It may be presumptive of me to suggest this, and it may already be ongoing, but none-the-less here it is. It is time for a grass roots Super Delegate campaign because the Super Delegate concept was established to do precisely what Hillary Clinton is trying to do and hopes it will do.
That is not a profound observation, but I was rummaging through my desk looking for some deposit slips that I just new were there (I was getting ready for that rebate check that will change my life forever and cure the economy.) when I found an ancient bumper sticker. I had purposely kept the sticker to remind me of several things. Not all dreams come true. The best person isn’t always elected. A noble cause can go unrewarded. A candidate can be right on an issue, voters can agree with him or her but still be swayed by fear and pandering to patriotism to vote for the other candidate. It’s not a pleasant truth, but it was certainly born out in the past.
What does an ancient bumper sticker have to do with this election? Well, it is a 1972 McGovern Shriver sticker, and it was the result of that election that gave us the Super Delegate concept. After the youth influenced primary and the failure of the Democratic party to win the election of ’72, the Democratic National Committee felt that they could not trust the rank and file of voters to select the "right candidate." That’s when the DNC instituted the Super Delegates. Unless the voters choice was overwhelming, ultimately, the voters were not going to be the decision makers. It was no longer our party; it was only partly our party. Howard Dean’s claim that since at some time in the past we had voted for these people (the Super Delegates) or they had been appointed by people that we had voted for or they were members of the DNC or they had been chosen by, well, a Wigi-Board, we really had still chosen the candidate. Yikes! Where’s my lithium?
Now to be fair, the method of selecting the candidate has changed several times. It has mostly been a bizarre process that no person with any sense of logic and fairness would find acceptable. Since it is a political process, politics comes into play and when it does, people who sit in the seats of power design the system. It is the way of the world. It may not be right. It may not be logical. It may not be fair. However, it is the way they are doing it.
At the risk of being called a "nattering nabob of negativism," I think it would be wise to revisit the notion that the Super Delegates will do the fair thing and vote for the person who has the most regular delegates - the voters choice. That may be far from reality. Almost all of the Super Delegates are politicians and for many their self-interest will dictate their decisions. Remember, many of these people are the same ones who voted to support the President’s war, the USA Patriot Act, and allowed Bush and Cheney to usurp Constitutional powers that rightly belonged to Congress. I think that it would be foolish to depend on them to do the right thing.
This primary process is not nearly over, and we need to put pressure on the Super Delegates to do the right thing and to continue to do it until it is too late for them to change their vote. Clinton is working hard to have Michigan and Florida seated with voting delegates at the convention. We have reminders from Billy that once the convention starts all of the delegates can choose to vote for whomever they want and are not required to vote for the person that we had chosen.
As the Democratic Convention website clearly states:
"Pledged delegates are not bound to vote for the candidate they are pledged to at the Convention or on the first ballot. A pledged delegate goes to the Convention with a signed pledge of support for a particular presidential candidate. At the Convention, while it is assumed that delegates will cast their votes for the candidate they are publicly pledged to, it is not required. Under the Delegate Selection Rules, a delegate is asked to "in good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them." This provision is designed in part to make the Convention a deliberative body." http://www.demconvention.com/...
The phrase that allows the delegates to opt out of their commitment is "in good conscience." That one’s loaded with possibilities.
(Sorry, I just flashed back to my parents. "Yes, you can have anything that you want for your birthday as long as it is what we already have in mind.")
You can believe that the Clinton’s are counting on this little twist and planning on using it. That’s why she is not giving up. She still sees that there is a chance, especially if there is no choice after the first ballot although that hasn’t happened since 1952 in Chicago. All they have to do is convince the delegates that Obama is not electable. Remember McGovern and the reason the DNC created the unpledged, super, delegates.
I’m not saying that the Clintons will succeed, but it is only prudent that while we’re hoping for the best, we’re planning for the worst. A buffer of super delegates would go a long way to discouraging this. Also, reminding the DNC that we would be extremely unhappy with the party if the Clintons stole the election away from Obama. In addition, they may need to be reminded that, just as it was with McGovern, the huge number of young voters want to watch a process that is fair. If they don’t see that, they could decide that voting is an act of futility and then either not vote or not vote for Democrats.
: Remember, it ain’t over ‘til the fat bottom lady sings uncle. Sorry, for the parting cheap shot, I have no self-control.
To find the Super Delegates go to: http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/...
If you have not contacted them, it’s time to start the barrage of calls and e-mail.
UNPLEDGED AND PLEDGED PARTY LEADERS AND ELECTED OFFICIAL DELEGATES
A. 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;
1. 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,
2. The Democratic President and the Democratic Vice President of the United States, if applicable; and,
3. All Democratic members of the United States House of Representatives and all Democratic members of the United States Senate; and,
4. 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.