DNC Compromise Reached: Half-Votes For Florida and Michigan Delegates

After many hours of deliberating and having to filter out the interruptions from the emotional and passionate spectators, the DNC has finally reached a compromise for Michigan and Florida.

On Saturday, May 31, it was a day that was filled with intensity, passion, and emotion for the Democratic National Committee as they met to come up with a compromise for the delegations of both Florida and Michigan. Both states were stripped of their delegates as punishment for holding their primaries too early in violation of the DNC rules. Democratic co-frontrunner Senator Barack Obama of Illinois removed himself from the ballot in Michigan and did not campaign in Florida. Democratic co-frontrunner Senator Hillary Clinton ended up winning both states. But, the contests did not count for Clinton. In the beginning, Clinton was vocal in demanding those contests count. But, Clinton had remained silent about the issue until recently when it looked like that Obama became one step away of securing the Democratic nomination. Obama had secured a majority of the delegates. The meeting was heated and intense. For those that were watching it, the meeting by the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the DNC could’ve ended up becoming very volatile. It would’ve looked as if the spectators could have gotten bloodthirsty at any given moment. In short, it was very intense and very unpredictable. Early in the month, DNC Chair Howard Dean said that there will be a compromise reached by the end of the month. Dean said that the other forty-eight states must be respected for playing by the rules. The R&B Committee co-chair Alexis Herman hade made it clear: seating all delegates was not optional. This was how the talks on reaching a compromise started. It was safe to say that there were plenty of those in the audience that were not happy with the statement. “We had many states that wanted to violate the timing. We needed to send a very strong signal in order to prevent additional states from moving forward,” Herman explained in her opening statement. The supporters of Clinton and Obama were at it with each other. After hours of deliberation, a compromise has been reached for both Florida and Michigan. All of the delegates from Florida and Michigan will be seated. But, each delegate would get a half-vote. The number of delegates would be shaved in half. Not everybody was happy with the Michigan compromise. The compromise for Michigan was approved by a 19 to 8 vote. Harold Ickes, who is part of the Rules and Bylaws Committee and serving as a Clinton adviser openly spoke out against the idea. Ickes said: "Mrs. Clinton has instructed me to reserve her rights to take this to the Credentials Committee." A compromise has been reached. However, it is highly likely that this will still remain unresolved. This is could give the indication that the Democratic National Convention at Denver, Colorado this August will more than likely get very chaotic. While a compromise has been reached, it looks to be far from over.