Staunch Hillary Clinton delegate axed by Wisconsin party

Well, they got her.

Debra Bartoshevich, the duly elected Democratic Party delegate for Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin who vowed undying loyalty to the former first lady, has been dumped by the state party and barred from attending the Democratic National Convention in Denver next month.

According to the Associated Press, the state party's administrative committee has officially whacked Bartoshevich from the 92-member delegation.

Bartoshevich campaigned tirelessly for Clinton in Wisconsin and traveled to other states at her own expense. She was excited at the prospect of the first female candidate for president in a major party.

A 41-year-old emergency room nurse who says she's never voted Republican in her life, Bartoshevich was fiercely in favor of Clinton's universal healthcare program. She donated chunks of her salary to the New York senator. Bartoshevich was elected a convention delegate at the county level and was very excited about the trip to her lifelong party's national convention. (As she explains in detail in this video available by clicking on Read more line below.)

But when Barack Obama won sufficient delegates to capture the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, Bartoshevich was bitterly disappointed. Not unlike a lot of the 17 million supporters who...

...voted for the New York senator. While Clinton has urged her backers to support Obama, many seem to be hesitating.

"No self-respecting woman should wish or work for the success of a party that ignores her," Bartoshevich told a local journalist. "That's by Susan B. Anthony."

Bartoshevich had such residual anger about the treatment of Clinton by her party that she said come Nov. 4 she was going to vote for John McCain, who is not a lifelong Democrat.

State party chair Joe Wineke, an ardent supporter of John Edwards until he became an ardent supporter of Obama, began proceedings to strip the delegate status from Bartoshevich.

Before the vote, Bartoshevich told the committee by phone that she, like millions of American women, had been "inspired" by Hillary Clinton's run and that her loss last month was "an emotional time."

Bartoshevich said she was open to persuasion by Obama and pleaded for the opportunity to listen and to cast her vote for Sen. Clinton in Denver.

The committee voted 23-0 to throw her out.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Photo: Stan Honda / AFP/Getty Images

Comments

[chargy]

Seems like the DNC said "pick up your toys and go home"
Some leadership. Dean, Pelosi, Brazile count your days they are numbered. We need to have adults in office.
Go PUMA's
HIllary 08/ McCain 08

[CC]

What did she expect? She made it clear that she was intending to be a disruption, and that really is a good way to get yourself uninvited, to any party.

[coolrepublica]

Wow! Democracy as seen by the democratic party. Fall in line or get thrown out.

Unions are working to make sure they know who union members are voting for in elections and the democratic party support that effort.

Howard Stern was right. It seems that the democrats are closet communist. We learn a lot this campaign season. A lot.

[Tom J]

Your phrase 'officially whacked' reminds me of Clinton's hilarious Sopranos ad (definitely the funniest ad of the entire campaign).

On a serious note, I look forward to Hillary's speech at the convention and I do NOT want it overshadowed by some delegate on a personal vendetta against Barack who thinks she's doing Hillary some sort of favor by refusing to recognize reality.

[gaiaschild]

I am sorry this delegate is hurt. I might feel the same had the primary turned out another way. The Clintons did not catch the wave of change in a winning way. There is a sense with Obama's candidacy that we can mature, we can grow beyond the sort of campaign tactics that further polarize, divide, accuse, and demean. It's a huge sea change and is is beyond gender and race differences. Certainly there will be a woman president but there has to be a spirit of positive leadership and not a spirit of recriminate and ruin the other. As you can see, Sen. McCain is reacting in the old way. Rather than bringing an inspirational vision, he's reactive to the Obama promise. We need to do better. It takes maturation but it defies fossilization and crystallization of the old ways. No arterial plaque, neurosis and fakery. No need for recrimination and assault. Leadership.

[Zoe]

May of us who voted for Clinton are "open to persuasion by Obama" but each day it becomes more and more obvious that Obama is not "open" to persuading us. He is not interested in votes of the grassroots Democratic party. He has plenty of money from corporate supporters and has surrounded himself with "yes we can" men who tell him that he will win. His arrogance tells him that he will handily win despite the fact that he and McCain are running neck and neck in all the polls. And besides, Obama can always steal the election, the way he cheated in the caucuses.

[Alex Masuerte]

The bottom line is she was out of line with the party's interest and so she must go.
Party first before candidate. If she can't live with that she has no purpose being a delegate, so she deserves to be booted out.
Democrats - democratic and have freedom of our actions. But we must face the consequences of our acts as well.

[Vote Hillary]

That's the DnC for ya! Exactly why i'm voting Republican this year.....Hillary2012!!

[omgroflcakes]

Pwned.

Obama '08.

[Don L]

You do have to admire their spirit of tolerance for differing opinions and fair treatment of a minority. Gosh, you think she was against murdering the unborn, or winning the war on terror, or something real evil to throw her out like that.

They just treated her like their media friends treat the truth - throw it out when it gets inconvenient. I suspect the day isn't too far off when these intolerant control freaks gain control and do this to all of us -particularly the fools in their own party that empower this stuff, thinking it'll never happen to me.....

[cindy a]

Good riddance to bad rubbish! If I had been there voting, it would have been 24-0 instead of 23-0. She deserves to sit in the dark for four more years of Republican misrule while McCain appoints more Scalias and Thomases to roll back women's rights. But that's not what the rest of us deserve!

[jmousso]

I've been a lifetime Democrat and I will in no way vote for Obama or donate another penny to the Democratic Party. The Party's treatment of the Clintons and their supporters has been disgusting.

They act like Obama is the second coming of Jesus Christ! NOT!

The Party wants more money so they grand stand their "selected" candidate.

GO PUMA

[Alan]

Ignored? Hardly. Her vote counted the same as every other voter's.

[Rachel]

Gimme a break! of course you don't get to attend the Democratic convention when you publicly declare you are planning on voting Republican! Grow Up.

[Bobbi Nash]

I agree with Debra. You have to put the country before the party. And I don't think Obama is right for the country, for the economy, for women or for the party for that matter. What threw me over to the McCain side was his arrogance -- replacing the flag on his plane with his own symbol, using a "pretend" presidential seal, and especially his recent "I love me" tour. How vain.

[Go Obama]

My My My such a bitter little person. The Democratic party does not need such narrow minded people. She should feel very welcome in the company of Bush, Cheney, Rusmfeld, Wolfowitz, and Cain. These are people who are all on the same wavelength.

[Tim]

There were two candidates.

The democrats voted for one of them.

The other lost.

Please explain why this is unfair? I'm sorry that the person you liked lost, but that is fair, and that is life.

I lived through 8 years with a president that I did not like from day one. I will still vote, even if my candidate loses again.

I will not cry if my candidate loses. And I DEFINITLY will not through a fit like a little kid, try to cause chaos in the system, or make rash decisions that effect me and everyone else negatively.

This little girl makes me sick. Obama got the icecream cone instead of Hillary, so lets know the icecream cone out of Obama's hands too, there, now no one gets any happiness.

[w3bgrrl]

You should know that the party the LA Times regularly shills for is properly called the DEMOCRAT party, not the "Democratic" Party. If the party were "democratic," its nominee would be the popular vote-winning Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Irony. Ain't she grand?

[jr]

If they had let her go to the Demovention she might have tried to throw a wrench at the monkey - I meant throw a monkey wrench into the proceedings. ....And if the opportunity was there certainly she would vote for HIllary, wouldn't she. There is a lot more room under the Obamamama bus, and when that is full, get another.

[Vince]

Zoe: Hillary's supporters were the grassroots of the party? Big business and the party establishment were solidly behind Hillary since before she even announced, and it took the party grassroots to get Obama to where he is today,

Obama and McCain are running neck-and-neck. The Gallup tracking poll now has Obama up between 8 and 9 points the past 2 days. Gallup showed it dead even when Newsweek and LAT/Bloom had Obama by 15 and 12, so Obama's margin in the Gallup poll is very significant.

In addition, the winner is selected by the electoral college, not national popular vote. RCP averages have Obama winning the EV 322-216 right now. That is a very large margin. He looks like he can win a whole handful of states that Hillary had zero chance at winning.

[Vince]

wbbgrlll - Saying that Hillary won the popular vote ignores the caucus states, where there are no vote counts, but in which he won overwhelmingly. Should they not count democratically? And if the party rules from the beginning stated that whoever won the popular vote won the election, everything would have been completely different. Obama focused on delegates, since those were the rules in place. He let Hillary run up her margin in some states, and knew he could split delegates in other states without winning the popular vote. Most of all, he wouldn't have put so many resources into caucus states if the nomination was decided by a national popular vote. My point is Obama would have had a completely different strategy if the nomination was decided by a national popular vote, so it's not fair to look in hindsight like that.

Nonetheless, I dispute your claim that Hillary won the popular vote. If this were a true national popular vote contest, Obama would have made sure that he would have been on the ballot in Michigan, in which case Obama would have definitely held onto the popular vote. That's why you can't change the rules late in the game, because his decision not be be on the ballot in Michigan was a DELEGATE decision, not a POPULAR VOTE decision. Any fair analysis of Michigan shows that Obama may have won, but would have at least come close, and there's no way that she would have netted the 134,746 votes needed in Michigan to even tie him in the popular vote.

The primary is over. Your candidate lost. Stop whining. Life sucks.

[Iowa-Grant]

What is bizarre is the "PUMA" group is not ALL Hillary supporters and of course, is not supported by Hillary herself.....which makes it difficult to say what they say with a straight face.

My concern is that it is telling the vote was unanimous, the vote was instigated by an Edwards and not Obama supporter, and that people report on this but Ron Paul's counter-RNC convention has NO ONE saying McCain isn't the republican nominee.

I am also a little personally annoyed at how this group is hurling any and all feminist statements around totally out of context.

I'm insulted that Susan B Anthony is quoted out of context. That this woman quotes her for her purpose when anyone who knows who Susan B. Anthony was knows she isn't speaking generally in that quote and about some selective disagreement but specifically to the fact that women couldn't vote, ALL Women, not just a select group of people who didn't understand that Hillary, like Obama, always could potentially lose. This is a far cry from women's suffrage when every party disbarred them categorically. It's a low move.

It was a given, you don't have two winners.

That these people would vote for McCain, who is Hillary's polar opposite under the guise of feminism and democracy, is pure irrationality and riddles.

And someone saying Obama can't stand grassroots politics.....his supporter base and fundraising is primarily grassroots and small donation based.....so.....huh?

[Al]

PUMA might as well mean GOP. Don't let the door hit you on your hypocritical rear on the way out.

[Elvis has left the building]

Less hypocritical than gov. Judas this Hillary supporter sure got the shaft by the states democrat's nomenclatura.Stalinist tendencys are getting more and more noticeable since the jr Illinois senator has become the presumptive nominee. Expect more Hillary supporters to be excomunicated by the Obama goons.
Chicago's political democrat traditions were inspired mainly by Al Capone and Joseph Stalin. This spiritual pestilence is spreading to most other states under
the watch of Michele's hubby and the rev Jackson knows a fraud when he sees one. Jackson and Hillary appear to be the only dem. leaders to see through
the Chicago imposter.

[Slobodan Voroshilov]

I came to the USA from Soviet Russia at the height of
Stalin's reign. It appears certain to me that America will
relive Russia's days of blood baths and the goulag if by
some satanic influence the voters should elect Stalin's
reincarnate in the person of this Obama demagogue.
George Soros, the eminence grise,behind Obama was and still is Stalin's apologist.....his moove on .org storm
toopers have collected most of Obama's tens of millions
and watch them poison the fall campaign with mind bogling propaganda of Marxist and Maoist garbage.

[NinaK]

Why are Hilliary's supporters still whining? You guys still do not get it do you? We had two candidates, one won, the other lost, period. WWhat you Hilliarys fans fail to admit is the fact that Hilliary lost her own nomination with a lot of help from her campaign and her husband, Bill. She came in as the "Inevitable Nominee", spent most of her money in Iowa with all her Hilliary this, Hillary that campaigning tours and excessive spending on top-of-the-ling hotels. By the time she got to New Hampshire she was broke! You, her eager fans, evidently did not donate too much to her financially. Sure, you paid and continue to pay lip service to her, however you did not put your money where your mouth was/is. You still have the opportunity to help her pay her $23+ million debt. Stop paying lip service and give her some real $$$, right now she needs that much more than she needs your lip service.

[NinaK]

I agree with Debra. You have to put the country before the party. And I don't think Obama is right for the country, for the economy, for women or for the party for that matter. What threw me over to the McCain side was his arrogance -- replacing the flag on his plane with his own symbol, using a "pretend" presidential seal, and especially his recent "I love me" tour. How vain.

Posted by: Bobbi Nash
---------------------------
Senator Obama is vain and arrogant? Don't you really mean that you do not care for him because he is a man who is black and you think you is "uppity" for running for the Office of the Presidency? Come on, do you even know what arrogance means?? Or do you just parrot others?? Senator Obama is not arrogant, nor is he vain, he is an extremely intelligent man who is also smart and very knowledgable on many different subjects and very knowledgable on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, it does not matter to me how much McCain rants. Senator Obama exhibits outstanding judgement, vision, leadership and the ability to bring people together. Those thousands upon thousands that attend his rallies are there because they really want to be there and listen to, and to see this gifted gentleman. I venture to say that a lot of the hatred and bigotry being expressed is due to the fact that many of you just cannot stand to see a man who is black (and part white) come so far up the ladder in the political chain. To you and people like you, NO person who is black should succeed; you want to keep them down and you just do not want them to do better than you have done or will ever do in your lifetimes. Envy, jealousy, and resentment toward others who succeed who are not the same color as you is dispicable. Your comments actually say MORE ABOUT YOU than they do about the good senator from Illinois. Think about it.

[NinaK]

If they had let her go to the Demovention she might have tried to throw a wrench at the monkey - I meant throw a monkey wrench into the proceedings. ....And if the opportunity was there certainly she would vote for HIllary, wouldn't she. There is a lot more room under the Obamamama bus, and when that is full, get another.

Posted by: jr | July 28, 2008 at 02:02 PM
-----------------------------------------------
Jr, your post says it all! monkey?? You dispicable low life!! God created blacks just as he created every other race, with great love and purpose! Who the heck do you think you are? The all supreme white person who thinks the white man is superior in this world?? You and people like you make me sick!! You are such horrid racists and bigots and you will never change in your stinking thinking!! Go back to your snake pit where you and your ilk belong!

[Tom in California]

My candidate was Edwards. He lost. I've got no difficulty voting for Obama. Obama versus McCain? Let's get real! It's not even remotely a close call. I would be terminally stupid to support McCain just because my favorite candidate lost.

Time for Bartoshevich to quit sniveling and refighting the primaries! Does she want to sulk and vote for McCain? Well, she can go ahead and do it. (People have all sorts of stupid reasons for voting against their own interests!) But why does she think she should go to the Democratic Convention with her little McCain hat? What a stupid, stupid, stupid woman. No courage. No principle. Just a head full of stupid!

[NinaK]

Less hypocritical than gov. Judas this Hillary supporter sure got the shaft by the states democrat's nomenclatura.Stalinist tendencys are getting more and more noticeable since the jr Illinois senator has become the presumptive nominee. Expect more Hillary supporters to be excomunicated by the Obama goons.
Chicago's political democrat traditions were inspired mainly by Al Capone and Joseph Stalin. This spiritual pestilence is spreading to most other states under
the watch of Michele's hubby and the rev Jackson knows a fraud when he sees one. Jackson and Hillary appear to be the only dem. leaders to see through
the Chicago imposter.

Posted by: Elvis has left the building
-------------------------------------------
The woman loudly proclaimed she was voting for John McCain, the Republican. We true democrats want a Democrat in the White House and not McCain, the elderly Bush Clone. The repubs made a mistake when they cloned this 72 year old buzzard from GWB's political cells. If you note, the woman did NOT say she was going to support Hilliary, she said she was GOING TO VOTE FOR McCAIN. So, why would the Democrats want her at the convention when she is supporting and voting the republican candidate?? Would you want Susie , a member of your cheerleading squad at your football game if she was cheering for the other team?? I asked this question in very, very simple terms so everyone tries to understand why the Dems had to deny her going to the Denver Convention.

[NinaK]

came to the USA from Soviet Russia at the height of
Stalin's reign. It appears certain to me that America will
relive Russia's days of blood baths and the goulag if by
some satanic influence the voters should elect Stalin's
reincarnate in the person of this Obama demagogue.
George Soros, the eminence grise,behind Obama was and still is Stalin's apologist.....his moove on .org storm
toopers have collected most of Obama's tens of millions
and watch them poison the fall campaign with mind bogling propaganda of Marxist and Maoist garbage.

Posted by: Slobodan Voroshi
-----------------------------------
Stalin huh? That means you must be an elderly person and maybe you are missing those days?? I suggest you return to Russia and quit spewing your poisonous crapola. YOU are the one spreading progaganda of Marxist and Maoist garbage. Place take your garbage with you back to Russia. We do not need your kind of person.

[Slobodan Voroshilov]

To : NinaK
I am an American citizen with the same rights as you.
Perhaps you should brush up on history Those who ignore the past are condemned to relive it.Do you know
that G. Soros became a billionaire through specuting on
weak currencys thus ruining countless small investors
and plunging populations in dire misery, revealing his
admiration for Stalinist barbaric methods.Are you going
to let such an anti-capitalism monster have his puppet
run our country ?

[jesmoore]

NinaK, it is people like you, not necessarily Senator Obama himself, who are the primary turn-off for many democratic voters. You just elucidated every stereotype of a crazed Obamaniac in a few simple words: anyone who disagrees with Obama is a cry-baby racist.

I could never support a campaign who was elected based on these insane fallacies and slander of their opponents, let alone their fellow party members.

[TXDemocrat]

So what's the story here? The Democratic Party enforced their rules as they should. The party rules are clear that delegates may not publicly endorse another party's candidate for President. How hard is that? This isn't about Hillary. There are hundreds of other delegates that supported Hillary that are attending the convention as proud Hillary supporters who are with Obama this fall. This woman is hardly a loyal Hillary supporter, when she has very publicly asked her supporters to support Obama.

The purpose of the delegates of a party's convention is to nominate a candidate for President, a candidate for VP, pass a party platform and resolutions, and energize the party base for the fall campaign. It's one thing if Obama wasn't her first or second choice, but publicly endorsing another party's candidate for president is in direct conflict with her job as delegate. That's why the DNC has this rule. Delegates know this too. They pledge to support the party nominee for president when they are elected. What is the point of a party having rules if they don't enforce them? Good for the Wisconsin Democratic Party.

[Slobodan Voroshilov asks NinaK]

If you are 13 or over,make a point of looking-up George
Soros on the net.Then come back here and apologize
to the better educated.

[Real Democrat]

The message of the new democratic party is clear: You're either with us or against us. Sound familiar? It should. It's been the republican attitude for the last 8 years.

It's at least refreshing that the Dems are not hesitant inrevealing their future intentions

[Susan]

It would seem in a tight race that Barack would NOT want to offend any group, especially the group that voted for Hillary. Oddly he doesn't give a darn because he believes they will fall in line no matter how poorly they are treated. He has other fish to fry like pandering to the jewish vote, latinos, unions, evangelicals, to name a few. As far as figuring out a way to appease the Hillary supporters he isn't given them a second thought. The one thing I have really learned from the democratic primary is that liberals can easily turn on each other and thrown the other under the bus - forever.

[Masha]

The DNC is soooo AFRAID!

[Masha]

My comment makes reference to two previous commente which I copy here for easy reference.

First Bobbi Nash makes this comment (See next)

"I agree with Debra. You have to put the country before the party. And I don't think Obama is right for the country, for the economy, for women or for the party for that matter. What threw me over to the McCain side was his arrogance -- replacing the flag on his plane with his own symbol, using a "pretend" presidential seal, and especially his recent "I love me" tour. How vain."

---------------------------

Then NinaK comes up with this response (See next)

"Senator Obama is vain and arrogant? Don't you really mean that you do not care for him because he is a man who is black and you think you is "uppity" for running for the Office of the Presidency? Come on, do you even know what arrogance means?? Or do you just parrot others?? Senator Obama is not arrogant, nor is he vain, he is an extremely intelligent man who is also smart and very knowledgable on many different subjects and very knowledgable on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, it does not matter to me how much McCain rants. Senator Obama exhibits outstanding judgement, vision, leadership and the ability to bring people together. Those thousands upon thousands that attend his rallies are there because they really want to be there and listen to, and to see this gifted gentleman. I venture to say that a lot of the hatred and bigotry being expressed is due to the fact that many of you just cannot stand to see a man who is black (and part white) come so far up the ladder in the political chain. To you and people like you, NO person who is black should succeed; you want to keep them down and you just do not want them to do better than you have done or will ever do in your lifetimes. Envy, jealousy, and resentment toward others who succeed who are not the same color as you is dispicable. Your comments actually say MORE ABOUT YOU than they do about the good senator from Illinois. Think about it.

--------------------------------

This is me, now...

You know NinaK, Bobbi Nash did NOT say any of that. Actually YOU said it! All the hateful language came from YOU. Stop attributing all that hatefulness in your own heart to others. Any Freshman psychology student can see you have a problem. Look up "projection" on Wikipedia.

[Slobodan to NinaK]

Masha is right on the button .Guess you feel very much
un-appreciated .Nostalgia of the goulag and the Stalinist
blood baths era can play dirty tricks on one's sanity.Next
time you fire your incendiary gribbish,make sure you are
not just aligning words that cannot stand analysis by the
most casual reader.

[Sheelzebub]

I get that she's angry, and I'm certainly not thrilled at the sexism exhibited by my so-called male 'allies' on the left. However, voting for McCain is just plain stupid. I didn't see McCain bat an eyelash over Citizens United Not Timid, and he giggled and winked over someone asking him how they'd "beat the bitch."

Granted, I know the Dems usually roll over and play dead at the prospect of some of their own voting for the Republican--look at how far rightward they've been tilting to appease the conservatives. But continuing to play that game HURTS women.

Cynthia McKinney is running (and has been my FIRST choice, not Clinton or Obama)--if you're not going to vote for Obama, vote for McKinney. If you're going to vote for a GOP misogynist, you should have left the Democratic party years ago.

[Mary Lee]

NinaK was right.

Siobodan said "I came to the USA from Soviet Russia at the height of Stalin's reign. It appears certain to me that America will relive Russia's days of blood baths and the goulag if by some satanic influence the voters should elect Stalin's reincarnate in the person of this Obama demagogue. George Soros, the eminence grise,behind Obama was and still is Stalin's apologist.....his moove on .org storm toopers have collected most of Obama's tens of millions and watch them poison the fall campaign with mind bogling propaganda of Marxist and Maoist garbage."

That is spewing hate filled awful garbage that has no basis in fact as far as Obama is concerned! Stating that Pbama is Stalin reincarnated is just off the reservation.

Jr. said: "If they had let her go to the Demovention she might have tried to throw a wrench at the monkey - I meant throw a monkey wrench into the proceeding."

Calling Obama a MONKEY was racist and so very vulgar.

You people are jumping all over NinaK for getting offended by such offensive statements. Get a grip people. If you attack with ugliness, people will push back!

[Charles M. Johnson]

Any Hillary supporter who does not support Obama is either childish or racist. That's right, I said it.

Let's look at this logically. It is a fact that Barack's policies are much closer to Hillary's than John McCain's policies. Not to mention the fact that if you are truly a Democrat, then voting for a Republican should repulse you.

And don't give me that Obama-does-not-have-experience excuse. We all know that a president surrounds himself with advisors. If "experience" was all that, then George Bush would be an outstanding president. We know that is not the case.

[KH]

"And don't give me that Obama-does-not-have-experience excuse. We all know that a president surrounds himself with ad visors. If "experience" was all that, then George Bush would be an outstanding president. We know that is not the case."

An I think we have seen Obama's lack if wisdom in choosing his ad visors.. It sounds like you are arguing for a figure head president propped up by Washington Insiders.

It shows the fascist (there I said it) level of some democrats to pull out the race card at any criticism..

You don't see value in experience so Obama and Hillary are interchangeable in your DNC koolaid drinking world.

Maybe Obama would have been better waiting until he had served one full term in the Senate, sponsored some bills and learned to hold hearings on his committees before thinking he was ready to be President.. Remember Dan Quayle? and the jokes Democrats made about him he was way more experienced than Obama at the level we want for a president.

i won't vote for or against a candidate becaue of race and anyone like you that anchors on that and attacks people with it is just another flavor of racist.

Lets say it... If he were young 2 year senator that wasn't African American... he wouldn't get any media attention.. he would be the guy with less qualifications than Edwards..

And between you and me.. If he had experience.. I would look at him like I did at the 2004 DNC convention. as someone that could do this country good.. but impatience is not a leadership quality I want in a president.