The news organizations can't seem to stop talking about these super delegates. While the most recent CNN count has Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama
234-156, none of this matters. Even taking this tally into account, 405 of the 795 super delegates have yet to tip their hat. This is a majority, and certainly enough to swing the nomination process significantly in one way or another. It may even be enough to swing the nomination to the candidate who has
less votes and pledged delegates. However, this is unlikely to happen, and if it does, the Democratic Party would ruin itself. The wounds of the undemocratic outcome of the 2000 election are still fresh, and the Democratic Party cannot let its nominee be selected by undemocratic means. If this were to happen, party faithful would flee faster than you can say "presidency," and all chances of a democrat occupying the White House would melt away. Fortunately, it seems as though the party will not let this happen. Eleanor Norton Holmes, Washington D.C.'s non-voting congresswoman, outlined the correct principles that super delegates should abide in
her endorsement of Barack Obama today: The notion that a candidate who has not earned delegates could become the Democratic nominee for president is at odds with the democratic principles of our party reforms. Super delegates were never intended to allow the return of smoked-filled room, behind the scenes selection of our candidate. I have carried a banner for a democracy of the District of Columbia too long to depart from principles of democracy within my own party.
This is what super delegates should support - democracy. Fortunately, it looks like things are moving in this direction, but if the super delegates were to swing the nomination in an undemocratic way - to either candidate - you can count on a large number of people leaving the democratic party, including me.
2 comments:
Joe,
What I'm still not clear on is how individual superdelegates will vote. That is, will California superdelegates vote en masse for Hillary, and Virginia superdelegates en mass for Obama? Or will the totality of superdelegates vote for whoever's leading at decision making time? Do you, or anyone out there, understand what the presumption is?
Super delegates can vote any way they want. That's the key. Regardless of what state they are from, they can vote for whoever they personally choose. My main point is that if this swings the elections to the candidate that has less votes and delegates, that's an undemocratic process, which the party shouldn't stand for.
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