Psst, Obama Fans: The Democratic Party Wants This Race to Continue...

Will Barack Obama be the Democratic party nominee? Of course. Does the party already know this? Of course.

But listen to what the party elders are saying. They WANT this race to continue. And when you think about it, it makes sense. Here's all the reasons why.

1) Democracy: At this point, why not let all of the states vote and feel like they are having a say. What is happening in each state primary? Record, record Dem registrations. The party wants as many of these voters as possible.

2) Donations: They want the donations to continue. For Barack Obama, each cent he raises can be used in the General Election. For Hillary Clinton, each cent she raises can be used to erase her debt. The party doesn't want her to end this election with a loss and a huge debt. That will further upset her supporters.

3) The Republicans: The Republicans WISH they had this much attention, this much hoopla, this much free coverage. Yes, they're claiming that this is weakening our candidates for the fall but that's mostly bull. They're terrified at how passionate and interested the entire country is in everything in the Democratic party. Operation Chaos is getting shut down. Why? Because they see the passion that this race has ignited. And now they don't know how to squelch it.

4) Unity: This primary election is historic. It is a race that will be written about for decades to come. The party doesn't want to squander history by letting it end on a quiet note. I expect that by early June all of the supers will announce. And there will then be a joint press conference with Obama and Clinton together. Obama will be announced as the nominee but a ton of love will be spread on Hillary. It will be a huge event. And the love in the Democratic party will be overflowing. This is the proper way to celebrate history.

In the meantime, behind the scenes, the party is plotting their campaign against McCain. They are using these final weeks to come out guns a-blazing.

So I plan to chill. Yep, some of the Hillary talking heads will say some annoying stuff but that's for show. They need the donations. And for some, they're still hoping that there's a surprise that will pull this out for Hillary. But the party has made their intentions very, very, very clear.

They want the race to continue until June 3rd. Even though the nominee has clearly Obama. They know what they're doing. They're riding this wave of passion, money and excitement all the way to November.

equal all democratic voters?

So there. :P

That sounds unsanitary.

The MSM made it out like McCain had a mile-long head start.

and they can be very picky and choose any number of reasons not to like one or the other

but this talk about seating MI/FL AS IS does not sit well with me. I hope that is orchestrated as well, then. And, I do find it hard to believe that the DNC would not want this to end, so that perhaps they can get some of the donation love.

The party has decided. This will end there.

If need be, Clinton SDs will start to desert her to join Obama to end it. It will end in early June.

You're talking a lot of s^^t.

I have no idea what side you're on.

But you should work on your demeanor and presentation. Attacking people because you don't agree with a point they've made is pathetic and immature.

But you're entitled to your opinion.

I would say "okay, we disagree."

Thanks for choosing less offensive words. I appreciate it.

happy family. The Mexicans don't like the blacks in the party the Clinton voters saying they will back PAPA McCain over Obama in the general the back woods hick states like West Virginia say Obama is untrust worthy and won't vote for him because of his skin color. Are you kidding me on this party coming together its not going to happen and i don't care if Obama and Hillary appear to make up

Because

1) There are far, far, far more Dems than Repubs this year.

2) People are in such desperate need of help financially, they must vote for change.

I'll just comment on point 1 ---> "1) Democracy: At this point, why not let all of the states vote and feel like they are having a say. What is happening in each state primary? Record, record Dem registrations. The party wants as many of these voters as possible."

Really? You mean the DNC wants me and my vote so much they are allowing my state, Florida, to send only half it's rightful delegates? Talk about disenfranchisement!!

The DNC doesn't know it's primary candidates from it's general election candidate. I think the only people that do have a clue is Obama's camp.

Hillary Clinton, the DNC and Howard Dean are turning my party into a laughing stock.

I'm confused but I want to understand.

I thought I was pretty clear. You said that the DNC wants as many people as possible to be registered Democrats, for various reasons.

I replied that the DNC does not in fact care one bit about signing up new members as evidenced by what they did to Florida by taking away 50% of our delegates to the convention.

Assuming you don't live in Florida, your vote is worth twice as much as my vote.

Floridians aren't more important than any other state's voters. Florida, just like Michigan, decided to try to make their voters more important by moving their elections up.

Your point doesn't negate my point at all.

The Democrats are making record registrations this year.

It will no matter what anyone thinks.

Obama closed the deal in WI.

Prove your allegations or they remain your *opinion*.

If I'm wrong, why doesn't the party end it? All the SDs have to do is announce. What's holding them off?

their Democrats.

there's nothing wrong with this going into June.

All 50 states and the territories must have the opportunity to vote in the primary. Technically Obama has not reached the magic number of delegates but he's darned close.

A couple of your points make sense. Certainly Hillary Clinton can continue to fund raise as long as she's in the race. I agree with you that her fundraising is just going to help her pay off her debt.

I need to learn more about the super delegates. I dont think it's as simple as saying that they will vote one way or another. I think the only thing that matters is how they vote at the convention. Until then they are just flapping their yap, (as my grandmother likes to say.)

The Clintons still hold a lot of power in the party, and many are afraid to move against them when there's even the slightest chance that Hillary could be victorious. Were they to get on her bad side and she somehow managed to get the nomination, they know that there would be hell to pay. SD's would have ended it by now if Obama's opponent was Edwards, Biden, Dodd or Richardson. Of course I also think any of them would have willingly dropped out by now, but that's a whole other story.

Why haven't the majority of SDs announced yet?

Why is Pelosi saying this should go until June 3rd?

Why is Donna Brazille saying the same thing?

I think if she gets particularly ugly again, the superdelegates will do just that.

If the SDs are waiting, it's for one reason. To appease her voters.

After June 3rd, the primaries are over.

That's why Pelosi, Donna B, Dean and others are marking that date.

You gotta be kidding, she's the one that's kicking Michigan and Florida out of the convention!

From that aspect, the elections have been terrific for motivating the party. If only the race hadn't turned so nasty the last few months, this woulda been terrific for us. Instead its a mixed bag.

I don't think so. I really don't.

And these seats in Congress that the Repubs are losing have to scare him to death.

Does he run to the center? Then he loses to base of the Repubs. Does he run to the right? There aren't enough of those people for him to win.

Meanwhile, all of the imagination and energy is on the Democratic side of the race.

oops, too late. :toast:

the more people this excited and involved this early, bodes well for us in the GE. And the race tonight in MS and in LA last week, prove that the Republican spin is nothing more than whistling past the graveyard. They're not happy about McCain and now they'll have to contend with Bob Barr and Ron Paul. This is going to be a great year for the Democrats. :toast:

Expecting the SDs to officially end this thing within days.

We should be taking our signals from Pelosi, Dean and the other party leaders.

Do they want Clinton to be divisive and hurtful to Obama? No.

But they want this race to end just after June 3rd. That way it feels fair and it ends as the most historic, the most amazing primary ever.

on edge, and rightly so. This has been an emotional primary. I've been frustrated about some things said and done, but I know in the end, it won't matter come November. The race will be over after the last primary, it's gone this far, so might as well let her finish anyway, for the reasons you state. Then she can make her case, nothing will have changed, and it'll be said and done before the convention. That's the only thing that matters.

But I trust the party leaders - especially Pelosi and Dean. And now Edwards. They are all speaking in unison.

The only thing really being damaged if at all, is the Clinton legacy. She can repair that when they turn around and campaign for him. And you're wise to trust them. They see through the spin. They're politicians too, so they know what spin is better than we do for sure. The Republicans are the ones in trouble, and you hafta' love that. :D

The Obama vs. Clinton primary has tons of dems turning out and many who are divided between hillary or Obama, are voting D in state and local level offices.

A bunch of previously red areas are going dem.

That's why they want to keep it going.

If hillary did drop out, some percentage of her supporters might not bother showing up to vote in the primary, and thus could drain off the dem edge in other races.

And yep, it does help the Dem races that are tied to the primaries.

You are dead on.

What the hell is the point.

I guess building up the party in South Dakota and Montana.

"We didn't push her out of the race. We took in every primary. And then we decided. Obama won according to our rules. Now let's kick Republican butt."

Why not? Stand up for your candidate one last time and then back the nominee on the second vote. Worked for 40 of 60 Kucinich delegates in 2004, no?

Point #4, while I would love to see it happen, I'm afraid is the longshot of the group.

I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. There are good points to the long primary season (new voters, exposure) and drawbacks (McCain goes unopposed, infighting and party division). The question is do the benefits outweigh the disadvantages? I'm not sure.