For what it's worth, here is the letter I've sent to Washington State's uncommitted superdelegates... and a few of the ones who've declared for Hillary, including both Senators Cantwell and Murray, and King County Executive Ron Sims, urging them to declare their support for Barack.
For the record, Ron Sims can be flipped! He has made some public statements indicating that he's rethinking his very early (premature, I'd say) support for Hillary. If anyone else is sending letters to superdelegates, and especially if you live in King County WA, please focus some attention on Ron Sims.
The text of my letter is below the fold. Much of it is distilled from some of the great points made here at Dakly Kos.
We’re in the most closely contested Democratic primaries in recent history, and there has been a lot of talk about super delegates and their role in the nomination process. Supporters of each campaign are continually floating new theories about how super delegates from their state should cast their vote. Should they be required to cast their vote in accordance to the popular vote of their congressional district, their state, or the nation as a whole? These arguments often change as a candidate wins one state or another, changing the landscape, as well as the effectiveness of the argument. As a precinct delegate for Senator Obama, I’d like to present a different rationale - because it’s the right choice for the party.
The centerpiece of Barack Obama’s campaign has been change. Normally, that change refers to the way Washington works, or the tone of our political discourse, or specific policy shifts. These are all important things. But what I’m talking about is his ability to change the map, for this election, and for many to come. Let’s face it. Aside from a nice run during the 90’s, we Democrats have not had much luck in presidential elections. Yes, we all know Al Gore won in 2000, but even if the Supreme Court didn’t anoint King George the Inept, Gore’s victory would have still been razor thin. A few hundred thousand more votes in Ohio in 2004 would have given Kerry an even narrower victory.
I fear that Senator Clinton’s strategy will be more of the same. Try to win 50% + 1 electoral vote and eke out a victory with no mandate. The spin coming out of her campaign spells it out. We are to believe that because she’s won the "big" states like New York and California, that only she can defeat John McCain in November. She argues that Obama would lose those states, and that the states that he did win are red states, which he would lose to McCain because Democrats don’t win red states. This argument is absurd. I’m not really worried about Obama carrying New York in the fall. Or Massachusetts. Or California. Losing a tight primary race in the bluest of blue states does not mean that you’d lose them to a Republican. Senator Obama has the ability to win these states and add a whole host of new battleground states to the blue column. We can win Colorado with Obama. We can take New Mexico and Nevada with Obama. Virginia, Texas, North Carolina and others are suddenly in play. States like our own Washington becomes a safe shade of blue as opposed to the toss-up it would become with Senator Clinton on the ticket. Instead of winning 270 electoral votes, we could be looking at 320 or more.
Overshadowed by the presidential contest are the down ticket races. While Clinton has focused her efforts in a few big states, the Obama campaign has been building strong, grass-root organizations in all 50 states, and the results have been amazing. Over 10,000 people showed up to see Obama speak in Idaho. Yes, Idaho! Do I think that we are going to win Idaho in November? No. I’m not that naïve. But a recent SUSA poll shows Obama losing by 13 points, where Clinton loses by 36 points. Who cares? Well, 1st Congressional District challenger Walt Minnick cares. His opponent Bill Sali (who may be clinically insane) has been targeted by the DCCC for defeat this year. With Obama atop the ticket Walt Minnick is a congressman. Without him, Sali keeps his seat. According to SUSA, Obama trails in Wyoming by 19 points and Clinton by 33. Again, we’re probably not going to take that one, but we can put DCCC Red to Blue candidate Gary Trauner in Congress. In 2006, Trauner only lost by 1012 votes. Imagine taking that seat right from under Dick Cheney’s nose! Right here in Washington’s 8th CD, progressive candidate Darcy Burner can knock of Bush enabler Dave Reichert . I went door to door in previously solid red Bellevue canvassing for Darcy, and she almost took that race. From the people I met and talked to in that election, I know in my gut that Barack Obama delivers that seat to the Democrats. I can’t say with any confidence that a Clinton candidacy does. There are races like this all over the country, in state after state that the Clinton campaign has declared are unimportant. I think we can build a strong and lasting majority in both houses of Congress for years to come, and I think that Senator Barack Obama is the candidate who can make it happen.
The Obama team has been running a bottom-up, small donor driven, and truly national campaign. He has demonstrated a very large appeal to independents, and some crossover Republicans (quite different from the Republicans who voted for Clinton in Texas at Rush Limbaugh’s behest). Most importantly, Barack Obama is energizing and turning out massive crowds of young people and first time voters. I’m aware of the argument that the youth vote doesn’t matter because they don’t actually vote in November, but after seeing the standing room only crowds at the Washington state caucus, something tells me that this year is different. You don’t spend two hours on a cold Saturday afternoon at a chaotic and arcane caucus if you don’t plan on voting in November. I know a lot of disaffected, "too cool for school" young voters who used to ignore politics and are now glued to NPR and the internet for every detail of the race. I’ve met older voters from all walks of life who say that they haven’t felt like this about a candidate since Bobby Kennedy. There is a genuine movement happening here, it’s something that doesn’t happen more than once in a generation, and Democrats can ignore and marginalize it at their own peril.
The race has turned nastier by the minute, and while it is very exciting for places like Guam and Puerto Rico to have a say in the process, the longer this drags out, the worse it’s going to get. Senator Obama is trying to run a positive campaign and do what’s best for the party. He’s sponsoring voter registration efforts in all 50 states, raising money for the DNC, and helping Democrats in states we tend to ignore get elected to office. These are the actions of a man who we could be proud to call the leader of the party, and the leader of this country.
As a super delegate, the party looks to you for wisdom and guidance. I humbly put to you that you can demonstrate this wisdom by declaring your intention to support Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. Heal this party, heal this country, and help us focus our attention where it belongs, on John McCain who grows stronger by the minute. We can’t afford to have a third Bush term in office.
Update
Here's a list of WA superdelegates:
Elected Officials:
Rep. Rick Larsen (2nd District)
Rep. Jim McDermott (7th District)
Democratic National Committee Members:
Dwight Pelz - WA Democratic Party Chair
Eileen Macoll - WA Vice Chair
Ed Cote (coed@pacifier.com)
Sharon Mast (skmast@att.net)
David McDonald (davidm@prestongates.com)
Already Endorsed Obama:
Rep. Adam Smith (WA)
Pat Noter (WA DNC Member)
Rep. Brian Baird (3rd District)
Gov. Christine Gregoire
Already Endorsed Clinton:
Sen. Maria Cantwell (WA)
Rep. Jay Inslee (WA)
Former Speaker Tom Foley (WA)
Sen. Patty Murray (WA)
Ron Sims (WA)
Update #2
Apparently Rep. Rick Larsen just came out for Obama. I'm going to delude myself into believing that it was my letter that pushed him over the edge.