superdelegates are attacking! but leave the kryptonite at home
by Robert DeFrance
Published: February 26, 2008
Superdelegates are not voted in, not selected, nor elected. They are the party elite: former governors, elected officials, chairpersons of the Democratic convention, etc. Though not elected, their position allows them to subtly override the popular vote by putting forth their own nominee. But in a race as close as Clinton-Obama (neither of whom are a shoe-in to earn the magic delegate count of 2,025), what difference will this 28-year-old rule make? Unlike caucuses, these delegates are under no obligation to support the candidate who wins the popular vote.
Is this another clog in the drain of democracy? Yes.
If neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama have the necessary delegates to win the nomination, the superdelegates get to pick the nominee. Many intelligent voters are complaining that this reeks of closed, smoke-filled rooms - a truly undemocratic method of anointing a nominee.
Should we be worried? No.
Think about it. Even if these superpeople choose the candidate behind closed doors, it will be no less democratic than the last two elections. C’mon, in 2000, we let the Supreme Court choose, instead of the American popular vote, which was overwhelmingly in favor of Al Gore. Then, in 2004, the people let voter fraud, perpetrated by Friends of the Bush Administration, decide the winner of the election. Compared to those ordeals, a smoke-filled room really isn’t that bad. Yet, some political strategists, like Ted Devine, claim that voters will be dismayed and upset if the illusion of democracy is not upheld.
Well, Ted, you can rest at ease. Apparently, no one really cares how our officials get elected.
So let the Democrats go along with their secret meetings and decide who should lead the country. It seems to work just fine for the Masons. The so-called illusion of democracy Mr. Devine frets over has long since faded. And as long as it doesn’t include Marshall Law, military personnel patrolling the streets or police bludgeoning the electorate with batons, Americans won’t even notice that their democracy is really an aristocracy.
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