitted.

A newly formed group, Detroiters for Uncommitted Voters, which also supports Obama, has campaigned door to door and on the phone asking people not to commit to any of the candidates listed on the ballot.

You can reach Francis X. Donnelly at (313) 223-4186 or fdonnelly@detnews.com.



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