Clinton's Florida-Michigan push

Posted: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 12:55 PM by Domenico Montanaro

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As she prepares to campaign in the Florida today, Hillary Clinton said in a radio interview this morning that Democrats should learn from the lessons of the hanging chads from elections past and not ignore the will of the voters.

Clinton, speaking with WMJI radio in Cleveland, Ohio, this morning before flying to Florida, referred to the upcoming HBO movie about the 2000 recount and said she has heard that it “makes a very strong case” for seating the state’s delegates today.

“The lesson is if you can discern the clear intent of the voter, why would you punish the voter?” she said. “We are turning this into a major battle that I think is really ill serving the party.”

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“We’ve got to change the way we nominate presidents for a lot of reasons,” she said. “I personally believe these caucuses are terribly unrepresentative. … (And) I think that what’s happened with Florida and Michigan raises serious questions about the principles of our party.”

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“I have a lead in the popular vote that I added to last night,” she said, referring to a strong showing in Kentucky. “I continue to believe that I am the stronger candidate to be John McCain in the fall.”

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Clinton: "No, it's not. It was a little bit challenging to understand at first because a Caucus is not like an Election. A Caucus is a very, very different experience and it took me a while to really sort that out and people who have done it before told me, they said, 'It's very different. It's not like anything you've ever done before,' and I thought before I started, 'Well, my gosh, I've been working in Elections for 40 years. My husband was in these elections. I've supported many people. I've run twice myself,' but it's true. It's a much more thoughtful, personal, hands-on process and therefore I'm not frustrated at all because I understand it and respect and I see the positive support growing so it's gratifying to me."

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Those who attend the caucus will leave feeling good that they have participated in the democratic process and played an active role in changing America and electing the next president.

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“The lesson is if you can discern the clear intent of the voter, why would you punish the voter?”

May 21, 2008

Clinton compares the Florida and Michigan fight to civil rights movement

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Clinton, at times sounding like a modern history professor, praised the abolitionists, suffragettes and civil rights pioneers and talked about her own efforts to fight legislative redistricting and voter identification initiatives that she said dilute minority voting power.

"This work to extend the franchise to all of our citizens is a core mission of the modern Democratic party," she said. "From signing the Voting Rights Act and fighting racial discrimination at the ballot box to lowering the voting age so those old enough to fight and die in war would have the right to choose their commander in chief, to fighting for multi-lingual ballots so you can make your voice heard no matter what language you speak."

She said "there's a reason why so many have fought so hard and sacrificed so much. It's because they knew that to be a citizen of this country is to have the right and responsibility to help shape its future. Not just to have your voice heard but to have it count. People have fought hard because they knew their vote was at stake and so was their children's futures.

"Because of those who have come before, Sen. Obama and I have and so many of you have this precious right today. Because of all that has been done, we are in this historic presidential election. And I believe that both Sen. Obama and myself have an obligation as potential Democratic nominees - in fact we all have an obligation as Democrats - to carry on this legacy and ensure that in our nominating process, every voice is heard and every single vote is counted."

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