Rachel Maddow On Superdelegates & A Link To Whose Vote Is Worth 10,000 Of Our Votes

[orleans]

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,

5. 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.
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegate-list.html

"Here's a list of superdelegates to the 2008 Democratic Convention that have officially announced who they plan to nominate. If you know of any others or are a superdelegate please post a comment.
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegate-list.html

"We have a list of superdelegates to the 2008 Democratic Convention who have officially endorsed a candidate but who is left? Who hasn't made an official endorsement?
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegates-who-havent-endorsed.html

RACHEL MADDOW: I‘m not happy with the idea of the council of elders taking over in the case of a tie. I mean, elections are sometimes about things being very close and you let the voters decide. I mean, in this case, you let the voters‘ delegates to decide. I don‘t think there needs to be a star chamber or some group of wise men to put the brakes on what the voters are going to decide. It could get messy; it could be a process that takes a long time. That‘s OK.

snip

DAN ABRAMS: Let me tell you about the absurdity of this, alright? You got a teamsters member as superdelegates, you got the president of United Federation of Teachers, you got an attorney who represents the Washington State Democratic Party, you got an Oregon political activist and blogger, I mean, you know, this is nuts. These people have the equivalent of 10,000 votes each.

MADDOW: And that tells you, this is designed to be a council of elders that‘s designed to make things better when the voters don‘t do the right thing. It's insulting.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23069793

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23060662#23060662

[VarnettaTuckpocket]

1. Hillary got screwed by Florida and Michigan, but that's in the rules...

The superdelegates are also in the rules. If you want to change the rules, fine, but not in the middle of the game. Change them before the next election.

[ray of light]

2. Sorry...I will

try to say this nicely.

But HILLARY DIDN"T GET SCREWED! Please get that thought OUT of your head. It's the PEOPLE in MICHIGAN and Florida who WANTED to vote and have a say who wanted to participate in the democratic process who got screwed!

So please stop personalizing it to Hillary.

A bunch of fat-party elders took away OUR CHOICE, took away OUR SAY, and took away OUR VOTE. That makes them no better than the RNC who gladly takes away peoples' votes too.

[orleans]

3. no no no no no. the dnc can issue a rule--right now--and right in the

middle of the game--that says superdelegate votes do not count.

why the fuck would you prefer these people to decide who are next president will be? (or at least who the democratic nominee should be)
do you know all of them? do you trust their judgment? are they your good friends? WHO THE FUCK ARE THEY THAT EACH OF THEIR VOTES COUNT FOR 10,000 OF MY VOTES?
Pat Maroney
Marie Prezioso
Steven Alari
Mary Ellen Early
Edward Espinoza
Inola Henry
Aleita Huguenin
Hon. Carole Midgen
Bob Mulholland
Christine Pelosi
Robert Rankin
Garry Shay
Keith Umemoto
Steve Ybarra
John Perez
Cindy Spanyers
Mary Long
Richard Ray
Richard Port
Dr. Marie Dolly Strazar
Helen Knetzer
Moretta Bosley
Terry McBrayer
Jo Etta Wickliffe
Patsy Arcenaux
Jennifer DeChant
Sam Spencer
John Knutson
Mary Jo Neville
Debra Kozikowski
Gus Bickford
David O'Brien
Margaret Xifaras
Nancy Larson
Leila Medley
Jean Lemire Dahlman
Kathleen Fahey
Dennis Mehiel
Hon. Robert Ramirez
Irene Stein
Sylvia Tokasz
Dr. Jeanette Council
David Parker
Muriel Offerman
Carol Peterson
Renee Pfenning
William Burga
Enid Goubeaux
Hon. Mark Mallory
Ronald Malone
Patricia Moss
Sonni Nardi
Ivan Holmes
Jim Frasier
Jenny Greenleaf
Wayne Kinney
Pennsylvania
Carol Ann Campbell
Hon. Richard Donatucci
William George
Marcel Groen
Hon. Sophie Masloff
Ian Murray
Evelyn Richardson
Sharon Mast
David McDonald
C Richard Cranwell

and there are more of them
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegates-who-havent-endorsed.html

howard dean needs to change this RIGHT NOW. before we have members of our party acting like the supreme fucking court and installing a person that the majority of voters didn't vote for.

[VarnettaTuckpocket]

4. Why the fuck would you prefer Hillary lose out on the MI and Florida delegates because...

of a technicality? I'd be willing to listen to your argument if that weren't true. Hillary would have the nomination if MI and Florida's primaries were held when the were supposed to be held, and the delegates counted. I'm not arging that the MI and Florida situation can or should be changed now, but since Hillary may very well lose the nomination because of it, I don't see anything wrong with sticking to the pre-existing rules about superdelegates, even if that works to Obama's disadvantage.

[orleans]

5. so you definitely have a bias--you're okay with things the way they

are as long as they favor the candidate you support

i think that is fucked up

i am not talking about hillary winning or losing

i am talking about all these non-entities making a decision for us that we should be making on our own

even congress--we elected them to represent us, not to make a decision as to who should be our next president.

i think it is horrible what happened to the people/voters of michigan and florida--i think the dem party in those states really fucked people over.

i support hillary and obama. i like both of them and have issues with both of them.

btw--DID I SAY I PREFER HILLARY LOSE OUT ON THE MI AND FLORIDA DELEGATES DUE TO A TECHNICALITY? NO! I DIDN'T SAY ANY SUCH THING. READ IT AGAIN! (sorry about the caps. i have a tendency to hit caps lock when i get pissy)

also--if dean banned the superdelegates from voting, that might just put mi & fl back into play with the people's votes. they got into their position because they wanted to effect the primary--well, maybe they will get their wish if we ban the superdelegates. then we would need their delegates, voted on by the people.

[Yossariant]

7. Support the hypocrite, Obama, and his "position" about superdelegates:

February 08, 2008

From NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan

SEATTLE -- In his third press availability in three days, Obama would not commit to a position he had put forward previously that superdelegates should vote the way their states did -- should the Democratic nomination come down to their votes.

"I think those superdelegates and elected officials and party insiders would have to think long and hard about how they approach the nomination if the people they represent have said that Obama is our guy," Obama said the morning after the February 5th primaries.

Asked today if superdelegates should vote the way their states votes, Obama hedged. "We haven't' had a lengthy discussion with all of our superdelegates -- our super delegates they should vote for me," Obama said.

He added: "The question for those not yet committed and the superdelegates that are still out there … trying to make up their minds -- my strong belief is that if we end up with the most states and the most pledged delegates from the most voters in the county that it would be problematic for the political insiders to overturn the judgment of the voters. And you know, I think that should be the guiding approach to determine who would be the nominee. I think it's also important for the superdelegates to think about who will be in the strongest to beat John McCain in November and who will be the strongest to make sure that we are broadening the base, bring people who historically have not involved in politics into the fold."

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/02/08/649765.aspx

Because he did the math, he changed his position about the superdelegates supporting the will of the people of their states.

His new position is that he should keep the superdelegates pledged to him, and the superdelegates not committted, should be held to whatever standard he dictates, but he hasn't decided, yet, what that standard should be.

He'll let us know --- after a few more primaries.

:rofl:

[orleans]

8. i don't know or care what obama's or clinton's position is on the superdelegates

i agree with rachel--i don't want a star chamber making these types of decisions for me.

[Yossariant]

11. Until McGovern, the "superdelegates" always chose the nominee.

Before that, there were only 13 Democratic primaries in the whole damn country.

In 1972, George McGovern, nominated over the wishes of that "star chamber", lost resoundingly (520-17 in the Electoral College) to an unpopular war President.

[orleans]

12. which leads us to...let's get rid of the electoral college! n/t

[ihelpu2see]

9. Wrong, Obama was not even on the Ballot in MI and if it was held when orig.

sched. Obama would have been very competitive!!!

And if the DNC decides they should count now, Im with Donna Brazil, I will re-reg. as independent.

[orleans]

13. i think we should redo the primary in florida--put clinton & obama's name

on the ballots and have at it. at the end--after puerto rico in june.

[Hill_YesWeWill]

10. I have to second this motion, but only if it's clear that the

pledged delegate counts are going to remain this close

to have the super delegates break a close tie, not even an actual tie, is just undemocratic, and I think our party will realize this!

What we do not want to see is a story in the MSM claiming the dem. party is unfair!

[orleans]

6. .