This is a difficult diary to write.
I have very good friends who support Hillary Clinton. I have relatives who support Hillary Clinton. I've worked for people I respect and admire who support Hillary Clinton. I have respected and admired Hillary Clinton, even when I've disagreed with her.
But now Hillary Clinton is mocking the Democratic Party. It's not her supporters. It's not even her campaign. It's not Bill Clinton or Mark Penn. It's Hillary Clinton herself. She owns the mess she is creating.
Update: I changed the title from "Hillary Clinton is humiliating the Democratic Party" to the present one because it more precisely expresses the point I am trying to make.
The issue isn't whether Hillary Clinton should drop out. She has every right to stay in this race -- as long she thinks she can win a majority of democratically selected delegates, or as long as she thinks her presence in this race will continue to advance a positive agenda.
But if the only reason she remains in this race is to fight an undemocratic superdelegate strategy, she should withdraw. And the sooner the better.
::
::
Sadly, Hillary Clinton is doubling down on this undemocratic superdelegate strategy, reported last week by Howard Fineman and others.
The most recent example is her "Delegate Hub," a web site dedicated to defending the right of superdelegates to trump democracy. The web site also proposes changing the rules of the game in midstream, claiming that the Michigan and Florida delegations ought to be seated according to the the results of the unsanctioned primaries in those states. Obama wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan and he didn't contest either state; how could any reasonable person think that those primaries carry any weight?
As ABC's Jake Tapper observed:
More and more, this reminds me of the Florida recount.
Don't like the rules? Change the rules.
Count every vote -- except the ones for the other guy.
::
::
Despite Hillary Clinton's attempts to minimize the breadth of Obama's lead, it's huge. Here's some facts:
- Obama leads by 150 pledged delegates.
- Obama has won 25 of 36 contests.
- Obama is leading the popular vote by more than one million.
- Obama has won 51% of all votes cast -- Hillary, just 46%.
- We are now more than two-thirds of the way through the primary and caucus calendar, in terms of delegates awarded.
- The magic number of pledged delegates needed to secure a majority is 1,627. After that, the only way a candidate could win is by overturning the judgment of voters with the help of superdelegates.
- Obama is nearly three-quarters of the way towards hitting the magic number. Hillary is just over three-fifths.
- Obama must win 44% of the remaining delegates to hit the magic number. Hillary must win 58%.
- Hillary has won at least 58% of the vote in just two states -- Arkansas and New York. Obama has done so seventeen times, and seven of those wins came in primaries.
- Although Hillary complains that the pledged delegate system favors Obama, the truth is that overall the delegate allocation system is benefiting her. (In February, although Clinton has won just 47.2% of the popular vote in primary states, she won 49.8% of the delegates awarded in those states,
closing the overall gap by 50 delegates making the gap 50 delegates smaller than it would have otherwise been.)
- Barack Obama has won a higher percentage of the vote in Democratic primaries than John McCain has in Republican primaries, including last night in Wisconsin, when Obama won 58% and McCain won 55%.
::
::
Despite all this, Hillary Clinton is pressing on. If she were making the case that she could win the pledged delegate battle, I would support her decision to continue. If she were fighting for some important principle, I would support her decision to continue.
However, it is now clear that her rationale for continuing is that if she can get close enough to Obama in pledged delegates, her strong level of support amongst superdelegates could put her over the top.
According to the New York Times, Clinton's campaign is even suggesting that she doesn't need to win Ohio to remain viable.
If you listened in on a nearly hour-long conference call with Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign officials this morning, you could see at least an eight-point strategy for trying to bounce back after 10 straight losses to Senator Barack Obama:
...
- Not be drawn into the Obama camp’s assessment that Mrs. Clinton needs to win 65 percent of the vote in Ohio, and not even saying that they have to win Ohio, only that it is "critically, critically important."
As Clinton purses this transparently undemocratic strategy, she is stepping up her attacks on Barack Obama, in seeming lockstep with John McCain. The fact that she is providing validation for Republican attack lines -- and in the process making the White House more difficult to win this fall -- does not matter to Hillary Clinton.
the Clinton team was asked whether the not-qualified-to-be-commander-in-chief criticism of Obama was going too far, given that it would be used by Republicans against Obama if Obama is the Democratic nominee against John McCain. "We don't believe that he is the one who will face John McCain," Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said. "This is a legitimate question that Sen. Obama would face if he were the nominee, and it is a question that he is facing as a result of criticism from Sen. McCain now, so I think it's perfectly appropriate." (NRO)
When Clinton launched her campaign, she borrowed a line from Carol Moseley-Braun: "I'm in it to win it!"
She's proving her statement to be true above all else, elevating her own political interest above that of the national interest.
It's time for Hillary Clinton to step down, but we all know she won't be doing that anytime soon.
The only thing we can do is to keep on winning big. This isn't just about Barack Obama. This is also about defending the integrity of the Democratic Party. This is about making our country a better place.
This is about us, and there's only one thing we can do: fight for what we believe in. If you have the time, take action. If you can afford to, please donate.