Wednesday, June 04, 2008
News
Local Dems react to Obama's victory
DUANE ZUCKSCHWERDT
By NATHAN BRUTTELL Argus-Press Staff Writer
After a long Democratic campaign battle, local Democratic delegate Duane Zuckschwerdt sees the party coming together before August.
“As a Democrat, my only hope would be that we come out of the convention unified as a party,” Zuckschwerdt, a resident of Corunna, said during a phone interview from Mount Pleasant.
He also said that while his position doesn't allow him to consult with the parties about campaign strategies, he said that as an elected Clinton delegate “as long as she is in the race, I am committed to her.”
As Barack Obama made his victory speech Tuesday, signs were indicating Hillary Clinton was preparing to acknowledge defeat, but it never came.
Clinton congratulated Obama but never conceded, saying she “would not be making any decisions tonight.”
Like the rest of the country, Zuckschwerdt said he could only speculate as to where the Clinton campaign would go from here.
“Being relatively new to the delegate process, I understand that if we go to the convention and Clinton has dropped out of the race, she would release her delegates and we would come out unified behind Obama,” he said.
Unity is a word being preached throughout the entire Democratic party, but many are questioning how unified the party will be come August, including the publisher of Inside Michigan Politics Bill Ballenger.
“If (Obama) has his main rival, that has almost matched him the entire way, continuing the campaign up to the convention, it's going to be very difficult to unify,” Ballenger said. “The ball is in Clinton's court more than anyone else's, but they have to get Clinton and Obama on the same page.”
Ballenger also said the candidates have plenty of time to unify before the convention.
“What is the hurry to get this thing resolved? (The Democratic party has) two months before the convention to get everything together.”
Michigan's delegates held only half-votes for disobeying rules by holding primaries in January. Delegate Zuckschwerdt said the party was justified in holding the primaries that soon.
“We don't think that Michigan should take a back seat to Iowa and New Hampshire,” he said.
The two states were slated to begin the primaries before the party jumped ahead.
“The strategy was, let's step up the status quo and hope that the future will change (the way primaries are run. Time will tell whether it served its purpose,” he said.
As the final count came in, the half-votes seemed to have less of an impact on the final count.
“I don't think it made a difference,” Shiawassee Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Spaniola said. “Obama was too close.”
“As a Democrat, my only hope would be that we come out of the convention unified as a party,” Zuckschwerdt, a resident of Corunna, said during a phone interview from Mount Pleasant.
He also said that while his position doesn't allow him to consult with the parties about campaign strategies, he said that as an elected Clinton delegate “as long as she is in the race, I am committed to her.”
As Barack Obama made his victory speech Tuesday, signs were indicating Hillary Clinton was preparing to acknowledge defeat, but it never came.
Clinton congratulated Obama but never conceded, saying she “would not be making any decisions tonight.”
Like the rest of the country, Zuckschwerdt said he could only speculate as to where the Clinton campaign would go from here.
“Being relatively new to the delegate process, I understand that if we go to the convention and Clinton has dropped out of the race, she would release her delegates and we would come out unified behind Obama,” he said.
Unity is a word being preached throughout the entire Democratic party, but many are questioning how unified the party will be come August, including the publisher of Inside Michigan Politics Bill Ballenger.
“If (Obama) has his main rival, that has almost matched him the entire way, continuing the campaign up to the convention, it's going to be very difficult to unify,” Ballenger said. “The ball is in Clinton's court more than anyone else's, but they have to get Clinton and Obama on the same page.”
Ballenger also said the candidates have plenty of time to unify before the convention.
“What is the hurry to get this thing resolved? (The Democratic party has) two months before the convention to get everything together.”
Michigan's delegates held only half-votes for disobeying rules by holding primaries in January. Delegate Zuckschwerdt said the party was justified in holding the primaries that soon.
“We don't think that Michigan should take a back seat to Iowa and New Hampshire,” he said.
The two states were slated to begin the primaries before the party jumped ahead.
“The strategy was, let's step up the status quo and hope that the future will change (the way primaries are run. Time will tell whether it served its purpose,” he said.
As the final count came in, the half-votes seemed to have less of an impact on the final count.
“I don't think it made a difference,” Shiawassee Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Spaniola said. “Obama was too close.”