In a blow to Hillary Rodham Clinton‘s quest for the Democratic nomination, a party committee yesterday agreed to seat delegates from Michigan and Florida at its August convention with a half-vote each – prompting an irate reaction from Clinton’s chief supporter on the panel.
Angered at the Michigan deal that denied Clinton the full percentage of votes she won as the only candidate on that state’s ballot, top Clinton adviser Harold Ickes railed at Rules and Bylaws Committee members.
“I am stunned that we have the gall, the chutzpah, to substitute our judgment for 600,000 voters,” Ickes bellowed at the panel, referring to Michigan’s disputed primary.
“Was the process flawed? You bet you’re a– it was flawed . . . Did a lot of people not vote? You bet your a– a lot of people didn’t vote – that is not an excuse,” he said, adding it was “not a good way to start down the way of party unity.”
After Michigan and Florida had their delegates stripped by the Democratic National Committee last year for violating party rules, the candidates agreed not to campaign in either state.
Clinton was the only candidate who kept her name on Michigan’s ballot, and got 55 percent of the vote, compared to 40 percent for “uncommitted.”
Based on yesterday’s rulings, Clinton picked up a net gain of 24 delegates – not enough to significantly close in on Barack Obama, who leads her by about 200 delegates.
Ickes angrily told the panel that “Ms. Clinton has instructed me to reserve her right to take this to the credentials committee” at the Democratic convention in August – raising the possibility of a drawn-out floor fight that could pit her supporters against each other.
The panel yesterday voted 19-8 in favor of halving Michigan’s delegate votes. That gave Clinton 69 pledged delegates to Obama’s 59 – resulting in 34.5 voting delegates to Obama’s 29.5
The committee also unanimously agreed to seat the Florida delegation based on the outcome of the January primary, with 105 pledged delegates for Clinton and 67 for Obama, but with each delegate getting half a vote as a penalty for the state moving up the date of its primary against party rules.
Obama’s total delegate count increased to 2,089, while Clinton had 1,912, according to the latest tallies from Real Clear Politics.
That moved the estimated number needed to declare total victory from 2,026 to 2,118, party members said last night.
Ickes and a fellow Clinton backer on the committee released a campaign statement saying the Florida ruling was “a victory for the people.”
But they blasted the Michigan decision for violating “bedrock principals of our democracy and our party.”
gotis@nypost.com