Whatever Happened to Fair Debate?

The Democrats set it up great. As political theatre, it was top notch. Have the defeated champion of women, Hillary Clinton, make a dramatic entrance in the middle of the voting, take over her state's delegation, and declare that the champion of blacks should be anointed their nominee via acclamation, and after the "aye"s deafen the "nays", the two largest factions of the Democratic party join hands whilst singing Kumbaya. It's brilliant, and all it needed was a referee who would let the game finish before declaring a winner.

Nancy Pelosi blew it.

She asked for those in favor, and got the expected big cheers. Yet when she asked for those opposed, she didn't even give them a chance to respond, practically declaring Obama's victory in the same breath. And she LAUGHED about it.

I'm sorry Nancy, it wasn't funny, and it cost your candidate votes, because no doubt some of Hillary's ardent supporters noticed the same thing. That's not how democracy works.

On the other side of the aisle, the Republicans are liable to have their own battle over the Nevada delegates for the same sort of anti-democratic behavior. I'll let the WSJ explain:

"In April, riding high on a second-place showing in the Silver State, the grass-roots Paul supporters were well represented and well organized at the Republican state convention. Winning a key rule change, the Paul delegation began electing a majority slate for its candidate, when party officials dropped the gavel, turned out the lights and adjourned the convention indefinitely.

The state party leadership went on to appoint a slate of McCain delegates to the national convention by private conference call. Meanwhile, the spurned Paul faction gathered for its own "reconvention" to produce a competing delegation. In a decision Aug. 5, the national party's contest committee recommended against seating either slate, citing flaws in the selection process. The fate of Nevada's 34 seats at the Republican National Convention may not be decided until the final days before it begins."

In an election as close as this, a third party candidate that gets even a tiny percentage of a constituency can cause the candidate that depends on that constituency to lose. Paul is a threat to McCain, so the party shut him down.

It's not just an election this time around. The very principles on which our society is founded are being threatened by politicians who place their personal agenda above the country's. Washington, the father of our country, who turned down an offer to be king, is surely rolling over in his grave.