Click here to watch Hillary's great speech today in Michigan!

I believe the families of Michigan are just as important as the families of any other state...Senator Obama speaks passionately on the campaign trail about empowering the American people. Today I'm here to encourage him to match those words with actions.

Hillary Clinton, Detroit, March 19, 2008

Ever since the Obama campaign curried the favor of certain Democratic Party officials by voluntarily withdrawing his name from the Michigan ballot, Obama's supporters have attempted to insure that the preferences of Michigan Democrats will not be considered at the Democratic Convention in Denver.

A committee of four Michigan Democratic leaders, all neutral in the presidential nomination fight, proposed the re-vote last week, and draft legislation was circulated at the state Capitol Monday. But Democratic legislative leaders -- largely Obama supporters -- have raised objections. The Obama campaign, though it has not flatly opposed a new primary, has cited a number of potential legal obstacles. Lawmakers in Lansing have said they will not move forward with a new primary unless both campaigns agree.

UPDATE: NO MERIT! Mark Brewer, Chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, says that none of the legal objections presented by the Obama camp have any merit!

Clinton said. “I have accepted the plan for a new vote in Michigan ... I call on Senator Obama to do the same. This is a crucial test. Does he mean what he says or not?”

The legislation to create a new primary appears to have the support of the DNC, the Michigan Democratic Party and the Clinton campaign. The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee, which approved the penalties levied against the state Democrats over the Jan. 15 primary, said in a memorandum Wednesday that the draft legislation would fit within the framework of the national party’s rules and that the Rules Committee would meet to consider a new Delegate Selection Plan, if and when the state party submits one.

Mark Brewer, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, said in a written statement he supported the legislation. “None of the legal objections to the legislation have any merit, and in my opinion, this legislation satisfies all DNC and legal requirements,” he said.

But Michigan Republicans, who control the state Senate and have enough votes in the Democratic-controlled state House to block the two-thirds supermajority needed to implement a new primary, say they will not support the measure unless all parties in the Democrats’ dispute sign off on the plan.

Obama himself is not standing by his own words

The Clinton campaign is accusing Obama of being the lone roadblock to a re-vote. "On February 8, 2008, Barack Obama stood in the aisle of his airplane and told reporters that he would be 'fine' with a new primary in Michigan if it could be done in a way that gave him and Senator Clinton time to make their respective cases and the DNC signed off. Since then, such a plan has garnered broad support from top Michigan lawmakers and the DNC has given its blessing," the Clinton camp said in a memo. "So Barack Obama is on board, right? Guess again. It turns out that his comments about being fine with a re-vote if the above conditions were met were just words."

The recognition that the Obama camp is the obstacle to a solution to this problem is now spreading rapidly. Here's a report filed from North Carolina, coincidentally one of the states that has yet to hold a primary.

Sen. Barack Obama's campaign has raised questions about a possible June 3 revote in Michigan, although the Democratic National Committee seems fine with the idea.

"We have recently been asked whether the legislation as proposed by Michigan would fit within the framework of the National Party's Delegate Selection Rules," DNC officials said in a statement. "Our review of this legislation indicates that it would, in fact, fit within the framework of the Rules."

But Obama lawyer Robert F. Bauer raised several potential problems in a campaign memo released this morning, noting that the primary would be "unprecedented in conception and proposed structure," as no other states has ever "re-run an election in circumstances like these."

According to the Detroit Free Press, Michigan Republicans will not allow a revote unless Senator Obama's supporters agree to one. As the Obama camp has yet to agree to a revote, one may surmise that their twisted idea of empowering the American people is to enable Republicans to help Obama dis-empower Michigan Democrats.

Legislation to set a second Democratic presidential primary for June 3 won’t be acted upon until and unless it wins the endorsement of the Barack Obama campaign, state Senate leaders said Tuesday morning.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, said Republicans won’t add the do-over primary to the agenda until “the Democrats get on the same page.”

The do-over primary is backed by Hillary Clinton and some of Michigan’s most influential Democrats. But Bishop said Republicans have considerable misgivings about the prospect of authorizing a second election to begin with, and won’t consider it unless the Democrats are unified.

Reuters has now filed this report. Hillary commented on the necessity of counting the votes from both Michigan and Florida.

"I am here for one simple reason: to make sure Michigan's votes are counted and your voices are heard in this election," the New York senator said.

Clinton, a former first lady, urged rival Barack Obama, a senator from Illinois, to give his backing to a proposal that would allow the state to hold a new Democratic contest to pick the party's nominee for president in the November election.

"Senator Obama speaks passionately on the campaign trail about empowering the American people. Today I am urging him to match those words with actions," she said.

"We need to either count the votes that have already been cast in Michigan and Florida or have new full and fair elections so that we can have your voices and your votes counted," she said to applause.