Clinton Takes Lubbock County; Media Calls It “Chaos”

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal has the report from the Lubbock County Democratic County Convention. Not surprisingly, another media outlet labels the convention process chaos:

The Lubbock County Democratic convention Saturday seemed to descend into chaos, with many delegates confused about the very processes they were participating in.

“If the average person can’t walk in and know what’s happening, it’s not worth having,” said Jack Whittington, a delegate from Precinct 50. “Quite simply, there are so many loopholes and so many ways for what the people want to be undone.”

Whittington, like many supporters of presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, felt the convention, which dragged on for almost seven hours in the Lubbock High School auditorium, left the votes of many cast aside in the spirit of party rules.

That last sentence is troubling. “The votes of many cast aside in the spirit of party rules?” Party rules prescribe a process. period. It must be followed.

Of the 64 delegates to be sent to the state convention in June, 41 were chosen to represent Clinton, while 23 were in favor of her opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, Whittington said. Ten of those delegates were not chosen from a floor vote, but rather by an at-large system - all of which went to Obama.

The at-large system serves to balance votes to reflect the percentage of delegates in attendance - 56 percent supported Clinton while 44 percent voted for Obama, Whittington said. The floor vote, however, gave 41 delegates to Clinton and 13 to Obama, so all ten at-large positions were given to Obama, which displeased Whittingon.

Opinions about distribution of at-large positions were mostly cut down candidate lines, as Obama supporter Judy Corley said she supported the vote distribution.

“Obviously this caucus and this convention are following the rules of the state,” Corley said. “And I’d feel the same way if it were 10 for Hillary.”

Corley said she believed many of the issues at the convention could have been solved if delegates made themselves aware of the rules before they attended.

Not everyone was put out with the way the convention was run. Tom McGovern, a delegate from Precinct 23 and Obama supporter, said he was pleased to see the diversity and youth of many attending the caucus.

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