Community | May 05, 2008 | 17 comments

Grand Compromise for Democratic Party

source: http://blog.iconflict.com/a-grand-compromise-for-the-democratic-party/

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jhaber

http://blog.iconflict.com/a-grand-compromise-for-the-democratic-party/

The following possible solution was proposed on Blogflict and can be found at the link associated with this post:

The Democratic party is about to face a no-win situation. Polling shows that if Barack Obama is the party nominee, 25% of Hillary Clinton’s supporters will vote for John McCain. Conversely, should Clinton win all those first time voters and activists who sprung out across America to support Obama would quickly disappear, robbing the party of a chance to expand its base. This all spells good news for the Republicans, who are otherwise facing an uphill battle as President Bush’s disapproval rating just hit an all-time high for any President (that includes Nixon the day he resigned and Truman the day he forced MacArthur to quit).

So, what’s the party to do?

Howard Dean has said he wants to have a nominee settled before the convention, yet the contenders seem determined to fight this out in Denver. Is there any way to avoid a party bloodbath that could end its chances of victory in November? Perhaps so.

In a compromise no one wins outright and no one loses either. Instead their are concessions. Right now, neither Clinton nor Obama are looking to concede anything, but they should consider the following scenario.

Given her strong victories in the big states and the states that Democrats must carry for victory in the general election, Hillary Clinton is made nominee of the Democratic Party, with two caveats. First the obvious - Barack Obama is picked as her running mate. Now, the not-so-obvious - Clinton pledges to only serve one term.

If Clinton pledged to only serve one term she would free herself of the responsibility of raising money and focusing on politics while in office. Instead she could spend all her energies for four years ending the war in Iraq, fixing the economy and crafting a new direction in health care and energy. Her efforts would both secure and preserve the Clinton family legacy in American politics. It would allow her to achieve the Presidency and to make history as the first woman to do so. Doesn’t that sound better than returning to the Senate and attending pot luck dinners in upstate New York?

Four years as Vice President would give Obama world experience and seasoning. He would spend his time getting to know world leaders, beefing up his foreign policy resume, and working together with the Clinton team. 8 years in politics is a lifetime, but 4 years is manageable.

The Obama camp will tell you this plan is unacceptable to them because they can win the nomination outright. The Clinton people will tell you this plan is unacceptable because they deserve to be the nominee without any restrictions. However, if Obama and Clinton’s scorched earth path to the nomination prevents their election as President, what good was the last year and a half of campaigning?

The democratic primary this year has been like no other before it. Perhaps the only way to successfully extricate the party from it, is to find a solution that has never before been attempted. A grand compromise would allow the party to keep its fragile coaliton together, and almost certainly win the White House for 4, if not 12, years. At the end of the day, isn’t that the point?
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    Community,   News and Politics,   Citizen Journalism
  2. tags:
    News,  News and Politics,  Barack Obama,  Election,  1 more
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17 comments // Grand Compromise for Democratic Party

  • lifterbaron
    • 0
      lifterbaron  

    • Why can't she just give up. She is running on her own money.. No one wants to spend any money on her.. She can't quit whens she is beat.. She is the one who will ruin this election.. Greedy, sneaky, lying, etc...

    • 5 years ago
  • lifterbaron
    • 0
      lifterbaron  

    • First of all, fuck Hillary, she is shady and delusional "healthcare, healthcare,.. raghhh healthcare track record,.. arggh".. And to set this whole thing straight people, this is not about "winning back the the white house," this about electing an able person to run the country.

      Relying on what party they belong to has never done anyone any good.. Dems, and Reps. who gives a shit.. The decision is based on the actions of the person not the gang they rep... Politics shouldn't be run like "me vs them.."

      Lastly, didn't oldy (McCain) already try this whole run for president thing? Didn't work out too well did it.

      I would really like to sit down and ask a McCain supporter what makes him a better candidate than either Hillary or Obama. Silly, all of it.

    • 5 years ago
  • jjmaster
    • 0
      jjmaster  

    • The grand compromise is the DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF MICHIGAN AND FLORDIDA VOTERS... WHAT EVIL SERPANT CREATED THIS SCENERIO? THAT AND ONLY THAT IS WHAT I WANT TO KNOW?

    • 5 years ago
  • oriondarkwood
    • 0
      oriondarkwood  

    • It would never happen Clintion is too much of a superstar to want anyone with even a remote chance of stealing limelight from her. Obama is too much a free soul to allow Clintion to upstage him and forcing one to work for the other would hurt worse than letting them fight it out..

      The damage has been done, the dream team will never happen. If for some chance it does I see 4 years of things getting worse not better. Not that McCain will do much better, however McCain is closer to the grave and his chances of lasting 4 years in the white house without the VP he picks stepping up are slim.

    • 5 years ago
  • jjmaster
    • 0
      jjmaster  

    • Just let it play out people...Let ALL of the people vote... We will know more after today... If Hillary wins the votes in either Indiana or NC... She goes on. If she loses both, She's out... Neither of these candidates will serve the other as running mate. It will never happen! Ideal to us or not. After there is a nominee... The Dems will rally around their candidate... Very few will deflect to Republican Rule... Bush has really convinced people to vote for the DEMs..

    • 5 years ago
  • krag2112
    • 0
      krag2112  

    • More than a tough time. If the scenario you describe happens and Senator Clinton somehow wins more delegates then Obama, then the situation obviously changes. But if that doesn't happen I don't see why Obama or his supporters would accept her being the top of any compromise ticket. Sorry, I'm not saying that this isn't a mess, it is. But I don't think the scenario you suggest is a solution. Why wouldn't Senator Clinton be asked to accept the Vice Presidential position, as she will likely be the one with fewer delegates?

      And great post Tori...that is a really good read.

    • 5 years ago
  • Tori
  • jhaber
    • 0
      jhaber  

    • If Obama continues to fail in winning states that matter in the fall, and if Clinton continues to rise in terms of popular vote count and delegate count, there will be no other solution than to compromise. If that doesn't happen this will go to the convention. At a convention fight, a backroom deal will be cut and no one will be happy with it. This scenario that I promose would eliminate the need for a backroom deal and puts everything out there for the public to see. If you want to elect John McCain as President, then the Democratic party should have a open convention and after 32 bloodsheding rounds of voting and fighting we will have a nominee...who will then get trounced by McCain.

      This scenario avoids that fate. Isn't it better than the alternative?

      I realize the Obama supporters will have a very tough time with it, but the most important goal for the democrats should be winning back the White House.

    • 5 years ago
  • krag2112
    • 0
      krag2112  

    • Could fairness be the point? Why would the person that wins the most delegates in the agreed upon contests be asked to accept not being the nominee? If that changes, I'm sure Obama and his supporters would live with it. But if it doesn't I'm not sure why they would consider accepting a compromise. Sure the DNC has the right to hand the nomination to whomever they choose...but voters also have the right not to support a party that would do that (and it's clear that's exactly what would happen). If we have to act like republicans to win (a theory I do not accept by the way) then the party deserves what it gets, up and down the ticket.

    • 5 years ago
  • jhaber
    • 0
      jhaber  

    • most compromises aren't...but alternatives need to be considered. if winning the primary assures defeat in the fall, what's the point?

    • 5 years ago
  • Chique
  • stephenthomson
  • jade_azul16
  • jhaber
  • Saladin
  • krag2112
    • 0
      krag2112  

    • I'm all for a compromise, but I wonder why the person leading would be consigned the back up position. And given her "win at all cost" position and her flip flop on accepting the vote count in Michigan and Florida, how could anyone take a one term pledge seriously? Seems like the more sensible approach would be for Senator Clinton to accept the vice president position, especially when you consider the fact that she's the one scotching the earth.

    • 5 years ago
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  

    • While I totally loathe the idea of Clinton in office for many reasons, I think you're absolutely right.

      Republicans are counting on this race to come to a bitter end in which they will be victorious even though no one like John McCain.

      And contrary to what makes a good compromise, no one comes out disappointed. This works well for all sides. Someone should inform both Hillary and Obama of this, it might be CRUCIAL to our victory.

    • 5 years ago
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