Campaign rules flouted

Re “Half-votes not enough for Clinton,” June 1

When Michigan and Florida moved up their primary dates, they knew that they risked having their delegates not seated at the Democratic convention. When the Democratic National Committee declared these primaries would not be considered valid because they violated party rules, the candidates agreed not to campaign for those primaries, but Hillary Rodham Clinton attended fundraisers in Florida just before that state’s primary. All of the major candidates except Clinton withdrew their names from the Michigan ballot, but she still barely mustered a majority, with 40% voting “uncommitted.”

With the DNC’s decision to award Michigan and Florida delegates a half-vote each, Clinton still trails Barack Obama, but why should the results of these flawed elections be counted as if they were legitimate, democratic contests? We have a president who doesn’t believe in following rules; do we need another?

David Holland

Chatsworth

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On Saturday, in exemplification of its own worst traditions, the Democratic Party trashed both the sanctity of the vote and the principle of one person, one vote. Meeting in Washington, the DNC denied half of the votes of both the Florida and Michigan Democratic convention delegates. Then, to add insult to injury, the DNC took away delegates from Clinton and arbitrarily awarded Clinton’s and all uncommitted Michigan delegates to Obama.

Although the existing DNC rules would prohibit awarding delegates to a candidate who did not earn them at the ballot box, the Obamaniacs at the DNC found this no impediment to their abandonment of the basic principles of democracy.

William T. Fidurski

Clark, N.J.

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It seems that the anger of the bitter legions of women backing Clinton is irrational and misdirected.

The chain of events in Florida and Michigan was initiated when those states chose to defy the DNC by moving up their primaries, and it’s a bit naive to think that defiance would not have consequences (which have become a big deal only because Clinton is losing the race). The decision of those officials should be the target of the anger, not the Democratic Party, and certainly not Obama.

If Clinton were as mature, clear-headed and articulate as Obama, she would be leading her base toward unity and harmony. Instead, she continues to demonstrate the unwillingness (or what seems increasingly like the inability) to move herself and her followers to higher ground, which only serves to underscore the wisdom of nominating Obama to lead our party and our country.

John Leland

Altadena

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It appears that the Hillaryites continue to lose perspective in the nominating race. Despite losing more states, more pledged delegates and more superdelegates, they continue to obfuscate and ignore the rules by promoting the tactic that having more votes means Clinton should be crowned.

Imagine the reaction if the Yankees said that because they scored more runs (55-27) than the Pirates in the 1960 World Series, they should be declared the champions despite losing the seventh (and deciding) game.

Russell N. Eagan

Valencia