Super Delegates?

[burien1]

Could somebody please explain to those of us who have been out of High school way too long, exactly what super delegates are?
YSIC

[perigrini]

Could somebody please explain to those of us who have been out of High school way too long, exactly what super delegates are?
YSIC

I'll give a shot at it, although I do not claim to be an expert in politics.

The term super delegates is mostly associated with the democrat party.

Essentially, each state has delegates, who are representatives for that state to the national party convention. They are expected to vote in response to the results in their states primaries or caucuses. The number of regular delegates generally correlates to the state population.

Additional delegates also represent their states. They obtain their position by having previously served the state political party (e.g. democrats).
They can indentify who they support if they wish.

To obtain their party nomination, a candidate needs to obtain a certain number of delgate votes. The regular delegate votes they earn, but the super delegate votes they have to woo.

I read that about 20% of the democrat party delegates are super delgates. These delegates votes are not controlled by any votes or cacaus results...they are free agents to vote as they wish.

The upshot, then, is...

Normal voters vote for a candidate...depending of rather it's a proportional state or a winner take all some delegates are accurred by a candidate...then on top of that there are these super delgates whose individual vote is worth the equivelent of thousands of regular voter votes because they have one whole delegate vote they control instead of just a single vote to attempt to influence a delegate.

I'm not sure if I clarified that for you, if not let me know, or perhaps someone else can toss in some more.

This year this is likely going to be a big deal because Obama and Clinton are neck and neck in votes...but a larger portion of Obama's delegates are actually his, whereas Clinton's include more super delegates...which means they are not contontrolled by the vote/cacus results in their state.

These super delegates could shift at the convention and choose who is going to be the democrat candidate if the two are close in the end....which means the democrat candidate is hand picked, not really selected by the votes of the democrat party masses.

Blessings,

perigrini

[Lazarus43]

...Voters don’t choose the 842 unpledged “super-delegates” who comprise nearly 40 percent of the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.

The category includes Democratic governors and members of Congress, former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, former vice president Al Gore, retired congressional leaders such as Dick Gephardt, and all Democratic National Committee members...

*Excerpt quoted from an article at link.

[bchandler]

Hmmm....


Strikes me as an elitist method of ensuring they get who they want regardless of the will of the people... 40% is nuts... just one more reason to flee the Democrat party.

[smackbucket]

Wow. This is just one more example of how the system is a total joke.

[burien1]

Thanks for explaining that, Perigrini. I had never heard of this before. I'm surprised this is constitutional. Then again, both parties in my state block me from voting in the primary, since I registered independent.

It is very unchristian of me, but I don't like driving my mother to the polls since she is a die hard democrat and helped elect a democratic governor to Maryland in 2006. She becomes furious if I say anything bad about the dems.

For anyone out there who thinks there is no difference in what party is elected in november, take a good look at all the legislation in Maryland since 2006. Our electric bills have increased by 72% and that's only the beginning of us going "Green."

Thanks also for your input, Lazarus43.

YSIC

[perigrini]

...Voters don’t choose the 842 unpledged “super-delegates” who comprise nearly 40 percent of the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.

The category includes Democratic governors and members of Congress, former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, former vice president Al Gore, retired congressional leaders such as Dick Gephardt, and all Democratic National Committee members...

*Excerpt quoted from an article at link.

I believe the number is supposed to be like 20% of the total votes, which is about 40% of the votes needed to be selected....so that does not contradict the percentage of super delegates I'd indicated (although I was just reading it somewhere).

perigrini

[Lazarus43]

...Voters don’t choose the 842 unpledged “super-delegates” who comprise nearly 40 percent of the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.

The category includes Democratic governors and members of Congress, former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, former vice president Al Gore, retired congressional leaders such as Dick Gephardt, and all Democratic National Committee members...

*Excerpt quoted from an article at link.

I believe the number is supposed to be like 20% of the total votes, which is about 40% of the votes needed to be selected....so that does not contradict the percentage of super delegates I'd indicated (although I was just reading it somewhere).

perigrini

That is true. Your info is correct. Perhaps I should have noted the difference in the way the quote I posted came up with super delegates being about 40% of the number to make a majority and be selected. I think I also remember reading somewhere that some super delegates qualify by being major financial contributors to the Democratic party.

Blessings,
Lazarus43

[crmann]

Published on Saturday, January 5, 2008 by The Nation

The Tyranny of Super-Delegates

by Katrina vanden Heuvel
Barack Obama’s stirring victory in Iowa was also a good night for our democracy. The turnout broke records and young people - who were mobilized and organized - participated in unprecedented numbers. And now that Iowans have spoken - the first citizens in the nation to do so - here’s the Democratic delegate count for the top three candidates (2,025 delegates are needed to secure the nomination):

Clinton - 169

Obama - 66

Edwards - 47

“Huh?” you say. “vanden Heuvel, you made a MAJOR typo.”

In fact, those numbers are correct: the third-place finishing Sen. Hillary Clinton now has over twice as many delegates as Sen. Obama, and more than three times as many delegates as the second-place candidate, Sen. John Edwards. Why? Because the Democratic Party uses an antiquated and anti-democratic nominating system that includes 842 “super-delegates” - un-pledged party leaders not chosen by the voters, free to support the candidate of their choice, and who comprise more than forty percent of the delegates needed to win the nomination. Many have already announced the candidate they will support.

In a clear attempt to protect the party establishment, this undemocratic infrastructure was created following George McGovern’s landslide defeat in 1972. It was designed to prevent a nominee who was “out of sync with the rest of the party,” Northeastern University political scientist William Mayer told MSNBC. Democratic National Committee member Elaine Kamarck called it a “sort of safety valve.”

In 1988, Reverend Jesse Jackson challenged the notion that these appointed delegates be permitted to vote for the candidate of their choosing rather than the winner of the state’s caucus or primary. He was right to do so. Twenty years later, when the word “change” is being bandied about, isn’t it time for the Democratic Party to give real meaning to the word? Strengthen our democracy by reforming the super-delegate system so that the people, not the party establishment, choose their candidate.

Katrina vanden Heuvel is editor of The Nation.

[burien1]

That article really puts it into perspective, CRMANN. That makes even the name of the democratic party a joke and a sham.

YSIC

[perigrini]

That is true. Your info is correct. Perhaps I should have noted the difference in the way the quote I posted came up with super delegates being about 40% of the number to make a majority and be selected. I think I also remember reading somewhere that some super delegates qualify by being major financial contributors to the Democratic party.

Both out information was true...I just wanted to clarify why the numbers appeared so different.

God bless,

perigrini

[SueAnn]

Could somebody please explain to those of us who have been out of High school way too long, exactly what super delegates are?
YSIC

Unless you were in high school after 1984 you may not have learned about it in high school. I heard that Superdelegates were instituted in 1984, meant for just one person, and it has snow-balled out of control ever since.

[crmann]

I heard that Superdelegates were instituted in 1984, meant for just one person

That man was George McGovern in 1972.

Unless you were in high school after 1984 you may not have learned about it in high school.

If you were in high school after 1984, what did you learn?