Every Vote Counts...Just Words

The Democrats used to be the Party dedicated to making sure “every vote counts” -- even when it meant a fight.

The Party’s website notes, “A fundamental tenet of our democracy is the right to vote and to have that vote counted.” The Party worked to pass legislation to insure that voting systems are reliable and secure, and quotes from party leaders over the last eight years certainly attest to the mantra that “count every vote” is a cornerstone of the Party's agenda.

“I believe this is a time to count every vote and not to run out the clock. This is not a time for delay, obstruction, and procedural roadblocks. As I've said, I believe it's essential to our country that there be no question, no cloud ... We need to be able to say that there is no legitimate question as to who won this election.” (Al Gore, 2000)

“And the principle again is a very simple one: When people cast votes, the votes should be counted.” (Al Gore, 2000)

“He will be the president legally, but he does not have moral authority, because his crown did not come from the people. It came from the judges.” (Rev. Jesse Jackson, 2000)

“In America, it is vital that every vote count and every vote be counted.” (John Kerry, 2004)

“I want you to know we will continue to fight for every vote because every vote matters in our America and we will honor each one of you who stood with us and who stood in line to change your country.” (John Edwards, 2004)

“In a democracy, votes must count and every citizen’s vote must be properly counted.” (John Bonifaz, general counsel, National Voting Rights Institute, 2004)

“All I’m asking the Republicans to do is count every vote!” (Howard Dean, Press Conference in San Diego, July 18, 2006)

“The teenagers and college students who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry and cleaning somebody else's kitchen - they didn't brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether their vote would be counted.” (Barack Obama, Howard University Convocation, Sept. 2007)

What a difference four or eight years makes.

Now Howard Dean and the DNC are denying Democrats in Florida and Michigan a voice in voting for their Party’s next nominee for President. Dean and the DNC cite that FL and MI voters are being penalized because those states broke the rules. Obama supporters focus not on the voters and their right to have a voice in an election, but instead accuse Hillary of wanting to make new rules in the middle of a game.

Yet, according to the “DNC’s Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention”, Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina also broke the rules of this "game". However unlike FL and MI, those states have not been penalized. Seems if we're playing a "game" by the rules, then the rules should apply equally to every state or they should not be applied at all. Otherwise, what the DNC is sanctioning is a double standard. And if that's the case, I need to ask myself, "Why would a Party that aims to unify and to be a voice for all Democrats persist in a double standard?"

The problem with the "game" analogy is that this election season is no "game". Our country is facing very serious problems: a war in Iraq, a home mortgage crisis, skyrocketing health care costs, and continuing needs to invest talent and resources into our educational systems, just to name a few. The challenges are many, and our country needs a leader who can deliver the changes to move us forward. Selecting the nominee that the Democratic Party will put forward to be that leader is no "game"; it is a serious job; it is task we undertake cognizant of its impact on our country, our world, our today, our tomorrow; it is a charge that demands the voices of voters from all of America.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Howard Dean and the DNC are are throwing aside the cornerstone Democratic principle of “Count every vote”. They are silencing the voices of Democrats in FL and MI because of a rule that is not even being consistently applied.

And what of Obama's reluctance to recognize FL and MI, of his judgment that the FL election was merely a beauty contest? Obama speaks of change and of the importance of insuring that every "vote..be counted".
• Are Obama's previous calls that every "vote should be counted" just words, just pretty rhethoric for a speech?
• Is Obama afraid of how the voice of the voters of FL and Mi might change the dynamics of this campaign? Might lessen his lead? Might change the perceptions of superdelegates concerning this contest?

Just why would a candidate for President of the United States want to ignore the voices of the voters from two of those states? Seems instead a candidate for President would want to be listening to the voices of all Americans, would want to fight for the right for every American to have his or her "vote..be counted."

But then, what do I know? Just one thing, I guess, what a difference four or eight years make!

Make every vote count…
Black Sheep Democrats say Count Every Vote!
and keep counting….
Rule One: Count Every Vote

And raise your voice to say, let’s “Count every vote”

Petition for Florida and Michigan

and

Petition to seat our delegates