Nearly 40% of the delegates are not voted on:
Bill Clinton, Super Delegate can vote for his wife
All those delegates being elected by the two parties in all the primaries choose the next candidate for their respective parties, right? Yup - if you are a Republican, but not if you are a Democrat.
In the Democratic party, some delegates are more equal than others. The voters are chosing delegates, but have no say (directly) in the super delegates.
Super Delegates are elected Dem party officials. The “Super Delegate” system was set up to prevent candidates from winning that the party establishment don’t want to represent the party. The Super Delegates are not bound to vote for any particular candidate and to top it all off, Bill Clinton is a Super Delegate!
MSNBC has a story on it:
It’s called the Democratic Party, but one aspect of the party’s nominating process is at odds with grass-roots democracy.
Voters don’t choose the 842 unpledged “super-delegates” who comprise nearly 40 percent of the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.
The category includes Democratic governors and members of Congress, former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, former vice president Al Gore, retired congressional leaders such as Dick Gephardt, and all Democratic National Committee members, some of whom are appointed by party chairman Howard Dean.
Before 1972, party elders, such as Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Charlie Buckley, the boss of The Bronx who helped John Kennedy clinch the 1960 nomination, wielded inordinate power.
But in early 1970’s, the party’s rules were reformed to open the process to grass-roots activists, women, and ethnic minorities.
Sen. George McGovern, the leading anti-Vietnam war liberal, won the 1972 nomination. McGovern turned out to be a disaster as a presidential candidate, winning only one state and the District of Columbia.
So without reverting to the days of party bosses like Buckley, the Democrats decided to guarantee that elected officials would have a bigger voice in the nomination.
From the Democratic Party Web page:
UNPLEDGED AND PLEDGED PARTY LEADERS AND ELECTED OFFICIAL DELEGATES
The procedure to be used for certifying unpledged party leader and elected official delegates is as follows:
Not later than March 1, 2008, the Secretary of the Democratic National Committee shall officially confirm to each State Democratic Chair the names of the following unpledged delegates who legally reside in their respective state and who shall be recognized as part of their state’s delegation unless any such member has publicly expressed support for the election of, or has endorsed, a presidential candidate of another political party;
The individuals recognized as members of the DNC (as set forth in Article Three, Sections 2 and 3 of the Charter of the Democratic Party of the United States); and,
The Democratic President and the Democratic Vice President of the United States, if applicable; and,
All Democratic members of the United States House of Representatives and all Democratic members of the United States Senate; and,
The Democratic Governor, if applicable; and,
All former Democratic Presidents, all former Democratic Vice Presidents, all former Democratic Leaders of the U.S. Senate, all former Democratic Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives and Democratic Minority Leaders, as applicable, and all former Chairs of the Democratic National Committee.
So there you have it - 40% of the delegates are super delegates. All those folks that you see on the floor of the Dem convention should be viewed in a new light - the super delegates are not nearly as racially diverse as the Dems would like you to believe - and they can definitely keep some upstart black man, like Obama from getting the nomination….
Even if Barack Obama manages to win the primarie votes, I can guarantee that the super delegates will not stand by and allow him to get elected. Make no mistake, Hillary will be the Demcoratic nomination, despite what the electorate wants.
From: sandintoes of 2181
Oh I love the smell of democracy in the Spring time. |
