June 12, 2008 - 12:30pm
Maryland DNC delegate won’t commit to vote for Obama in November
By Kevin Agnese
Category: President, LocalTags: John McCain, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Party, Democratic National Convention, 2008 presidential election, Mary Boergers, Taylor Marsh, Clinton delegates
Mary Boergers
Says Clinton’s Name Must Be Put In Nomination At Convention
Former house delegate and state Sen. Mary Boergers (D), a pledged delegate to Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), told PolitickerMD.com today that she has not committed to voting for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in the November election, saying she first wants to see what "action's (Obama) takes to unify the party."
Boergers, who represented the people of Montgomery County in the House of Delegates from 1982 to 1990 and in the Senate from 1991 to 1994, also said she would vote for Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in August.
"I'm a pledged Hillary delegate," Boergers said. "That's what I was elected to do."
"I'm shocked that other people think that's a question," she said in reference to reversing her pledged support. "I can't figure out what's going on."
While technically not releasing them, Clinton has been urging her delegates to cast their ballots for Obama at this summer's convention in Denver.
In addition, Boergers said that if the Democratic Party "does not allow (Clinton's) name to be put in nomination at the convention" there "will be an eruption in the party."
She said Clinton deserved a roll call vote at the convention, saying she couldn't understand "why the party would not want to celebrate her groundbreaking and historical campaign."
Boergers also warned that if the party does not "embrace Hillary and her supporters" then they are "in serious trouble" in November.
Asked if she would vote for Obama in the general election, Boergers said, "That remains to be seen."
She said she could envision a scenario where she does not vote for Obama, referring once again to the need to put Clinton's name into nomination at the convention.
When asked if she could potentially vote for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz), Boergers said, "I haven't even begun to make that kind of judgment."
"The ball is in Sen. Obama's court," Boergers said.
The former state senator also said she had "mixed feelings" about the idea of Clinton joining the Democratic ticket, saying she would "personally rather see her in the U.S. Senate."
"But I hear some say that they will only vote for Obama if Clinton is on the ticket," Boergers added. "So, for the sake of winning the White House-I would support that."
In a recent e-mail attributed to Boergers on the blog of commentator Taylor Marsh, Boergers described a Clinton conference call that took place Monday night with her delegates.
Confirming to PolitickerMD.com that the statement was "absolutely accurate," Boergers said, "I was on that conference call and there was nothing in Hillary's comments to indicate that she was releasing her delegates and urging them to vote for Obama on the first vote in Denver. In fact, what Harold Ickes said was that the campaign would like to keep Hillary's delegates together so that she can more effectively fight for issues like universal health care to make sure it is included in the party platform."
Asked today if Clinton should release her delegates to Obama, Boergers said, "Why would she? Nobody does that."
"I don't think people get that Hillary is a hero to us," Boergers said. "She's not any old candidate."
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Sore loser
Mary Boergers is the epitome of everything that is wrong with the Democratic Party. Thank God she and her ilk won't be running things, but that Obama's fresh, young, progressive and honest followers are now in charge!
OBAMA is not the nominee
completely agree with YRM.
Obama cannot claim to be the nominee. he does not heave the pledged delegates. the supers can cahnge their endorsements any time until denver.
what obama does is eliminating competitors as he has done since he is running for office.
it is unprecedented that the DNC office be moved to a nominee's hometown, and obama is not even the presumptive nominee. it is illegal to not have senator clinton on the role call vote.
to call himself the presumptive nominee when he has not earned enough pledged delegates is just another proof of his devious campaign tactics.
all these games will not play out. he will not succeed by threatening clinton democrat to be racist. all he does is splitting the party. I hope and pray that the delegates have the courage to vote their own convictions.
I heard from their office staff that our Maryland supers (Chris VanHollen and Ben Cardin) are pressuring other supers to endorse Obama. I am dismayed. Thought that van Hollen was an environmentalist. now he is going with Obama who is bought by the nuclear lobby.
Mary Boergers please stay strong with your conviction. thanks.
Do NOT be fooled!
Hillary does NOT want us to vote for Obama in November--that is, if the DNC continues with its unlawful hijacking of this race!
A group of us in Washington, DC met yesterday, Saturday June 14, with McCain and gave him our endorsement. The DNC has forced us to go with the only candidate we can trust since they are endorsing this tainted one who won't win anyhow!
The powers that be, KNOW that Obama can't win. They merely wanted to be sure the youth and black vote came out on election day to ensure their own personal state and federal re-elections. It is a real crime and they are just using Obama while losing the White House and sacrificing the best interest of our country!
Please don't let them do it!
I am so tired of hearing that Obama is our nominee. Not until the convention in August will we have a nominee and Hillary better be included in the roll call vote. She deserves to be on the ballot. She campaigned hard, finished stronger than Obama and deserves every delegate she won be allowed to vote for her.
Please, please, please Sen. Mary Boergers and all Hillary pledged delegates, don't let them do this to her.
So many Hillary supporters, can't stomach the idea of voting for Obama. But we might for the party. But if the DNC kicks Hillary off the roll call I know for a fact many Hillary supporters will not vote at all or worse vote for McCain.
Just thought of something. Obama guaranteed myself the election to the Illinois state senate by having all his opponents kicked off the ballot. That's what he is trying to do here. Run, once again, uncontested.
Obama isn't the Nominee!
Sen. Mary Boergers and other delegates should be shouting from the rafters that what happened on June 3rd was completely illegal.
The DNC has handed over the Dem Party apparatus on the claim that Obama’s the nominee when he’s not. (Check their website http://www.democrats.org.) He didn’t get enough pledged delegates. The Supers can’t vote till August. It’s June. He’s not the nominee, so the transfer of the headquarters and control to him is a coup de tat. Why are Democratic office holders standing for it - especially after the DNC dragged Florida and Michigan through hell over those same damn rules?
Of course, what makes this whole Barack is the Nominee deception work publicly is Sen. Clinton’s endorsement. Despite being coerced and worn down, she was wrong to give it, and why no one is coming out and saying so is another mystery. She said she would stay in the race "until there's a nominee", knowing full well (and she said this in Kentucky) that neither of them would have enough pledge delegates. She needs to correct this.
In fact, this whole problem needs to be corrected - and fast. Otherwise we'll all be watching Obama's October Surprise unfold next fall. (Click on my screen name for an article about this.)
What happened to Democracy?
campskunk,
Sadly, it has indeed been reported that Hillary has told her delegates to support Obama. I'm sure she had some pressure to do so. The whole thing makes me sick.
"Multiple Democratic sources say that Sen. Hillary Clinton, in a series of private conversations and conference calls, continues to urge her pledged delegates to vote for Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention. Clinton plans a series of calls with superdelegates, interest groups and state delegations over the next few days."
sloppy reporting.
"While technically not releasing them, Clinton has been urging her delegates to cast their ballots for Obama at this summer's convention in Denver."
Hillary said no such thing. She asked her delegates to support Obama as the nominee, not to vote for him at the convention. State party rules determine how pledged delegates vote, not statements by the candidates.
Who picks this people
I just find it amazing that people can be so batcrapped out of their mind to rather be different and argumentative then to embrace the will of the people. The guy won, because more people legally voted for him obviously. All votes count including caucuses, Hillary and her let all the votes count, was absolutely happy to eliminate to people who voted in caucus states. Did everyone forget in the beginning the media kept saying their issues are so similar. This woman as well as the people whom are hanging on to the favors Clinton did for them is nuts. GROW UP.
Maryland delegate
Bless this woman. Our party is being hijacked by Obama. He's actually moving it to Chicago so he can control it more effectively. This is a scary situation for the democratic party.
We love you HILLARY!!! Obama
We love you HILLARY!!! Obama will make the right moves and we will be united come november: for the sake of the world in my view.
We love you HILLARY!!! Obama
We love you HILLARY!!! Obama will make the right moves and we will be united come november: for the sake of the world in my view.
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