The states of Michigan and Florida need to tell the Democratic Party to seat their delegates with full voting rights or face the prospect of not having a presidential candidate on the November ballot in those states. Alternatively, these states should seek a federal injunction preventing the Democrats from conducting a nominating convention unless it gives equal rights to the residents of Michigan and Florida. Allowing a small group of Democrats to deny voters in their states the equal right to participate in the presidential candidate selection process would be a violation of the oath state officials take to defend the Constitution.

The Democrats order that Barack Obama be given Michigan delegates demonstrates the Democrats have complete contempt for the electoral process because Obama's name wasn't even on the ballot. Michigan at the very least should sue the Democratic Party to force it to assign delegates based on the will of the voters rather than the will of authoritarian party leaders.

In Nazi Germany and the old Soviet Union a political party offiicial could be more powerful than government officials. In communist states the head of the communist party has often been the most powerful person in the country because he determines who holds the government offices. In the United States, government officials elected by the people are supposed to be more powerful than political party officers.

At one time in the U.S. political party leaders chose political candidates in secret to insure the candidates would serve whatever special interests controlled the party. State governments created the political primary system to eliminate this form of corruption and insure popular control over the candidate selection process.

In a true democracy. anyone should be able to run for office who meets the legal qualifications. However the existence of two major parties makes it difficult for anyone to win an election without the endorsement of one of the two parties. Primary elections are a means of preventing private groups from taking over the election process and limiting who can run for office.

The Democatic Party is attempting to circumvent the popular selection of candidates by claiming it can tell states when they can hold presidential primaries. Allowing political parties to order state governments to follow party orders rather than the will of the people in the respective states is a direct assault on the idea of government by the people and a movement to the type of political system of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
Both major parties have small groups within them whose members believe their party should adopt a strict ideological approach to issues as is common with political parties in totalitarian states. If Congress is not going to act to insure that the presidential nominating process is open to all, the states must act. Congress is the only body that has the constitutional authority to control when state governments can set presidential primaries. If party leaders believe limits on when primaries can be held are needed, they should ask Congress to impose such limits. The political parties should not attempt to dictate to the states like the Nazi Party and the Communist Party did.