My heart and prayers are with Patrick Swayze. I’ve been a big fan since the 80’s TV mini series North and South. To Patrick, many blessings!

Jacqueline, NY

Hi, Anderson, have a good time tonight! We enjoy your election coverage.

I want my vote to count.. I hope they find a solution quickly;

Hi Everyone……Anderson & Erica, looking forward to the show!

Chelsea is a great help to her mother

Hi Anderson,
That is very bad news, that will hurt Democrats by Republicans, They should not have count the vote, That will lots of suffer for Democrats. Why not to allow the vote? that is very messy!

Haven’t we heard over and over that the Dems love both their candidates and there was little differences between them. Why so much trumoil now? Does it matter which one wins the nomination, if both are excellent candidates?

Lorie Ann, Buellton, Calif.

Florida and Michigan knew thier votes would not count if they moved up thier primary so I don’t think the votes should count.

Its the republicans fault that my state is in this mess..

Please, PLEASE make some acknowledgment of the fact that primary elections are NOT federal elections, and therefore not constitutionally guaranteed. It is unfortunate that Florida’s and Michigan’s votes are not being counted, but it is NOT disenfranchisement.

The primaries are PRIVATE elections, the same as a union election, or a corporate election. There is no RIGHT TO VOTE.

If Obama’s so confident of his Delegate lead, why would he not want Do-overs in Fla and Mich.

What no info on the bombings in Gaza or the goings on in the ME.

They knew the repercussions when they decided they wanted to change the way THEY did things and not follow the rules.

They (FL & MI) should have thought of the backlash BEFORE they decided that they made their own rules up.

Next time, they’ll follow the rules. It’s too bad for those who voted, perhaps very very frustrating, but this is their time to speak up to the people who broke the rules..and make sure they follow them next time.

Have a great show!!

Hi Anderson,

One question, what kind of person changes the rules of the game in the middle of the game? Sounds like a cheat to me, however, I am open to here other opinions. Maybe it is something I have not considered?

Same question as last night: When is the last time superdelegates were used to determine the nominee

WHAT ARE WE TEACHING OUR KIDS THAT WHEN YOU DO SOMETHING WORNG THERE STILL A WAY FOR YOU TO GET OUT OF IT!

The voters in Michigan and Florida should not be held responsible for something some government officials decided.

I GOT IT!

Don’t elect a nominee! Just let them go on as Democratic candidates. Any one of the Dems would be strong enough to take McCain. This would keep the Republicans fighting on two fronts.

I would like to see some of the election coverage move over in favor of coverage of Israel or Afghanistan.

The Florida/Michigan Votes should be seated but they should be seated equally. Right down the middle. Everyone wins!!! We can move forward.

Why should they get a do-over!? They knew the consequences of going early! The people should have known what their reps were doing!

Cynthia, Ga.

I agree with Sarah - FL and Mich knew going in it would not count, blame your Governors.

I respect Howard Dean for standing on the rules that all the canidates signed and agreed to. It is the only honest decision that can be made.

Go Charlie Crist!

This is why voters should take an active interest in the election process.

Way to go Anderson! For pressing and asking Fl. gov. Crist why he’s crying foul now when he OK’d the primary move up in teh first place!

In 2000, Florida went Democratic, even though it was given to
George Bush.
This year, the Republican governor stopped the votes from
counting by deliberately breaking the rules.
One way or another, seems the Republicans are going to control
the voting in Florida

The whole democratic side of the election seems to be a mess.

Obama doesn’t care about a “do over”, he just want them to count the vote as is, because he hasn’t had the opportunity to campaign in Florida.

curious that Governor Crist is so interested in this - good question Anderson, they knew what the rules were and still went ahead - should not they have given their opinion about the priority of the the people’s right to vote when they were deciding to violate therules? — seems to me their reasoning at the time was entirely political

Is Chelsea still engaged?

Correction: Obama doesn’t want them to count the vote as is, He prefer a “do over”

I say we should have a re-vote. some people were under the impression their vote didn’t count so didnt vote at all.

It’s not the end of the world that their votes don’t count this time. These primaries don’t matter anyway. They’ll still get to pick a prez!

Cynthia, Ga.

Mischae–

Superdelegates played a big role in the 1984 election, giving the nomination to Walter Mondale over Gary Hart despite their primary contest being extremely close. This then ushered in Ronald Regan’s crushing landslide victory in the general election.

The states knew the consequences of moving up their primaries, so I feel no pity at all for them. If these 2 states are allowed to make their own rules, it could set a dangerous precident.

Crist is full of it! It was the Republicans who forced the Dems to move the primary up. Why did they Veto the bill in the Fl legislature? They were planning to take Fl away from Hillary who was the presumptive nominee.

Michelle.. I also, respect Howard Dean.. but he need to do some quickly with Fl and MI because we(Democrats) can’t loose it come November

It’s ridiculous that both Governors decided to break the rules and now they want their rights restored at someone else’s expense.

In Florida, how can we know how many people didn’t come out to vote because they were aware their vote wouldn’t count? This invalidates the results of the first primary. Michigan only had one name on the ballot so that primary is null and void too. The democratic process would be tainted if these results were to count. What puzzles me is why these states spent the time and money to hold these primaries if they knew the delegates would not be seated?

It is the leaders of Fl and Michigan that should be punished..they knew what the rules were and they did this to the voters. The citizens of these states need to get mad at their own leaders. Why should the states that violated the rules now be the deciding votes…it just does not make sense. I am sorry for the voters of FL and Michigan.

Hey, Gary is in the studio! Will he be able to blog?

Chelsea is so sweet, I hope her mother doesn’t corrupt her.

Why is the Hillary camp so scared of having the delegates seated equally? We really don’t need this as Democrats, Seat them and lets move forward to bringing the party together.

Being from MI I don’t think we should get to vote again it was done in the wrong way for the wrong reason.

Gary is my favorite reporter on CNN! I can’t wait to see his report!

Rules are Rules (Florida & Michigan) and Obama Rules!

Folks,the FL legislature voted for the primary to be pushed up. The DNC and the RNC are set up by the FL legislature. Crist didn’t just wave the magic wand. It was VOTED on by R and Dems.

BTW…I also don’t think that Chelsea Clinton should be handled w/kid gloves (sorry for the pun).

Terrible interview with Crist….Why didn’t bring to his attention the fact that they would have had a major say in the primary had that followed the rules….you always let people off the hook…..

Mfpd62,
No, Chelsea is not engaged………..

Governor Christ is bucking to be McCain’s Veep.

I specifically did not vote in the primary as a protest because I “knew” my vote wouldn’t count. At this point it would be unfair to seat any delegates without a re-vote.

SIMPLE SOLUTION:

FLORIDA - Allow the people who have not yet voted to vote, and add those totals to totals already on file.

MICHIGAN - Put both names on the ballot and allow people the people who didnt vote, to now come out and vote. Add additional votes to Clinton from those who did not vote earlier, and allow people to vote for Obama.

Ah, so Charlie Crist is the one who moved the primary. He is the one who should take responsibility, not the Democrats.

I don’t understand why this is such a big deal. They broke the rules, so they got punished.

Now if they want to seat the delegates, either split them evenly between Obama and Clinton, or re-vote.

End.of.story.

The Dems are just as responsible for Florida and Michigan as Republicans. To blame the Republicans is just more of the same old broken record.

What does everyone think about an Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama ticket? I think it’s a sure fire win against the republicans.

Shouldn’t the leaders that made these choices without the consent of the voters in their states be the ones punished? If they are superdelegates, which I’m sure a lot of them are, shouldn’t their votes not count??

Oops, I meant Governor Crist and Senator Nelson.

Votes are votes whether they were cast two months ago or today. They should keep them as is. There were plenty of experts who could have pointed out the rule on the primary when the date was moved up. Why was it not kept in check then?

Why didn’t the people of Florida/Michigan complain when all of this was decided a while back?

Sandi - you raise a good point.. a lot of folks.. say well i didnt come out to vote in fl or michigan because i knew it wouldnt count… gov crist has been asked about this and says he doesnt buy it.. they had record turnout he says… judge for yourself is suppose.

The rules were made 18 months ago for the DNC and Florida’s republican controlled state government and the democraticly controlled Michigan state government are the one at fault for the lack of delagates. The only way to make this fair and give these state a vote I think that the states should have to evenly divide there delegates to the two canidates and local groups can hold meetings to pick there delagates to represent the two canidates. This would give them a voice and also be fair to both canidates, and the DNC party.

Seems to me that Florida messes things up…again!
One way or the other the votes must count in a democracy right?

There is no “law” that says we have to select a nominee. Just let them keep going and we’ll have three presidential candidates in November (if McCain is still with us…lol).

Jo Ann, Ohio - you are absolutely right - the voters shouldn’t be held responsible for what their state government did - the state government should be held responsible and accountable and fix the situation. And the citizens in those states should make their officials accountable by hold their feet to the fire to make it right. If they don’t make it right, then show your officials during their re-election what happens when they don’t keep the best interests of their citizens in mind.

Come on Gary, join the blog!

Why is it that noone is asking the Republican Gov the fact that he wants Hillary to win so that He being Mccain VP will be able to retake the White House???

Why didn’t Hillary fight for the rights of voters in Florida and Michigan in January?

I think Florida’s vote should stand and Michigan should have a revote with both candidates on the ballot.

I can’t believe that those soft ball questions were lobbed at Gov Crist. What good is an interview if the questions are soft and they are totally ignored in the answer? Gov Crist and the Florida Legislature disenfranchised their own voters with their bad judgement. Nail him on it and his fake tan!

Why can’t we have ONE primary day, just like election day? That would make the most sense. Then every state would have equal importance. We make things so complicated. Like the old saying goes, “keep it simple stupid”.

whats wrong with having the delegates seated equally?

Anderson,

I just saw the interview with Charlie Crist. He did not answer the question as to, Why did they move the primary up in the first place? Why could FL not just wait until Super Tuesday? Is FL more important than any other state? It makes no sense

What about all those voters in FL & MI who DID NOT vote — because they were told the votes in their states wouldn’t count? Obama wasn’t even on the ballot in MI! How can these votes even be counted as fair?

Anderson,

Following logic, wouldn’t it seem that any superdelegate that has proclaimed support for a candidate before their own state’s primary should not be seated or allowed to vote at the convention?

I’m tired of people hijacking my vote. Hijack a plane, you go to Federal Prison. Hijack my vote? The penalty should be even greater.

Let the vote count. They were done honestly and fairly to both candidates. None of them campained in Florida and Michigan and the voters makes their choice.

If you don’t want to count their delegates now it is ok but count them later.

When the Governor of Florida states that moving up the date of the primary was for the people, I question did the people push for this. Also I think in Florida you can’t seat delegates if Clinton or Barack couldn’t campaign and bring their “solutions” to the people of that state.

If Hillary really believed in the right of Florida and Michigan, she should have spoken up before New Hamphire’s primary

I can see both sides of the Florida Michigan issue, but I do not think that they should count. The people who were responsible for moving up the primaries knew the consequences. If, as Governor Crist says, he wanted his people’s voices to be heard, then he should have waited his turn or gotten permission like the other 48 states that followed the rules.

Howard Dean flip-flops more than a fish out of water. He says one thing then turns around and announces another. If he wants the democratic party to abide by the rules - why does he say that the primaries need a do-over? Make up your mind.

I think if there vote should count. I think they should do it all over. The longer this drags out the better we all are because theres a better chance for Mccain to win.

I live in Florida and the main reason for the large turnout on Jan 29th was because there was an amendment to the Florida State Constitution lowering property taxes on the ballot

Please mention this as no one does - and this is a BIG factor
–
Gov Crist is being disingenuous - he wants Sen Clinton to be the candidate opposite Sen McCain — ask him

Bill Nelson represents the same point of view — why not have someone represent the truth??

We all knew in advance this would not and should not count

Hi Anderson
I feel that there is a trick by the republican party to move the florida primary forward, understanding that not counting thier vote will for sure affest the democratic party

Anderson
As a Florida resident, I can’t say that I remembers voters being given and “CHOICE” about our primary being moved up. We certainly weren’t told about the consequences. Shame on our Governor!

Why does FL think they are so much more important than the rest of the country? As a resident of WA our primary rarely counts for anything and the Presidential election is typically decided before the polls close here. I am sick of the rhetoric about KEY states from all of the news Media and from Hillary Clinton. All of the states she did not win were ignored including those people in those states that did vote for her. Until we go to a national primary day there will always be states that are left out.

As an American, I believe it is my constitutional right to vote and to have my vote counted. That is why I believe that Florida and Michigan votes should count. This is not Cuba, Venezuela or North Korea. Every vote should count! It is very un-American to not have a vote count.

Love your show!

Hillary Clinton wants to count Florida and Michigan? What a surprise! How about counting Illinois, Wisconsin, Georgia and South Carolina twice? Makes about as much sense.

Letter sent to Michigan Democratic Party from Lisa Ball

I am a life-long Michigan resident demanding to be heard! Only a forced choice was available on the primary ballots – I am confident in saying that those not well informed (and many there were) had been surprised to see candidate’s names missing from the ballot and chose Clinton by default due to name recognition. A name write in not permitted, not sure why the choice was there, and if uninformed voters wrote in Obama’s name it was tossed - many voters did not understand the uncommitted choice - again robbing residents voice to be heard – to be counted! It was the Democrat representatives of this state who moved the primary date up not the people they are suppose to represent – they knew the repercussions of this choice – they broke the rules and $$$ the cost should come out of their own pockets! Jennifer Granholm is a Clinton supporter which is why she is pushing for the delegates to be seated and counted – she has robbed the resident’s choices of this state. I am tired of being a pawn in this political game – Michigan is a state much like Ohio – many jobs have been loosed – unemployment has skyrocketed – and people have lost their homes! It is vital for this state to have a redo!!!!!!!

Hear me

Lisa Ball – Michigan resident

If FL and MI Governors and Senators were sooooo concerned about their voters, why were they quite until now?? Why talk about this now?? Why? To help Hillary Clinton?? NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!

We’re not the 48 United States, we’re the 50 United States. All states should be heard.
Deb Cohn
Kihie, HI

It just shows you that we the people do not count when it comes to goverment affairs.

While it is extremely unfortunate that the voters of Fl and MI aren’t being properly heard. Everyone involved knew the rules when they decided to change their primary dates. EVERYONE.

The voters in those 2 states should have a huge issue with their respective leaders who changed those dates causing this mess. I am actually outraged at the arrogance of governor Crist who simply thinks he can bully the process to meet his own needs.

It’s also interesting how Hillary Clinton wasn’t worried about not seating those delegates until she found herself far behind Obama.

The situation is just pathetic. It makes me embarrassed to be an American.

Thatcher in Des Moines - I agree, but most voters have short memories and that is why these same stooges get elected over and over again.

The governor of Florida should be held responsible for this problem. You almost had him cornered Anderson but he “politician” his way out of it.

Kathy Chicago,Il: I agree with you! Crist is the one pulling the puppet strings here. He should not just pay for it, he should take the political blame for stepping on the rights of his on constituates.

Rules are rules. Instead of spending millions more on this process; why not gather the super delegates and have them pledge now. I think the process is backwards, superdelgates first, then the popular vote.

dont change the rules in the middle of the game

Brent - in a three minute interview there is only so much i can ask… he would have argued that at the time they made the decision to move it up, they didnt know the race would be going on so long, and they wanted to give floridians a greater say in the process.. but you are right, had they let these primaries occur at the normal time they would be playing a key role in this race.

I’m sorry, but the states broke the rules, knowing that there would be consequences they chose to break the rules anyway. They thought that the DNC was bluffing when they said that there would be consequences, and now they want a do-over.

Can some one please tell Hillary, the only reason the R’s want her florida vote to count is becasue they want her to be the D nominee and get spanked by McCain.

The constitution and the democratic process were set up so that all citizens of this country who are of voting age should have a voice in the process of deciding who will run this country. What is happening in Florida and Michigan is a violation of this process.

Dave Hinrichs

Hey Anderson & Erica,

I think the Florida delegates should be seated because it was fair as to both names were on the ballot and nobody campaigned there. If anything, it was a little unfair because Obama ran television ads there on a national tv station.

What are we teaching the young children of America? It’s ok to go ahead and break the rules and we will fix it later??

The rules were clear. They were deliberately broken. The people of Florida knew the rules and their leaders knew it. Now they should FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!! (Of course, as always, Nelson blames it on the Republicans…..what else is new)! Why am I not surprised the Clintons are in the middle of this…

I am not sure about the mess with seating the delegates. I think the delegates should be seated but only with a re-vote. To seat the delegates with the votes as of now is crazy since Barack was not even on the ballot in Michigan! lol I do not think normal citizens should be counted out due to the politics that they do not understand, but they should also be given another election on a fair playing ground.

Why doesn’t someone ask these officials that are saying their voters will be disenfranchise, why the people who did not vote because they thought their vote would not count, wouldn’t they be disenfranchised if you use the vote from January?

The Florida voters were told their votes would not count. While none of the suggested solutions are perfect, let’s err on the side of democracy and have a re-vote. The state of Florida and the DNC can split the cost (a financial yet to be suggested). Also, this would pour millions of dollars into the Florida economy.

Whatever the solution to the Florida/Michigan situation, some people will not be happy. I feel sorry for the voters in those states.

I am a frustrated Florida voter who does not want to be disenfranchised. I made an informed and well thought out decision when I voted and stick by my decision regardless of any campaigning that may or may not occur. Why not poll Florida voters to see how many might actually change their votes? I know that I wouldn’t. There may not be any need to “do over”.

Should there be a re-do in Florida and Michigan who is going to pay for it???

Florida should be allowed to be counted. All canidates on ballot. Michigan should be redone. This was a political move by the republican party a year ago.

Seat all delegates from both Florida and Michigan but seat them 50/50 for Clinton/Obama. It is not fair for the tax payers to pay for a retake but at the same time the elected officals(republican) will have to pay for it come thier turn at re-election. Possibly consider in 4 years a national primary or caucas the same as in November and stop the political mud slinging

How can we claim to be the “We The People” and deny Floridians and people of Michigan the very democracy that we are so proud of. Let’s just be practical. it just does not make any sense AND if any rule is broken that is not the fault the People. If this goes to court, no competent judge can deny the people the right to choose.

It is appalling to think that the DNC could see these delegates. In Michigan, Obama wasn’t even on the ballot! I think a re-do would be fair to both the candidates and the voters. Otherwise, it’s just unfair all around.

The Florida primary should count because Obam and Clinton were both on the ballot. Michigan should hold another primary with both candidates on the ballot. I believe the media would be all reporting on how the florida primary should stand if Obama would have won the primary. Neither candidate campaigned in Florida so it was a fair election. I think it’s a huge waste of money to re-do Florida.

Why does it matter WHEN someone votes in a state primary? Why are these political “chad maneuvers” still happening? What should matter most is that they Did VOTE, people. I say COUNT their votes, just like all the other states are being counted!! Period. No, if, ands, or buts.

Rebeca in Texas

Candidates spend way too spend too much time, money and efforts before elections. All this disappers the minute they are voted into power. FL & MI should not have moved up the primaries — they did and are facing some consequences. I think it is fair.
Pls let us see the media and the candidates discuss and come up with solutions for more important and critical issues that face this country today.

Nelson of Florida is worried about healing the injury in Florida, what about the injury toall the rest of us?

I want people’s votes to count, but the races in FL and Mich were not fair! How can it be fair? There was only Hillary on the Mich ballot! I cannot believe Hillary can say this with a straight face! And FL, in every state that Barack campaigned he drew very close or passed Hillary. How can they do this so unfairly and expect Democrats to stay together?

Herman

You should not be rewarded for knowly breaking the rules. Fla and Mi knew this from the start. there, regardlesss of whatever spin the govner puts on it, the delegateas should not be counted

Florida and Michigan knowingly broke the rules and they should now pay the penalty–not be seated!! The sole reason the Clinton camp is pushing to allow votes to be counted is to give her an advantage over Obama to increase her delegates. Florida voters were not allowed to vote when the election was stolen from Al Gore–no one corrected the miscarriage of justice then, why now?

why don’t they subtract the sum of the delegates of Michigan and Florida from the total available delegates and then come up with a new treshold instead of 2025. that way, I believe one of the candidates can reach the new number of delegates and no one will be disappointed.

Obama would be hurt by a Do-Over since he has not won many big state Primaries.

This is a ridiculous situation and I am personally very angry!!! I am a huge supporter of Barack Obama and I didn’t vote because they said it wouldn’t count!!! Hardly anyone knew much about him at the primary and everybody knows Hillary and he didn’t get a chance to even campaign here!!!! Everyone knows that he always has a close election or wins when he gets a chance to campaign. Without that Hillary always starts at huge leads. This is fundamentally unfair and if they won’t do a revote then they should split the delegates in half and seat them and that will be that or do a revote!!!!

florida shouldn’t stand as is…. It most be a do-over or split the delgates evenly. Obama did not campaign, therefore the citizens of those states did not get a chance to know him.

This is a simple issue. Florida should not be seated because they knew the rules and broke them anyway. If Florida is allowed to be seated despite breaking the rules what stops every state from moving their primary up “to have the voice of democracy heard, ” as Gov. Crist says. Crist is being ridiculous and his motives are obvious. The fact is that had Florida followed the rules and kept their primary on the same date (and followed the rules), their voices would have been heard.

Florida and Michigan were warned of the consequences if they broke the rules, so they should not be given any special privileges. It would set a very bad precedent, this is one time when rules were not meant to be broken.

What happens if Obama wins Flordia or Michigan then what is Clinton going to say!!!!!!

Timona, Mississippi

Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is a huge fan of Obama and naturally he wants a re-vote because Hillary won Florida and she was the only one on the ballot in Michigan.
Forget about re-vote, allow everything to stand as it is. THAT is the democratic thing to do for all the tax paying citizens of these two states.

I am a Florida Democrat and I believe Florida should not be seated unless there is a do-over. Everyone keeps stating the legislative made the decision and the voters should not suffer. Maybe we should suffer if we dont hold our local and state officials accountable. It is not the DNC’s fault. This will not prevent me from voting Democrat in the general election. Rules are rules.

I want my vote in Michigan to count — but for Barack Obama. I could only vote “undecided.”

I finally became a US Citizien last year and was so exited about casting a vote the first time. And now votes of Floridian’s don’t count? That is just not right; Floridian votes should count, just like any other vote in other states! We are living in a democracy after all, or are we not?

Brent… I think Anderson’s questions towards Crist were on point and he did not let him off the hook at all. Crist couldn’t give a straight answer about knowing about the rules. He pretty downplayed them and Anderson blew this thing open to show people how idiotic Florida and Michigan were in thei decisions. People should be blaming their governments, not the DNC. They couldn’t wait a few days after Jan. 29th??? Wow… excuses, excuses, excuses… I smell a lot of fish in Florida and Michigan’s corner… smelly

Anderson,
Here in lies the problem, NO ONE ASKED US! No one asked the voters of these two states if we were willing to give up our votes. I do believe many of us feel spit on by the DNC for their “punishment” and I also believe that the votes as done in January should count, our state is in a terrible financial position and we had what we had for a primary we can’t afford another . Also, it was the nominees decision to take their names off the ballot here , they could have as Sen. Clinton did, leave them on.
Steph

It was the Republican governor in FL and the majority Republican legislature that pushed the primary date up - knowing full well it would negate the Democratic delegates. Therefore, the FL Republican government should pay if the decision is to do a ‘redo’.

Leave the votes out and you get Obama as president. Let the votes count you get Mccain.

And here’s Hillary’s new problem. If Hillary gets her wish to have Michigan and Florida seated or slated for a redo, it’s the equivalent of losing a game, then asking to go best two out of three. If Hillary does NOT catch up in delegates from a Florida and Michigan redo, then she puts herself in a position where superdelegates simply cannot overturn the pledged. It would be akin to asking if she can go best three out of five.

Why did the legislatures of Wisconsin and Florida move their primaries ahead, knowing that it was against the rules, and then complain about it? I think that the actions of the states governors was extremely irresponsible and unfair to the people.

Anderson, are you going to go a section on 360 about NAFTA sometime in the future? I would really like to know more about that program and what the candidates think about it.

None of these Florida politicos are stating that the record turn out vote in Florida could very well have been because people wanted to vote for a measure that would slash Florida real estate taxes by $12.4 billion - people turned out to vote thier pocket books. This is Crist’s bill - it was a win for him that he touted at the time of the election- but has not mentined it once since this whole fiasco started this week. They knew the delegates would not be seated if they moved up the primary and they did it anyway - can’t change the rule NOW!!!!!

As a Pennsylvanian, I do support giving the helpless fl and mi voters a chance to vote so it counts although this is teh state leaders faults to begin with. It is absolutely not permissible to seat the delegates as they were elected in the first elections. There has to be a fair election wherein everyone competes.

Anderson, if Gov. Charlie Crist says rules made by the DNC in Washington don’t matter, could he envisage a democracy in which everybody ignores rules set by party leaders? What if more states had voted to do the same thing Florida and Michigan did? Can he imagine the chaos for the party and the candidates? I can’t believe a political leader will say something like that.

I believe that the votes should count, it was Obama who took his name off the ballot, not the people of Michigan or the DNC. Neither one was able to campaign in Florida which is a push. At least count the votes in Florida where an equal plain was used, and possibly rerun Michigan

If they cannot fix this issue how are they suppose to fix the bigger problems this country has!
__________________________________________________
There are only 3 options:

1) Have FL and MI vote again - Cost: $18K (have Hillary’s campaign pay for it)

2) Split the 300+ delegates 50/50 - Cost: PRICELESS!

3) Do nothing since they did not follow the rules - Cost: TBD

This is insane, this is America, bottom line, THEIR VOTES MUST COUNT! Enough!

Organize a nationwide vote, lets see what the outcome would be!

Bill Nelson and Chryst need to be put under more pressure. You did a good job but u could have done better with Chryst. Chryst cannot transer the responsibility to the DNC. Florida chose to make the change THEY should pay for that. I know you don’t have a lot of time but how about fewer pundit comments and more talk with Chryst and Nelson.

Anderson, Yes, the DNC did tell the two states that they would lose their delegate count if they moved their primary date. BUT, the people of Florida and Michigan did not do this. Why should their votes not count when they had no choice in the matter. As for Florida, ALL candidates were on the ballot and NONE campaigned there so it was a level playing field. There are those who say Senator Clinton had name recognition so it gave her the advantage. Although NEITHER candidate campaigned there, don’t you think that the Floridians have TV’s and watch CNN and FOX and their national news enough to know BOTH the candidates. Obama even advertised nationally there. As for the Super Delegates choosing the next Presidential nominee, they were put in place just for a situation like this. They are NOT bound to vote the way their state voted. They are suppose to vote their conscience and make an intelligent decision on who they think will be the best nominee… You can be assured that Kennedy and Kerry will vote for obama even though Senator Clinton won MA. Those are the rules of the Super Delegates and one African American Super Delegate that is supporting Senator Clinton says she has received threatening email to get her to change her vote to Obama. Just waned to point out these two things. Thank you…

No REDO. They broke the law set fourth, and there has to be consequences to bad actions. Oh, and the only reason why Crist and Nelson want it to count is they are confident they can beat HIllary because she is so unliked.

As a citizen of the greatest country in the world, I am tired of our elected officials talking about and only caring about what is best for their respective party. I dont care about either party…I care about the people and citizens. I wish they would stop saying “The Party this…” and “The Party that…”. I want a candidate that truly cares about the people, and there wasnt a single one included in this years pool. If this were the NFL draft, i would say shutdown the NFL, I dont care anymore.

This is not about Obama or Clinton it is about the right to vote for US Citizens!

Every vote should count… but historically that’s not been the case in many instances. Look at the last two elections!

seat the delegates from florida and michigan. this is ridiculous!
we need these states in the general election.

I will vote for McCain if Clinton is nominated. Lanny Davis is full of baloney– he’s a propagandist.

I am watching your coverage on the FL & MI issue. I was so happy to hear you ask the Gov. of FL if the voters should blame him for moving up the vote. Sadly, the gov. still takes no responsibility for the very poor judgement demonstrated by him, and the leaders of Michigan. They made a cognizant choice to move the primaries up in spite of the DNC rules. The only ones responsible for disinfranchising the voters of FL & MI are the leaders of those states. And the fact that even as a result of their poor judgement, they want the DNC to pay for a revote is utterly ridiculous.

What annoys me just as equally, is the fight from the Clinton camp to get the votes counted, even after she agreed to abide by the decision of the DNC. Just another example of her not being a woman of her word. If the waffles this much now, what would she do if she were the president.

Why don’t the powers that made the poor decision dig into their own pockets and pay for a redo? Why not do the whole revote by mail? It would be a lot less expensive to do that than to try to hold a second primary?

Anderson,

I heard it was Clinton’s People was the one who meet with Canada..are you going to look into this?

we need one national primary day and one national general election. Everyone’s vote would count the same. NO CAUCUSES and no party raiding

My comment is about the Florida and Pennsillvena primarys and the votes. I believe that the should count and that they shouldn’t have to vote over again. It’s not there fault that some of the canidates didn’t campaine there or that they took their name off the ballots. They must have thought they weren’t important enough and therefore do not deserve thier votes. If they couldn’t look forward, then how can we expect them to look foward in running the country. I think it is wrong to make the citizens have to do it over.

This is an example of poor leadership at its’ best! The leaders of these states knew that they were breaking the rules. Now they want to whine about it . If we allow the votes in Michigan and Florida to count, what will we be teaching our children about “following the rules”? If you run a red light and get caught , you receive a citation.
It’s time we started behaving like adults and accept the consequences of our actions. Shame on you !

Anderson, why didn’t you challenge Crist on his statement that Florida voters would be “disenfranchised” if the Democratic party rejected the “orignal” primary votes. No one is saying Florida or Michigan voters won’t have an opportunity to be counted. The question is about the process and cost. A redo would allow all Florida and Michigan voters to vote again. A mail-in vote would do the same. Crist has a Republican agenda. It’s called give Hilary an edge or make the Democrats spend a lot of money on a redo. Oh and also make Crist look like a patriot. Wrong. Don’t let this kind of nonsense go unchallenged, Anderson!!

The Democratic party is right. Florida and Michigan made the decision they did knowing that they were breaking the rules. They should not be surprised that there will be consequences for their actions. Also, the party can not allow those states to get away with breaking the rules. It is not fair to the states that followed the rules.

How can any of the democratic votes in states who voted early count if only Hillary Clinton’s name was on the ballot? Don’t they have to do a recount with Obama on the ticket, otherwise, how is that democratic?

YOU”RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT STEPH! Obama’s own fault for taking his name off the ballot, nobody else’s.

Whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or an Independent, what has happened in FL and MI is outrageous. There needs to be a revote so that the voters in these two states are not disenfranchised. One would say that if you are a Hillary fan, a revote would be favored. However, I’m sure if Obama had won back in January, his campaign would want those delegates counted. Let Hillary and Obama campaign in these two states and have a revote. The costs should be split between the DNC and the two states. I agree, there will be a train-wreck in the Democratic party if these delegates are not seated at the convention. Let’s not let the process be decided by back door superdelegates. They can quit the BS because we all know each of them has a favorite.

What is this early primary vote really about?? How does when we vote supercede my right to vote and have my vote counted?? What are the rules in place to protect why does it matter which order the states vote in?? Is this about political power? Explain what the rules are and why they are in place???

Thanks

Anderson,

With all due request to both Governor’s of Florida and Michigan, the voters of the respective states have been disenfranchised not by any fault of the DNC. They have been disenfranchised by the Governor’s Granholm and Crist.

It’s the Governor’s job, duty and responsibility to ensure that laws and rolls are followed. This smells worse then “White Water”

Joanna Richards, I beg to differ. Those who were not allowed to vote for Sen Obama because HE followed the Rules would not be getting a fair shake.

I think we should vote…….ANDERSON COOPER..!!!

Hi Anderson,
It’s bad enough that Clinton refuses to play by the rules, but when are you guys going to start calling her out on the fact that she refuses to allow access to Chelsea by reporters. By the way, nicely said at the end of the segment saying unfiltered except for reporters. Good job with the Clinton lawyer.

I think Crist and the others supporting the date move were quite naive. The consequence, which could have been expected, was greater than the consequence of the Florida primaries date move.

Sue I couldn’t agree with you more about Lanny Davis

People should be allowed to vote again in both states. If not, Hillary will be doing what happened with Bush! Clintons are already being dirty by trying to mess up Obama with their nastiness. Same old dirty politics.
If she has to sink to the pits in order to win a vote, it proves that she is NOT electable to be president. Anyone sees Obama attacking her personally? Nope. Why did the Canadian Gov not come out before the primaries? Why did this document leak just before? they are up to the same dirty stuff. How can you trust them?

Florida/Michigan votes….What about the people who respected the rules and therefore did not vote or switched thier vote to Republican.Aren’t they still disenfranchised if the illegal votes are counted.

Didn’t people show up in Florida to vote during normal election time only to be told it happened already.

Could Florida’s big turn-out have anything to do with a major referndum that was on the ballot???

America the Democracy …words , our actions are being watched are being watched around the world.

Can we please focus on the point that Barack Obama is an elegant, intelligent, thoughtful individual - unlike Hillary Clinton who is combative and a bully. America needs someone like Barack Obama.

Hillary has no international experience and has demonstrated that she cannot bring people together. If she is the candidate she will lose all of the Republicans and Independents who are supporting Obama.

Split the votes in half

I’m a Floridian and a Obama supporter and I am dismayed at the high-jinks that have gone on concerning our primary. It is just another example of democracy being routed in our country. Obama did not have the name recognition early on and neither candidate campaigned here, although Sen. Clinton flew here and acted as if the primary was a big victory for her. It all stinks! She is expecting the 2 states to be handed to her even if the party rules said otherwise. She is shameless.

Why must it always be about Florida? They can’;t cast their votes properly. They can’t count their votes properly. And now, they can’t follow simple rules - even when they’re warned.

Set Florida (and Michigan too) aside. They are not competent to participate.

In my humble opinion, divide the votes down the middle. If Obama is robbed out right, I will become an independent and I know alot of other voters on the democrat side would do the same. So divide the vote!!!

The Clinton lawyer work overtime to cover the corruption and lies.

What were they thinking? They weren’t!

I’d vote for Coop but I’m sure he wouldn’t run for office.

And thats why I admire him

if this election is stolen by the cintons, BLACK FOLKS WILL STAY HOME. can the clinton when without us?

So…where are you at Gary!! Get to blogging!! I love you doing the bulletins BTW!!

Cynthia, Ga.

AC FOR PRES, now thats a vote for clarity and honesty I’d surely vote for! Lets write him in!

The states started this by violating the rules. But I don’t think the DNC made a sufficient effort to reach a solution that respected the rights of the voters. So I think that the states and the DNC should split the cost 50/50 of holding new primaries.

This is exactly why we need a change in politics - listening to those “leaders” in Florida try and explain away the mess they created just made me crazy - I’d like Govenor Chris to come to my classroom and explain to my students how if you don’t like the rules - just go ahead and ignore them and do what you want anyway - then just watch everyone try and clean up the mess.

What kind of mother would do that, to their own child, maybe someone should do that to her and see how it feels!

The only way to be fair to both candidates about the Michigan and Florida situation is to simply split the delegates between Obama and Clinton and then seat the two states at the convention. This way the delagations are able to be seated and the breaking of DNC party rules do not disinfranchise either Obama or Clinton since they both agreed to the rules.

My wife and I will defect to McCain in a heart beat if Clinton wins the nomination..

David M Borges
Mary E Borges

Fall River MA

Anderson;

I say, why not subtract 50% of the number of delegates that count for Michigan and Florida from the total needed of 2,025 to clinch the nomination. That way, you don’t have to do a do-over for Michigan and Florida and the point gets made not to arbitrarily move up the primary date, at least for Michigan.

Jennifer Heinfling

The DNC is a MAJOR part of this problem, NO political party can take control of this country by neglecting a STATE let alone 2 STATES residents!

Howard Dean showed poor JUDGEMENT by telling residents of multipal states YOU VOTE WILL NOT BE COUNTED! Time 4 Dean to step up and take OWNERSHIP of this mess which he help SPARK!

Obama showed he was a team player by removing his name. Now punish him and his supporters? It was a Democratic Party Primary SYSTEM that the GOP has now managed to derail and subvert for their own sinister motives.

This quagmire that is now facing the Democratic Party, in my opinion is by design , not by accident. Any of the proposed solutions to date would be unfair to either of the remaining Democratic candidates and the Democratic voters of Florida and Michigan. Just evenly split the votes which were cast in those contests between the remaining candidates. One half for Obama, one half for Clinton, and just get on with it - the survival of the Party and the chance for winning the General Election are at stake!!!

Wilda J. Robinson
Allendale, SC

Anderson

I think only Michigan should revote because he pulled his name off the ballot. Florida should stand he was on the ballot. You also know if the situation was reversed the Obama people would be wanting the votes to stand and also be hinting about race . I never trust a CNN poll mostly because it always favors that man. I notice when someone on your show is bashing Hillary you never stop it or move on to something else, but when someone is for her you pipe right in and move on. Just come clean and keep yourself honest you are a O man. What a shame.

Anderson:
How like a politician and waffling. Governor Christ didn’t give a hoot about disenfranchizing half of the State of ‘Florida population when he approved moving the date of the primary, but now he’s the one complaining about disenfranchisemente of his people. Give me a break. It reminds me of an old saying that says the one who throws the rocks hides the hand or something to that effect. Doesn’t it remind you of recent events???? The gall to pretend that now he’s outrage by the result of his own doing.

why hold a new primary in florida….. why why why why why why why why why? it was legal, no one hand an advantage, it was a record turn out, only thing that was wrong was the date, florida should not have to re vote

Wow, There is a brilliant , chrismatic, caring, likable, black man winning the race for Democratic Nominee-Barack , and now the powers that be are trying to revert back to 1964 and snatch away his win simply due to their own oversized ego’s

Anderson,

Charlie Crist is playing typical Republican games. By ruining the Florida primary he has set this up so that Hillary will demand these delegates be seated as is. This does three things:

-Feeds the Republican dream of having McCain vs Hillary come November

-drags this mess on longer

-sucks all of the DNC’s financial resoucres before they even have a chance to begin the main election

I agree a re-vote should be done but I believe that Charlie Crist owes his people an apology for using them to assist the Republican party.

Southwest airlines could have killed people. They should be charged with reckless endangerment.

OMG, makes me not want to fly Southwest again. Too bad, because their flights are cheap!

The only reason Mich and Fla moved up their Primaries was to have their votes counted before Super Tuesday which they beleived would be the decisive day of the Democratic Primary.

Has anyone mentioned that Florida & Michigan voters would most likely only make the close race still close but at a higher level? It’s all about the superdelagates now…

Whatever happens, we need to get rid of the Super delegate system. While we’re at it, we need to get rid of the “magic number (2025). Why can’t it just be whoever has the most delegates on June 1 is the nominee?

Am I in the twilight zone? How can anyone even consider counting votes that rule abiding candidates like Barack Obama, didn’t even have an opportunity to campaign for? Not only did he not campaign in Florida and Michigan, he was barred from doing so. Only the calculating Hillary Clinton left her name on the ballot in Michigan. Now what a surprise - she wants the votes to count. Gee, I wonder if she planned it all along. If Floridians insisted on going out to vote even though they were told it wouldn’t count ahead of time because they violated party rules, they have no right to act victimized now. When you play dumb, and think it is easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission, then sometimes you get sent to your room without supper.

Flying is scary enough as it is–now we have to worry that some airplanes aren’t being inspected properly?

Heck, we dont need terrorists to fly planes into buildings. They will soon start dropping out of the sky willingly judging by this news!

So how bout it AC, do you accept our nomination?