I am a registered Democrat in New York City who had supported Edwards. When my candidate dropped out, I was genuinely torn between Clinton and Obama. I wound up voting for Obama on Super Tuesday, but took heart in the idea that whoever won the Democratic primary I would be basically delighted to vote for in November.
But in the last few days, that's changed.
I am no "wonk", and the word "Superdelegate" is new to me. I assume that most of us non-wonky folks have been spared exposure to this deplorable institution because (to my knowledge) no one has previously threatened to use it to override a majoritarian result.
So I am disgusted with the discussion of the past few days -- the indications coming from the Clinton camp that they would embrace that strategy. And if they were able to that successfully, I'm disgusted with what that says about the Democratic party.
Although she was my last choice among the Democratic contenders, I was prepared to thrown my support behind Clinton if she wound up being the nominee. Not just my vote, but my money. But the last few days have changed all that.
I have voted for Clinton for Senator -- twice -- even though it was obvious that the Democratic party machine was installing her in the Senate in order to try to make her look like some kind of heir apparent to the Presidency, which (given how much so many people hate her) I have always thought was pretty unwise. This woman who had never lived in New York was basically handed that very safe seat -- which meant taking the opportunity away from real New Yorkers -- because the party machine wanted so badly to make something great of Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Here's a bio of the woman who was previously expected to be the Democratic contender for that seat: http://en.wikipedia.org/... Would you like to have had her in the Senate? Me too.) Nevertheless, despite the sense that her candidacy was based on unclean hands, I voted for Clinton, because I didn't actually think she was a bad person, I respect her intellect, and what was I going to do, vote Republican?
Considering the illegitimate conception of that senatorial race, therefore, I'm singularly unimpressed with her record of getting nominated, let alone elected. If she can't win this nomination fair and square -- by winning a majority of the PLEDGED delegates, the REAL delegates -- I'm not sure I will be able to stand it any more. I'm honestly not sure what I would do -- I have never sat out an election or even done a write-in because I view that as irresponsibly throwing my vote away -- but if the Democrats have already thrown my vote away, I'm going to be hard-pressed to talk myself into pulling the lever for that woman, Hillary Clinton. I would seriously consider writing someone in.
P.S. Overriding majoritarian results is the Republicans' game. They did it in the general election in Florida, and it looks like they may have done it at their own primary in Washington State (I've been so enjoying Huckabee's protestations on that subject). It is disgusting, cynical behavior. If the Democrats start do it, and so brazenly, not only will I very likely not vote for Hillary -- I am going to be sorely tempted to follow the lead of movement conservatives and start using "Democrat" as an adjective to describe the Party, because they won't deserve to be called by a name that sounds like "democratic".