May 31, 2008
Levin: NH And IA Have A "Perpetual Privilege"
FOURTH ROW BALCONY, MARRIOTT WARDMAN, WOODLEY PARK -- Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) slammed the traditional lead-off role of Iowa and New Hampshire in the Democratic nominating process, telling the RBC that the early states aren't representative of the broader electorate.
"No state should have a right to go first and second every election," Levin said. "So, we fought to open up the process."
An angry Levin said NH, in particular, has "perpetual privilege that no state should have." He said the Rules Committee has given the Granite and Hawkeye states an unfair advantage in impacting the primary process and that MI officials justifiably challenged their dominance.
Levin urged the committee to seat the MI delegation in full and with full voting rights. He cautioned: "Do not inject disunity" into the state's voting process.
"It was a flawed primary folks, believe me we know it," he added.
Hillary Clinton's campaign will advocate a 73/55 delegate split, with her taking the majority over Barack Obama, Levin advised. Obama's team, meanwhile, wants an even split, 64/64.
He, however, supports the 69/59 split proposed by Brewer, who explained that the party's solution accounts for the actual vote and exit polls. It approximates a compromise between the two camps, Levin said. "It's the best we can do, folks," he said.
"The Democratic Party needs unity in the middle of this contentious battle between two strong candidates," Levin cautioned. "The people want us to strive for unity .. The Michigan Democratic Party has achieved unity. We're asking you to preserve it."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Posted at 01:02 PM
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