Shifting from Top Down to Bottom Up Politics
Al Giordano has an interesting observation on the Michigan/Florida solution and the RBC:
Michigan and Florida: Essentially, all that the DNC’s Rules & Bylaws committee did yesterday was ratify the consensus proposals from the two state Democratic Party organizations, and then ratify their own mission – with an eye on being able to set the 2012 and future primary schedules – by halving the votes of each state. The Sunday morning quarterbacks that say “well, they should have done it my way instead” seem oblivious to the larger consideration: these were the grassroots solutions proposed from the bottom-up by the parties in each state. To do anything else would have been a “top down” imposition, compounding, in lieu of solving, the problems.
From the beginning, this has been a fundamental difference between the Obama and Clinton campaigns. The Clinton campaign, in speech and deed, has been a top-down organization. The Obama campaign is the opposite.
The difference can be measured in delegates, and popular vote, if one includes the caucus states and uncommitted Michigan votes. 😉