2008 Woodie Awards
Democrats resort to mudwrestling for party nominee
David Fetters
Issue date: 4/1/08 Section: OpEd Page
The Democratic National Committee has come to a shocking decision regarding the future of the party's candidacy. For the first time in the party's history, the candidacy will go to the winner of a mud wrestling match at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August. Party strategists believe that mud wrestling is no more humiliating or divisive than the current quagmire, and hopes that the spectacle will at least attract more attention from the 18-25 age demographic.
While the Democrats are not actually going to use mud wrestling to choose a candidate, the current struggle for the party's nomination will get just as dirty. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) currently leads in pledged delegates as well as the popular vote, but neither candidate has secured the magical 2,025 delegate count that signifies a majority at the Democratic National Convention.
The divide within the Democratic Party extends all the way to the top; the party's representatives are as conflicted about how to solve the stalemate as the voters are on which candidate to choose. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has urged Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) to drop out of the race, a recommendation that she flatly refused. In the weeks to come, it is likely that more senators and representatives, no matter how obscure, will use their party's problems as a chance to be heard.
The Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean, has asked the party's elected representatives on both sides of the Obama-Clinton debate to refrain from making divisive comments in the future. The party's leadership fears the effect that protracted infighting could have on the party's chances in the general election.
Democratic voters are scratching their heads and asking what led their party down the path to mud wrestling? The first fumble is the result of problems with the Democratic primaries in Michigan and Florida. The two state Democratic parties decided to go against their National Committee's orders and hold the primaries earlier than allowed. The National Committee responded by not counting any of the delegates from those primaries.
While the Democrats are not actually going to use mud wrestling to choose a candidate, the current struggle for the party's nomination will get just as dirty. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) currently leads in pledged delegates as well as the popular vote, but neither candidate has secured the magical 2,025 delegate count that signifies a majority at the Democratic National Convention.
The divide within the Democratic Party extends all the way to the top; the party's representatives are as conflicted about how to solve the stalemate as the voters are on which candidate to choose. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has urged Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) to drop out of the race, a recommendation that she flatly refused. In the weeks to come, it is likely that more senators and representatives, no matter how obscure, will use their party's problems as a chance to be heard.
The Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean, has asked the party's elected representatives on both sides of the Obama-Clinton debate to refrain from making divisive comments in the future. The party's leadership fears the effect that protracted infighting could have on the party's chances in the general election.
Democratic voters are scratching their heads and asking what led their party down the path to mud wrestling? The first fumble is the result of problems with the Democratic primaries in Michigan and Florida. The two state Democratic parties decided to go against their National Committee's orders and hold the primaries earlier than allowed. The National Committee responded by not counting any of the delegates from those primaries.
Be the first to comment on this story