Super Delegates Huh

Are we ready for some Political Beef? I know it can be a polarizing subject, but this one isn’t going to be an article asking to choose a side in the sense of Democrat versus Republican. This particular beef is going to be about something that to me makes me want to pull my hair out each time I watch any political portion of a news program or even read an article about it. Before the current preliminary election race to determine the candidates for the two prominent parties for our next Presidential election, I had NEVER heard of super delegates. Now, it seems like it’s the ONLY thing that matters in the Democratic decision of who their party will choose to represent them in the next election.

What are super delegates and why do they matter? I mean, don’t people vote in the primaries and then the state associates their delegates to the winner? Oh, that just makes too much sense. I did a little research today to figure out just what all this jazz about super delegates was and it’s a pretty simplistic thing the Democrats created out of a need to energize their lackluster party during the 80’s. Here’s the story about super delegates: “Super-delegates are designed to act as a check on ideologically extreme or inexperienced candidates. It also gives power to people who have a vested interested in party policies: elected leaders.” The Democratic Party had gone through several weak candidates and were again in the throes of a weak candidacy in the mid-80’s and the Democratic National Convention was also going through an attendance decline. To increase the attendance for the convention and also allow “special” officials a say, if needed, when choosing a candidate to represent them, super delegates were formed.

Usually, the need of these delegates to determine a nominee is not an issue. However, this year, with the likelihood that neither Democrat candidate will secure their nomination before the convention, the super delegate vote will probably determine the winner of their party nomination. Here is some more information about a super delegate: “If there is no clear winner after state primaries and caucuses, then the super-delegates — who are bound only by their consciences — will decide the nominee.” Well isn’t that just a nice statement. Read that again. After ALL the voting by the public and the caucus votes, if the nominee hasn’t been determined, the super delegates will decide and they are ONLY bound by their consciences who they vote for. They are NOT bound by their state’s vote. They are NOT bound by what their public wants. They are ONLY bound by what they BELIEVE to be the right decision on who is more electable. Which candidate does that particular official personally believe to be the one that has a chance to win the Presidential race?

Does that sound like a Democratic process to you which is representing a Democratic Party? In name only it seems. After thousands of votes, after all the campaigning, after all the debating, a certain group of “special” people will have the power to do as they wish, and not necessarily what the voters wish. Sound familiar to you? Electoral College anyone? Of course the Electoral College has never wavered, but the ability is there. So here we are, a few months from the convention and it appears that we are headed for a virtual tie on the nominee until the super delegate votes are cast during the convention. Do I hear or feel a sense of worry from the Democrats in the world? Why is Hilary Clinton continuing this fight? Why is Barack Obama continuing to allow her opportunities to make both him and the party look bad? Is this just a fight to see who has more power? Is this a fight of the most simplistic nature – boy versus girl? Do they really have such radically different views about how to undertake leading our country considering they are from the same party and their party lines are basically the exact same lines since their creation? Show me a contemporary Democrat saying something new and I’ll show you a liberal volunteer on the front lines of Iraq or drilling for oil in Alaska.

Personally, I think both of them have succumbed to the idea of being President as being the ultimate career win. Not winning for the country, but winning for the sake of their political careers. A loss now has the potential to forever cast them aside like Al Gore or John Kerry. Get in while the getting is good. The Republican Party is on the ropes, but even in a year where people are voting for someone just because they are the opposite of something; they can’t even get their stances correct. I say let their fighting continue, let it expose their true self, let them continue to show the public just what their stances are – assuming there are stances. Ok, you may have guessed, I’m not a loving member of the Democratic Party, but I am also not a card holding member of the Republican Party. I am a member of the party that best represents my moral, ethical, and political viewpoints, not my wallet viewpoint. The list is in order of importance by the way. So, after I’ve pulled out a few more hairs from my head, I hope I have shed some light on my current political beef from my perspective. If you have a constructive comment, feel free to write below. Debating is where we learn.

Citation: http://uspolitics.about.com/od/2008elections/tp/super_delegates.htm