http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/silly-voters-by-digby-regardless-of.htmlSilly Voters
by digby
Regardless of whether you like Clinton or Obama, does anyone think it's a good idea for MSNBC to be rude, snide and dismissive about more than a million and a half Democratic voters in Florida (more than double the turnout from 2004)? Isn't there a little unpleasant history of votes not counting down there?
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My point is that actual human beings voted today. If it is inappropriate for Clinton to declare victory it's also damned inappropriate for every gasbag on television to say that all these votes are completely meaningless. They may not add to the delegate count, but they were cast in good faith by American citizens and they should be treated with respect by these jackasses.
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Update: Just to be clear: I am not commenting about any of the party machinations, merely that I don't think it's right for news organizations to be dismissive of actual voters. They were rude and obnoxious tonight, not just toward Clinton, which is a legitimate part of the business, but they also acted as if it didn't matter that a million and a half Democratic voters cast votes.
It's just not a good idea to let the media be the arbiters of when voters matter and when they don't. The party will settle this and it's unlikely that Clinton will benefit either from Michigan or Florida unless she wins many more delegates than Obama in other states. It just won't happen. Judging from the coverage it's also highly unlikely she will get any mileage from the "victory" either, so I think everyone can probably relax on that count. Clinton will get no benefit from this and I'm not arguing about this on her behalf. I would say exactly the same thing no matter who was involved. Even Republicans. I am a big believer in voters being respected from way back.