Attack of the Superdelegates
kenny olav
Posts: 3,319
I admit, I swiped this right off of Wikipedia:
Superdelegates are delegates to a presidential nominating convention in the United States who are not bound by the decisions of party primaries or caucuses. Superdelegates are elected officeholders and party officials.
Superdelegates were first appointed in the 1970s, after control of the nomination process in the Democratic Party effectively moved out of the hands of party officials into the primary and caucus process. The aim was to grant some say in the process to people who had been playing roles in the party before the election year.
The Republican Party has 123 similarly automatically appointed delegates, members of the Republican National Committee, who wield roughly one fourth the voting power of the Democratic superdelegates.[1]
In the Democratic primary phase of the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, Howard Dean acquired an early lead in delegate counts by obtaining the support of a number of superdelegates before even the first primaries were held.
The 2008 Democratic National Convention
The 2008 Democratic National Convention, where the Democratic presidential ticket is formally agreed upon, has 796[2] superdelegates, although the number is not final until March 1, 2008. Superdelegates to the Democratic Convention include all Democratic members of the United States Congress, Democratic governors, various additional elected officials, as well as members of the Democratic National Committee.[3] A list of superdelegates can be found here.
A candidate needs a simple majority of the combined delegate and superdelegate votes to secure the nomination. Democratic delegates from state caucuses and primaries number 3,253, resulting in a total number of votes of 4,049. The total number of delegate votes needed to win the nomination is 2,025.[2] Superdelegates account for approximately one fifth (19.6%) of all votes at the convention. Delegates chosen in the Democratic caucuses and primaries account for approximately four fifths (80.4%) of the Democratic convention delegates.[2][4] Note: All numbers in this section assume that Michigan and Florida's delegates are not counted per current Democratic National Committee rules. If those rules are changed before or during the convention, the numbers above will change as appropriate.
Criticism
The Democratic Party is often criticized during election cycles for conducting primary elections in a non-democratic fashion, since superdelegates are appointed by the party and are not obligated to support the candidate chosen by the voters. There have been repeated calls to eliminate the superdelegates from the primaries to more accurately reflect the popular vote.
References
1. ^ Election Center 2008: Delegate Scorecard - Elections & Politics news from CNN.com
2. ^ a b c "The Primary Season: 2008 Democratic Calendar", The New York Times, 2007-01-07, <http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/primaries/democraticprimaries/index.html>
3. ^ The Democratic National Convention
4. ^ Election Center 2008: Delegate Scorecard - Elections & Politics news from CNN.com
5. ^ Cook, Rhodes, The Presidential Nominating Process: A Place for Us?
Superdelegates are delegates to a presidential nominating convention in the United States who are not bound by the decisions of party primaries or caucuses. Superdelegates are elected officeholders and party officials.
Superdelegates were first appointed in the 1970s, after control of the nomination process in the Democratic Party effectively moved out of the hands of party officials into the primary and caucus process. The aim was to grant some say in the process to people who had been playing roles in the party before the election year.
The Republican Party has 123 similarly automatically appointed delegates, members of the Republican National Committee, who wield roughly one fourth the voting power of the Democratic superdelegates.[1]
In the Democratic primary phase of the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, Howard Dean acquired an early lead in delegate counts by obtaining the support of a number of superdelegates before even the first primaries were held.
The 2008 Democratic National Convention
The 2008 Democratic National Convention, where the Democratic presidential ticket is formally agreed upon, has 796[2] superdelegates, although the number is not final until March 1, 2008. Superdelegates to the Democratic Convention include all Democratic members of the United States Congress, Democratic governors, various additional elected officials, as well as members of the Democratic National Committee.[3] A list of superdelegates can be found here.
A candidate needs a simple majority of the combined delegate and superdelegate votes to secure the nomination. Democratic delegates from state caucuses and primaries number 3,253, resulting in a total number of votes of 4,049. The total number of delegate votes needed to win the nomination is 2,025.[2] Superdelegates account for approximately one fifth (19.6%) of all votes at the convention. Delegates chosen in the Democratic caucuses and primaries account for approximately four fifths (80.4%) of the Democratic convention delegates.[2][4] Note: All numbers in this section assume that Michigan and Florida's delegates are not counted per current Democratic National Committee rules. If those rules are changed before or during the convention, the numbers above will change as appropriate.
Criticism
The Democratic Party is often criticized during election cycles for conducting primary elections in a non-democratic fashion, since superdelegates are appointed by the party and are not obligated to support the candidate chosen by the voters. There have been repeated calls to eliminate the superdelegates from the primaries to more accurately reflect the popular vote.
References
1. ^ Election Center 2008: Delegate Scorecard - Elections & Politics news from CNN.com
2. ^ a b c "The Primary Season: 2008 Democratic Calendar", The New York Times, 2007-01-07, <http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/primaries/democraticprimaries/index.html>
3. ^ The Democratic National Convention
4. ^ Election Center 2008: Delegate Scorecard - Elections & Politics news from CNN.com
5. ^ Cook, Rhodes, The Presidential Nominating Process: A Place for Us?
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
if Democratic party officials make up 1/5 of the delegates that decide the nominee of the party, #1, is this democratic?, and, #2, if these Superdelegates go 2 to 1 for Hillary Clinton, as they are now, does it even matter if Obama manages to pull a slight lead in the delegate count?
my answers are "no" and "no".
We The People = The Popular Vote
PEARL JAM~San Antonio, TX. 4~5~03
INCUBUS~Houston, TX. 1~19~07
INCUBUS~Denver, CO. 2~8~07
Lollapalooza~Chicago, IL. 8~5~07
INCUBUS~Austin, TX. 9~3~07
Bonnaroo~Manchester, TN 6~14~08
I totally agree with that. but I'll take it a step further. I'm convinced that we shouldn't have a President to begin with. i'd favor a parliamentary system. there's too much power in the office of Chief Executive. power should be spread out amongst representatives. in America, we are taught at a young age that our government can provide its own checks & balances, since it has three branches. but really, the only provider of checks & balances a government should have is the people it serves.
the Superdelegates have indeed attacked! run for your lives!!
Meaning that, if Obama takes off on a landslide, the superdels that have already endorsed Clinton can still change their minds and go in favor of Obama in order to preserve the popular vote.
Yes, the Clintons have a lot of supporters in high places, but....to put it quite frankly, her money is starting to run out (as we Obama supporters knew it would because she took so many $2,300 donations for her primary runs early last year), and because we know she had to donate $5M of her own money last month.
Hillary ran as the frontrunner so confidently that her own supporters followed suit. They never counted on such an insurgence from Barack. Now her campaign is scrambling to get new donors, new donations of $25 or more or less, and is scheduling fundraisers in the two big March states to try and make up a lead.
A lead she has already seemed to lost.
http://www.tpmelectioncentral.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk8pxyAWTBk&NR=1
He's definitely right when he says he don't live in a democracy, but a polyarchy:
According to William I. Robinson, democracy is a contested concept. He argues that when U.S. policymakers use the term democracy, they mean polyarchy - a system in which a small group rules and mass participation in decision-making is confined to leadership choice in elections carefully managed by competing elites. Polyarchy then may be thought of as "low intensity democracy" or "consensual domination".
but i might have to disagree with him when he says, about the people, "it's not that they're stupid"....... the people haven't proven themselves yet.
If they want to win back the country, why are they making it more difficult for our votes to count?
I'd be Super-pissed if I were in Michigan or Florida, especially Florida - they just can't catch a break.
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"We've laid the groundwork. It's like planting the seeds. And next year, it's spring." - Nader
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Prepare for tending to your garden, America.
i can see a scenario where conservative dont show up for McCain, and minorities and young people dont show up for Clinton. that would be funny.
When you bring up the Senator Clinton fundraising loan you leave of the fact that she was paid back 2 days later. They made 7.5 million in two days. Senator Clinton's campaign may not pull in as much money as Senator Obama but it is wrong to say that her campaign is in troble do to money woes. And no I am not a Senantor Clinton fan.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~
The Tie-Dye Lady is HOT!!!