Over the course of this primary election season, I have become a more and more frequent MyDD visitor and commenter. I understand the whole Kos vs. MyDD debacle, and have come to accept that MyDD is often a bastion of support for Mrs. Clinton and her candidacy. I understand that much political discussion takes place in that special grey area between fact and fiction, the "spin" zone if you will. Poll numbers are open to interpretation, interviews and quotations are put into, and taken out of context.
That is why we all come to a website like MyDD. To debate, to exchange points of view, to have reasoned discussions about pressing issues within the Democratic party. So when diarists make the rec list with diaries that extrapolate conclusions I disagree with, I'm fine with it. When arguments regarding abstract subjects like "electability" are put forth, it's all good because there is always room for debate.
But lately, things have been moving away from those "grey" areas and towards matters of black and white. Diaries that I am reading from the top of the Rec list are filled with half-truth, misinformation and outright lies. Support your candidate, "spin" issues like polls and electability all you want, but don't print lies.
Most of the spin surrounding the disputed Florida and Michigan delegates seems to revolve around whether or not voters are being "disenfranchised" and who is to blame. Personally, I don't think the majority of blame can be laid at the feet of either candidate. Both could have objected to the stripping of delegates, but nobody wanted to jeopardize their popularity in Iowa or New Hampshire.
Clearly the best solution would have been to hold new elections in both states. I'm not about to get into that ball of worms in this diary. Neither campaign was exactly flexible when it came to solutions, and both Florida and Michigan's state governments didn't exactly help either.
Where that leaves us is: a bitter fight over the legitimacy of the contested elections. Should the disputed vote totals count? How will the delegates be seated? Are the voters being "disenfranchised?" After doing a bit of research with regard to international standards for fair elections, I have come to the conclusion that the only fair solution must not use either disputed vote tally with regard to distribution of delegates.
· WI-08: Wingnut plans to run as "conservative independent" (desmoinesdem)
· 50 percent of southerners say Obama better president than Bush (desmoinesdem)
· What Yesterday Says About Young Voters (Mike Connery)
· Max Blumenthal on the dysfunctional movement driving the GOP (Mike Connery)
· IA-Gov: Culver launches second tv ad (desmoinesdem)
· Hilarious Vid On Why We Must Vote No On Issue 2!! (Cliff Schecter)
· NY-23: Scozzafava Drops Out! (lipris)
· NY-23: Pataki Goes Rogue, Endorses Teabagger Darling Doug Hoffman (lipris)
· Dunne Considering Run For VT-Gov (Nathan Empsall)
· McGovern Grandson Looks to Challenge Thune in 2010 (Jonathan Singer)
· IA-03: Two potential challengers for Boswell (desmoinesdem)
· NJ-Gov: Daggett Goes After Christie and Corzine (Jonathan Singer)