All of the weekend political chat shows were discussing super delegates and how they may or may not play a decisive role in the selection of the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.
A bitch has a few questions too (wink).
Shall we?
ABB’s knee jerk instant straight to the brain question about super delegates…
Who the fuck came up with this shit?
ABB’s somewhat calmer but still offended on the 'ain’t this shit supposed to be about the masses tip' question about super delegates…
Didn’t anyone in the room…anyone…raise a question about elitism? Shit. Now you’ve got everyone and their pundit talking about how the party elite are going to help out the ig’nant masses by showing them the error of their ways!
ABB’s final realization about super delegates…
Whoever came up with this shit needs several hours of intense interaction with my Merciless Rod of Correction.
The thing is, most Americans don’t vote on a regular basis and most voters who express a party affiliation aren’t actually active in that party’s inner working day to day political bullshit. As a result, most folks woke up to the existence of super delegates the day after Super Tuesday when it became apparent that super delegates may actually play a key role in this selection-based shit.
Cough.
Here’s my problem with super delegates – they are what they are.
Blink.
Mmmmhmmm, that’s my core concern.
Super delegates are made up of party insiders...Congress people, governors, other elected folks and political activists. Any political junkie will tell you that the demographic represented by super delegates doesn’t reflect the demographic of those currently voting on the Democratic side of primary ballots.
Sorry, it just doesn’t…anymore than Congress represents the socio-economic background of most Americans or party activists represent the majority values of most Democrats and certainly not the Independents needed to win in November.
Whew.
Hell, I’m an activist and my kind of activist didn’t get the nod to become a super delegate.
There’s hope for us all if the voters actually vote in a nominee before the convention, but woe is unto the Democratic Party if the so-called party elite get the green light to over-rule the will of the voters.
Mercy.
22 comments:
All right - putting on my horns and tucking just a dab of brimstone behind the ears, how OTHER THAN the backroom negotiations of experienced super delegates is the nominee chosen if H&B go into the Convention in a virtual dead heat (which is looking more and more likely) Another friggin' primary? Whereas I am not fond of the Orwellian "...but some democrats are better than others" concept, anybody got any better ideas?
Indeed, Mercy. I am going to be pissed if the people choose one candidate and we end up with the other -- no matter which one it is. We had enough of that shit with the Supreme Court in 2000.
Answer to the first question: party insiders who like having control.
Answer to the second question: elitism was the whole point. The thought went that if the primary voters were stupid enough to pick Carter of all people, and then Mondale, too, then they don't deserve the right to pick the nominee.
Response to final realization: damn straight.
I was mentioning to PurpleFeminist the other night about how the whole nomination process is messed up. Example would be the voter guide with the sample ballots I received from the state of Maryland. On one ballot you pick who you would like nominated. On the other ballots you pick who you would like to send to the democratic national convention.
Kicker is, after the names of each of these delegates is the name of the candidate that they are already promised to.
I am so *%&ing confused...
It is HIGH-larious that Sen. Clinton today attempted to diminish Obama's recent spate of wins by dismissing caucuses as being dominated by "activists" rather than real voters. While she does have a point that caucuses in many forms are unfair to the electorate, if she really believes that a vocal and chosen few shouldn't decide this election, then perhaps she should consider giving up all those super delegates that are sustaining her lead. Both of them should agree to toss the super delegate votes, and let Howard Dean's disenfranchising ass sit in the corner and pout.
Ever since I heard about Super Delegates I have been sick to my stomach. Elitism, plain and simple. How much money have you ponied up for the Party and you, too, can be a Super Delegate.
B.S.
They were decoding all this on NPR this afternoon. It sounds to me like they'd represent "the smoke filled room" if there's not a clear victor by the convention.
I voted for/am rooting for Obama, and it seems to me like he currently has the momentum.
I think (as of today, barring any weird news) he's the favorite. But he needs to score a knockout in Texas & Ohio, to make it a moot point.
I respectfully disagree. The super-delegates are only about 800 out of about 4000, right? That's only 20% of the total. If it were 51%, I might agree with you. But you got right to the heart of the matter when you mentioned how most people don't even know what being in the party means. The party has a right to give "extra weight" to the people that are active in it, that know what it means to support the party's ideals and to promote it as a party, if it wants to.
Think of it this way, as well - The Democratic party allows non-affiliated members to vote in the primary as well. Having the super-delegates allows them to "counteract" a bunch of republican "spoilers" jumping in and tipping the scales for someone that would have no chance of winning in the general election.
I say all of this as an unaffiliated voter. The only way the super-delegates would spoil something would be if they were to take a 40% candidate (with 60% for the other person) in the popular election and make that person the nominee. And even then they'd have to get EVERY super-delegate to agree to it. I'm sure they wouldn't do that without a darned good reason.
Backroom negotiations aren't necessary even if Clinton and Obama are running neck-and-neck into the convention.
The superdelegates can (and should) vote according to the people they represent. Donna Brazil is a superdelegate and she's vowed that her vote will reflect her district.
The backroom negotiations are what screwed up the 1968 Democratic Convention. That's how Hubert Humhprey got nominated. Humphrey didn't participate in the primaries, but he had enough delegates to get the nomination (Humphrey was Vice President to Johnson at the time and had plenty of power). There are people who are still pissed off about that convention.
These superdelegates need to do the right thing and vote according to the majority in their districts--anything less will be dishonest.
I want you to be my superdelegate.
or a superdelegate.
or WHATEVER. because I bet you would whip that convention into shape. ;)
Okay, so here's where I'm at.
If the Democratic Party wants party purity then why don't they demand that all states have closed primaries or caucuses? Only registered Dems may apply and shit like that. Hell, they could even demand a loyalty oath.
Blink.
Listen, I've got a better chance of winning the lottery than this shit has of going to Denver tied. It could happen (with my luck) but the odds are against it.
The speculation isn't about the need for a tie breaker and it isn't about Super Delegates having to decide the race. Its about Super Delegates getting to decide the race.
There a difference and it smells all too familiar.
Sarah J...
A bitch would have to pull a Donna Brazile if I were a Super Delegate.
But I do wonder if they get outfits to go with the title. Something with a giant SD across the breast...with sparkles, a flowing cape and thigh high boots.
I'd keep that Super Delegate outfit for sure and cast my vote with the will of the people (wink)...
These super-delegates remind me of the Electoral College. Not the sort of thing anyone thinks about until the game gets close.
If the super delegates go against the popular votes of the people - we just may see shades of 1968 - what is postive is that there is so much talk about this now..(as you shark-fu) would say...blink.
The super delegates in a dead heat like this..(if u wanna call it that) cause what i see is a route..Obama is crushing Hillary in the MOST unlikely places. The people are trying HARD to get our Voices heard at the ballot BOX...so lets think about this..because back room deals SUCK ! We need the super delagates to promise to follow the will of their states..not the party insiders. John Edwards could also be a king maker. What is good and i repeat , is that WE GOT OUR EYE on the SUPER DELEGATES - this is moving civics in our country in a quantum leap.
Also people who have NEVER VOTED in their lives are going to vote.That is exciting !! We got time, to educate people about the general election, time to educate people about the Dem National Convention. The more eyes we have on this the better. (just an aside mrs clinton is getting more desparate by the day, my concern is texas, as their are many hispanic rethugs there that state has a lot of delegates and i hope Obama's adverts makes sure to let people know HIS PRESIDENCY will LIFT all BOATS )
Also if anyone has the chance of being a delegate but needs funds by all means the comm. ought to know, perhaps some can help with expenses which delegates pay themselves.
Carry ON ..and GOO OBAMA !
Does Hillary REALLY have what it takes to win the Presidenccy. Her nomimation hinges on three factors working in her favor, which in turn hinges on her outreach:
1) Hillary needs Superdelegates. To get them back, she needs to win some more Primaries.
2) Hillary needs to reinstate the Florida and the Michigan Delegates. To get them impanneled, she needs some control over the credentials committee, and therefore some help from the Superdelegates and oher Delegates
to be elected via Primaries.
3)Hillary needs to win Ohio and Texas, where she trails.
It boils down to outreach. Will Hillary reach out to the recently disenfranchised Conservatives,who have no love for McCain, to put her over the top? Will she make a Strategic Move, as Bill did with Nafta and Welfare Reform, to get the Vas Right-Wing Conspiracy behind her against Obama? Is she ready to make a campaign-saving deal with the likes of Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and others to secure her nomination?
In other words, Hillary can still win, but she must abandon some of her Liberal Principles, perhaps Abortion Right or Universal Health Care Coverage, or even make the Bush Tax Cuts permanant to secure support in Texas and Ohio to secure the Votes she needs to secure the nomination.
Hillary, if you want to win your Party's Nomination, you must show Leadership and extend an Olive Branch to the vast Rightwing Conspiracy that you have been railing against for so long, and you canstart with a simple appology.
Wenga T. Orips
Spiro Agnew?
Christ Jesus...
I have been going crazy since the realization that the SD's could pick the nominee hit me like a ton o bricks Shark Fu.
Ever since McGovern, the Party bigwigs instituted the SD's to make sure that the 'peope' would never again pick an 'unelectable' candidate again.
Who in the blue hell are these guys and gals think they are? Since when do their crystal balls know who is electable and who isn't? I don't think their friggin record is all that great either.
If the delegate count is 'that close' at the convention..these asshats will choose the Democrats next candidate.
Super Delegate my ass..they put their pants on one leg at a time..just like everyone else.
Know what kills me? Irony. Just slays my ass.
On Monday, besides dismissing black voters, Clinton said that the only people who vote in caucuses are activists "they don’t represent the electorate, we know that." I blogged about this.
She is also actively seeking more superdelegates, some of who are activists.
Feast on that.
Check it ABB...
Regarding the Superdelegates...
I get the whole concept ala electoral college. HOWSOMEEVER... What's scary is that the very party that deemed it necessary to run ALL the fucking way to the United States Supreme Court to allegedly protect the constitution for a standard bearer who couldn't even win his home state (yeah I said it-Al Gore was a WEAK ASS Democratic Party standard bearer or he'd be talking about ending his second term by now) is embracing a system and a decision that disenfranchised two states worth of delegates. THEN it hints that it might reverse the rules in the middle of the game when the backroom people stacked with Clintonites could reseat Michigan and Florida AFTER the fact. Don't change the rules in the middle of the game! If superdelegates don't bow to the will of the people, which was the concept, there will be electoral blood on the convention floor and the republicans will mop it up on their way back into the White House. Yeah, I said that too. Republicans want a limping nominee so they can snuff him or her out with very little effort and gear up for the 100 years war.
What's drives madness to the point of pure nirvana-ish insanity is that an ABM (read Angry Black man) is even MORE pissed off that so-called negro leaders and talk show hosts who are in Clinton's pocket yeah I said THAT too are free-lancing AND backing the era of a former president who ducked affirmative action, turned his back on Rwanda, missed the boat on Haiti and pissed off Marian Wright Edelman over welfare reform (so much for helping black folks). I encourage folks to compare statements and/or endorsements with campaign donation records on www.FEC.gov to follow the money. People are trying to speak for me like Julian Bond (who pissed off the NAACP board with the letter he fired off asking the DNC to reseat the delegates), Tavis (who died and made his ass black kingmaker) Smiley who reportedly spurned Michelle Obama's offer to represent her husband at his 'state of the black union' when Barack's ass needs to LIVE in Texas and Ohio to win those states and has better things to do than go to Lousiana, a state he's already won to waste valuable campaigning time talking to Tavis.
I say by the way that Tavis punked out and is afraid to have Michelle on the same stage as him and Hillary Clinton who accepted the invite because she DESPARATELY needs black votes now (and by the looks of it white folks too who are jumping into the Obama camp).
Tavis, Julian and others seem to have no sense of humility, propriety or respect for what it truly takes to win the presidency or fundamental fairness.
And that's what grinds MY gears--dammit.
I believe the Hawaii superdelegates will split their votes.
All I can say is... I wish I was an Angry Black Bitch. :) This is much more to the point than the long-ass post I just finished over at my blog.
Love it. Keep it up. :)
I just saw a young (21 yrs old) man interviewed on MSNBC. He has never voted-first time. But he is a super delegate! Their votes are each worth 9,400+ votes. WTF?! So,even if there is a winner the super delegates can upset the whole peoples choice. No wonder people quit voting because they think their votes don't count!
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