Why would states KNOWINGLY give up delegates??
Submitted by Crickett on Tue, 12/18/2007 - 13:21
I have no understanding of why this would happen. Four or Five states, including New Hampshire and Florida have lost HALF (that's right, the penalty was 50%) of their delegates to Washington by illegally holding Primary Elections prior to Feb 5. New Hampshire is left with 12 delegates. ..I don't get it? Someone please explain! Why would a state penalize all of its residents with a 50% cut in National delegates as a FINE for holding early primaries. It makes no sense to me...
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civil disobedience
Doing what you feel is right triggers consequences.
The states are not doing anything illegal, in fact, in the case of New Hampshire, to do anything else would be breaking state law. My understanding is that most states with later elections lost the equivalent of ALL their delagates because the nominee was already determined before they had a chance to vote. These states pushed forward their election dates and so did everyone else. To stop the cycle, the DNC and RNC made a deadline (Feb 5th) which if crossed would trigger penalties.
The interesting thing is that with such a close race, there seems to be a benefit for all states. Early voting states have fewer delegates (which may still be reinstated later) but everyone is watching them to determine how well candidates are doing (can't trust polls anymore). The bulk of the delegates will be determined in February, but without a clear majority, the later states will still have a lot of influence and candidates will have to continue to distinguish themselves. The fact that Ron Paul already has a national base is very good for getting name recognition in places where no one will even appear to be running until the middle of next year. By the time the campaign funding shifts to these newer areas, we are already in place. (Wear your shirts, post a sign in your yard, chalk your car and by November EVERYONE will know Ron Paul.)
I suppose whether or not the delegates of the early states are restored depends on whether those votes would support a candidate the RNC recognizes. If Ron Paul wins, consider them lost, be thankful for the half we get and then work all the harder to make up with delegates from other states.
Easy its alot easier to
Easy its alot easier to control the election results that way. Less people to bribe more than likely to get a person elected. We need to realize the system we thought we had is corrupt and has been for a long time. America wake up and smell the coffee. Also it could also be a tactic to get out a certain amount of delegates that would likely vote a certain way.