photo credit: Image Editor

Howard Dean issued a statement today concerning Florida & Michigan. In recent days the Governors of both states have expressed their desire to have delegates participate in the convention and after last nights election wins for Clinton many are scrambling to see find a way for the nomination to get wrapped up without leaving the decision to superdeletates.

Here is Dean’s statement:

“We’re glad to hear that the Governors of Michigan and Florida are willing to lend their weight to help resolve this issue. As we’ve said all along, we strongly encourage the Michigan and Florida state parties to follow the rules, so today’s public overtures are good news. The rules, which were agreed to by the full DNC including representatives from Florida and Michigan over 18 months ago, allow for two options. First, either state can choose to resubmit a plan and run a party process to select delegates to the convention; second, they can wait until this summer and appeal to the Convention Credentials Committee, which determines and resolves any outstanding questions about the seating of delegates. We look forward to receiving their proposals should they decide to submit new delegate selection plans and will review those plans at that time. The Democratic Nominee will be determined in accordance with party rules, and out of respect for the presidential campaigns and the states that did not violate party rules, we are not going to change the rules in the middle of the game.

“Through all the speculation, we should also remember the overwhelming enthusiasm and turnout that we have already seen, and respect the voters of the ten states who have yet to have their say.

“As we head towards November, our nominee must have the united support of a strong Democratic Party that’s ready to fight and ready to beat John McCain. After seven years of Republican rule, I am confident that we will elect a Democratic president who will fight for America’s families in the White House. Now we must hear from the voters in twelve states and territories who have yet to make their voices heard.”

Marc Ambinder reports Dean will be appearing on the morning shows tomorrow.

So basically, to sum this up, the DNC will not change rules in order to find a solution. Instead they are relying on Florida and Michigan to come up with a plan, including a way to pay for a potential revote. A decision must be made before June 10th and a plan submitted.

Karen Thurman, chair of the Florida Democratic Party issues the following statement:

“It is important also that we are clear about one issue. At this time, no suggested alternative process has been able to meet three specific and necessary requirements: the full participation from both candidates, a guaranteed commitment of the millions of dollars it will cost to conduct the event and a detailed election plan that would enfranchise all Florida Democrats, including our military service members serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
The Florida Democratic Party cannot consider any alternative that does not meet these requirements. Indeed, it is very possible that no satisfactory alternative plan will emerge, in which case Florida Democrats will remain committed to seating the delegates allocated by the January 29th primary.

It should be noted that without Florida or Michigan neither candidate, if both stay in the race, will win enough pledged delegates to secure the nomination.