Letters to the Editor
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Wisdom
First of all caucuses are as skewed and undemocratic as it gets. If you want the "voice of the people" then throw a real primary.
But the superdelegates are SUPPOSED to use judgement, not to reflect the "will of the people" becuase after all the caucus "will of the people " can include re-registered REpublicans trying to prop up a weak candidate, crackpot fringe and extremists and generally anyone else that wants to say, promote the weakest candidate prospectively since Dukakis.
We can only hope the superdelegates have the sense to let him nowhere NEAR the nomination.
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Whoa! Who says the Supers, are the fount of all wisdom?
Again, if you liked the Supremes deciding the 2000 election, or the idea of McCain winning the electoral college, while Hillary wins the popular vote, then I guess, this idea that some how the Supers, are wiser, than We the People, will appeal.
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lateagain ...
I believe what RJforHRC was implying was that if the Dems don't seat the FL delegates in the primary, then all of Florida will be po'd enough to go republican forever.
Kind of a lame threat if you ask me ... and no basis in fact ... but I believe that what they were implying. If anyone from FL or MI has an issue, they should take it up with the state DNC, which made the change which lost them the seating in the first place. The only fair option is to somehow re-do those primaries, but Hillary is not gunning for that, I believe she just wants them seated "as is" (of course)
WRT your idea about superdelegates ... I think I'm with DeFarge that we should wait a bit to see what happens in March. I actually don't really think there is going to be much of an issue. And I think that Ms Walsh was really being a bit dishonest by implying that Obama is advocating for a formal change of the superdelegate policy during this election cycle. In fact, as a number of folks here have stated, I think at this point, he is more asking the superdelegates to "do the right thing" and stay with the popular vote, and I don't see anything wrong with that. He's not commanding it, or saying he will take it to court (as Clinton is threatening with the FL or MI issue). He's warning them to keep it honest, which is good because we all will definitely be watching.
I do agree that this should not go to the convention floor, however. My hope is that it becomes a non-issue via Obama taking Texas and/or Ohio. But I agree with you that something will need to be done if it winds up being close. I would hope that either candidate would be willing to step down if there is a clearcut winner via the popular vote, but I won't hold my breath for that, so am glad that there are superdelegates like Gore who are staying neutral to help try to work out a deal that is best for the party. I totally DON'T agree with this nonsense of making them be each other vp - that's a guarnteed bad for the party if one would just be looking to usurp the other in 4 years, plus I don't think their politics and approaches would work well together.
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@ Juliebird
Don't forget that Obama did offer to seat them as long as their vote didn't change the outcome of the race; OR, he offered to seat them if there is a do-over in both states so that voters can decide fairly. So far both offers have been turned down by the Clinton camp.
"Doing right" by the voters in Florida and Michigan may have more than one interpretation--I don't understand how seating them when many voters didn't show up to vote because they were told their vote didn't count (most of those who showed up showed up to vote on a property bill and also voted for president--but not everyone who would have voted voted) is "doing right" by them either.
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They will vote for Obama
We already know what the superdelegates will do. They will vote for Obama even if Hillary is ahead in pledged delegates and the popular vote. The Obamabots will go nuts if they don't get their way. Of that, I have no doubt.
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@ Anon at 5:25
... that's why we are seeing the reverse situation right now?
(Obama with a lead in the popular vote and pledged delegates, and Clinton with more superdelegates)
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Superdelegates
RE:"Maryland voted for Obama overwhelmingly!
Yet O'Malley and Mikulski, who represent the voters of Maryland, are pledged to Clinton.
They are political insiders who made a deal with the Clinton campaign, for some kind of personal political payoff."
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Excuse me? You know this for a fact? It sounds you're making baseless allegations about O'Malley and Mikulski because they support the more qualified candidate, Hillary Clinton. But words don't matter, right? Plagiarism doesn't matter.
I guess Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Deval Patrick should vote for Hillary instead of Obama, because their constituents in Massachusetts voted for Hillary.
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@ They will vote for Obama
We'll bring out our pitchforks and set up a guillotine on the Mall. I'm personally knitting like mad.
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Take heart and be mellow!
#1. Yes, both Clinton and Obama are flawed candidates, and
#2. Neither one can lose to McCain in a two-person race come November.
To quote Mick Jagger in "Gimme Shelter": Why ah we foiting?
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Defarge!
best laugh of the day! You're awesome!
Knit on ...
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@ Defarge!
Merci! (You're off the list!)
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@Notorious WES
"Now That's Fair: Second Most Gets V.P.... Period."
That's how it was done at the birth of the republic.
In the 17956 election, John Adams got the most votes, and Jefferson got the second most. Though each respected the other, they didn't ike each other much. Jefferson began his 1800 candidacy pretty much as soon as the 1796 votes were counted, and the rivalry between the two hampered the Adams Adminstration. The 1800 election was even messier. This time Jefferson came out ahead of Adams, but there was all kinds of weird rule-changing by state legislatures, crooked vote counting, a virtual tie between Jefferson and Aaron Burr; the thing was tossed to the outgoing legislature to decide it, and all the while the opposin faction called each other traitors and murderers. (And states could choose their own election day, any time between April and October, but the votes were sealed until Feruary 1801.
The more things change ...