For instance, he said, if Clinton wins the nomination on the backs of superdelegates, the party could face a backlash from Obama supporters.

That's putting it pretty mildly.

I'm in Indiana, where we don't get to vote in the primary until freakin' May so I gave up thinking that my vote mattered a long time ago.

Bah, superdelegates think they are hot stuff, but we hyperdelegates just laugh at them.

/Laugh, I say!

I'm an Ultradelegate, so I'm getting a kick out o +++CARRIER LOST+++

Oh, and they haven't done it that way in quite a while (if ever). The superdelegates were invented to replace the historically noted "smoke-filled room" candidate selection process. Same shiat, different stain. Instead of 2 or 3 asshats at the top choosing, it's now 2 or 3 GROUPS of asshats made of around 800 total asshats. So I guess you could make the argument that power has been decentralized.

Ya know, if you're borderline retarded.

Good preparation for the general election where the popular vote doesn't mean jack either and its all decided by the electoral college.

the "democratic" party..heh!

Wow. That's not corrupt at all.

Didn't H. Diane Clinton once say that she wanted to get rid of the Electoral college for the General Election? Or is that only if it works to her advantage?

Wabash: I'm in Indiana, where we don't get to vote in the primary until freakin' May so I gave up thinking that my vote mattered a long time ago.

Im in Indiana also. Our primary date sucks.

/is going to a Super Tuesday state this weekend to help canvass
// So I can feel like I did something

There are few faster ways to sink the Democratic Party than by choosing a nominee via superdelegates. I can only hope they get the brains to realize that overriding the people's will in the primary will almost certainly mean McCain or Romney in November.

I don't know what planet Subby is living on, but the Superdelegate system is a vestige of a party nomination system going all the way back to Thomas Jefferson. It's never been a straight vote for the party nominee.

Guys, we just went over this.

Superdelegates have never changed the outcome of an election. This is nothing to worry about. A very small amount of superdelegates have given support and can change at any time. The superdelegates will follow whoever gets the nomination.

the Democratic Party is neither democratic nor a party...

discuss!

Echoic: Guys, we just went over this.

Superdelegates have never changed the outcome of an election. This is nothing to worry about. A very small amount of superdelegates have given support and can change at any time. The superdelegates will follow whoever gets the nomination.


QFT.

If you are posting hysterically in this thread about superdelegates and the people not selecting their own candidate, you are completely uninformed on how the selection process works. Or you are a typical farker. Take your pick.

Wombatzu: the Democratic Party is neither democratic nor a party...

discuss!

Hah! Winnah!


/We need more Linda Richman

If you thought you could influence the Democratic presidential candidate by voting in a primary, disabuse yourself of that notion. They don't do it that way any more

Pssst, Subby, they NEVER did it that way in the first place. The primary process is now the most democratic" it's ever been. Before they just had delegate vote for whoever they wanted to.

Learn a little about the subject you are talking about.

FTFA: Mast, who used to work on campaigns for former Rep. Don Bonker...

Who in the hell voted for this guy?!
He sounds like a cartoon character...

Why couldn't it be like the "good ol' days":


Delegates to the national convention were usually selected at state conventions whose own delegates were chosen by district conventions. Sometimes they were dominated by intrigue between political bosses who controlled delegates; the national convention was far from democratic or transparent. Progressive Era reformers looked to the primary election as a way to measure popular opinion of candidates, as opposed to the opinion of the bosses.

Oh wait, they were WORSE THEN.

United States presidential primary (new window)

I'm an überdelegate. You'll have to worry about me.

Wombatzu: the Democratic Party is neither democratic nor a party...

The Republican party also have delegates that are not picked by popular vote.

If I were a Superdelegate I would immediately announce that my vote at the convention would be for the person who achieved a plurality of the aggregate popular vote in the party's primaries. It's a very easy position to defend AND it's well, Democratic.

I'm so glad we have the people in power deciding how people gain or remain in power.

Echoic: Superdelegates have never changed the outcome of an election. This is nothing to worry about.

keep in mind that the Superdelagates were appointed in the 1970s, Some farkers smarter than me could probably tell you if they actually ever had a real opportunity to change an outcome until now.

Oh, and a reminder for other Washington voters; our primary means NOTHING if you are a Democrat; make sure you caucus on the 9th. Find your caucus place here:

http://www.wa-democrats.org/caucusfinder

As an "infinity plus 1" delegate I scorn all of you pesants


HAHAHAHAHA

Oh, and a reminder for other Washington voters; our primary means NOTHING if you are a Democrat; make sure you caucus on the 9th.

Check that - if you're a Clinton supporter, it's all about the primary. On February 9th, be sure to call of your friends, and after a brief discussion about how your kids are doing in college, be sure to encourage each other to submit your absentee ballots for Hillary. Then talk wistfully about how great things were back in the nineties. Then agree to go take a power walk around Greenlake. And never mind any of this "cawkis" talk.

/underhanded, muh hah hah

Do you honestly think that either party is dumb enough to nominate a candidate that wasn't going into the convention leading on pledged delegates? They'll swing behind the leader, because if they don't they know their party's voters will revolt, the other party will tell everyone that the party is ignoring the will of the voters, and the hijacking nominee will get Mondaled.

Neither party is that stupid. If Hillary leads in pledged delegates, even if by 1, the supers will swing behind her. If Obama leads in pledged, the supers will swing behind him.

doyner: If I were a Superdelegate I would immediately announce that my vote at the convention would be for the person who achieved a plurality of the aggregate popular vote in the party's primaries. It's a very easy position to defend AND it's well, Democratic.

If I were a Superdelegate I'd be like "fu_k you, I'm voting for myself!"

From TFA:

The only time superdelegates have played a pivotal role was in 1984, when support from party insiders helped Walter Mondale fend off a challenge by insurgent Gary Hart.

Heh. I hope the superdelegates get reminded of that.

I mean, the Democrats' choices are basically between the next JFK (Obama), and the next Walter Mondale (Hillary).

Who in their right freaking mind picks Mondale?

Oh, wait, it's different, because this time Mondale comes with a vagina.

Chameleon: Oh, and a reminder for other Washington voters; our primary means NOTHING if you are a Democrat; make sure you caucus on the 9th. Find your caucus place here:

I'll be there.

/WA for Obama

werekoala I mean, the Democrats' choices are basically between the next JFK (Obama), and the next Walter Mondale (Hillary).

Obama is a young charismatic democrat. That's where his comparison to JFK ends.

Echoic: Superdelegates have never changed the outcome of an election. This is nothing to worry about. A very small amount of superdelegates have given support and can change at any time. The superdelegates will follow whoever gets the nomination.

The superdelegates aren't really what people are worried about when they think about underhanded tricks to get the nomination. I would say that most people are concerned about the delegates from Florida and Michigan counting and having that swing it towards Clinton.

Wombatzu: the Democratic Party is neither democratic nor a party...

discuss!

Aarontology: The superdelegates aren't really what people are worried about when they think about underhanded tricks to get the nomination. I would say that most people are concerned about the delegates from Florida and Michigan counting and having that swing it towards Clinton.

Agreed. I am similar afraid of underhanded tactics.

doyner: If I were a Superdelegate I would immediately announce that my vote at the convention would be for the person who achieved a plurality of the aggregate popular vote in the party's primaries. It's a very easy position to defend AND it's well, Democratic.

That would be nuts. As a practical matter, the superdelegates do exactly that, as others have explained. But announcing it beforehand means you won't get those cool phone calls from Bill Clinton or the fruit basket from Sen. and Mrs. Obama or hookers and blow from the American Society of Special Interest Activists and Lobbyists (ASSIAL). The position doesn't change outcomes and hasn't in a very long time. What it is is a perk -- you get to brag about it and people with real power have to suck up to you.

werekoala: I mean, the Democrats' choices are basically between the next JFK (Obama), and the next Walter Mondale (Hillary).

pretty much.


I have a very bad feeling Hillary is going to weasel her way in despite the popular vote among democrats. And then...we're gonna get stuck with another Republican for at least 8 years since there is no way in hell this is her only run at the presidency.

log_jammin: werekoala: I mean, the Democrats' choices are basically between the next JFK (Obama), and the next Walter Mondale (Hillary).

pretty much.


I have a very bad feeling Hillary is going to weasel her way in despite the popular vote among democrats. And then...we're gonna get stuck with another Republican for at least 8 years since there is no way in hell this is her only run at the presidency.

no, this is the Clinton's last shot... if they lose the General, they have to get out of the way of Obama. too many people -- Left and Right -- hate them now.

I don't care who votes 'cause I do the counting.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Voting? Influence?? Aaaa... You silly people.

FTA: But Paul Berendt, former chairman of the state party, isn't worried about such a scenario.

"If it comes down to a deadlocked situation," Berendt said, "we're going to be lucky to have a lot of seasoned politicians helping us make this decision."

Wow. talk about self-serving BS.

I already knew that - I'm in Jersey.

Imagine you live in florida or michigan...

your vote means NOTHING because they took your delegates away

id be like wtf? why cant I VOTE AND BE COUNTED?

oh wait, this isnt a democracy