War Breaking Out Over Superdelegate Role in Democratic Primary
Hillary Clinton pauses while speaking at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, N.C., Thursday. Her supporters stirred controversy when they called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to stop saying superdelegates should follow the lead of pledged delegates. (AP Photo)
The battle over the Democratic presidential nomination turned nasty on Thursday, one day after Hillary Clinton donors subtly threatened to stop the spigots for House Democrats if Speaker Nancy Pelosi insists superdelegates vote the same way as pledged delegates.
Liberal group MoveOn.org — which has endorsed Barack Obama — issued a letter to its members, asking them to sign on to a statement that says millionaire donors shouldn’t dictate how the race is won. It also asked for members to match the money the donors would otherwise supply.
“The Democratic nomination should be decided by the voters — not by superdelegates or party high-rollers. We’ve given money — and time — to progressive candidates and causes, and we’ll support Speaker Pelosi and others who stand up for democracy in the Democratic Party,” reads the statement.
In sending the request to join, MoveOn’s political action team called the donors’ letter to Pelosi “the worst kind of insider politics — billionaires bullying our elected leaders into ignoring the will of the voters.”
In the letter sent to Pelosi on Wednesday, the Clinton supporters asked that the House speaker retract statements she made a week prior calling for superdelegates to follow the will of primary and caucus voters.
Superdelegates “must look to not one criterion but to the full panoply of factors that will help them assess who will be the party’s strongest nominee in the general election,” the donors wrote.
The letter also noted the donors “have been strong supporters” of the House Democrats’ fundraising arm.
“We therefore urge you to clarify your position on superdelegates and reflect in your comments a more open view to the optional independent actions of each of the delegates at the national convention in August.”
Spokesman Brendan Daly said Pelosi is confident superdelegates will make their choice between Clinton and Obama “based on many considerations, including respecting the decisions of millions of Americans who have voted in primaries and participated in caucuses. The speaker believes it would do great harm to the Democratic Party if superdelegates are perceived to overturn the will of the voters. This has been her position throughout this primary season, regardless of who was ahead at any particular point in delegates or votes.”
Clinton campaign officials said on a conference call Thursday that they knew about the pointed letter to Pelosi beforehand but only in general terms.
“We got a heads up,” said a spokesman, adding that everyone recognizes that superdelegates have the responsibility to exercise independent judgment about who is best for the party and the country.
The officials denied knowing the details or approving of any of the language. Pressed on the tenor of the letter, Clinton Communications Director Howard Wolfson said the Clinton camp is committed to electing Democrats to the House of Representatives and “believe strongly in Pelosi’s leadership.”
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the Democratic donors who wrote Pelosi have contributed nearly $24 million to Democratic candidates and committees over the last 10 years.
Hillary Clinton’s Senate and presidential campaigns and her political action committee received $554,000. By comparison, Barack Obama collected $52,200. Contributions for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which helps Democratic House candidates, equaled $2.9 million.
BET founder Robert Johnson, a Clinton supporter who has contributed $2 million to Democratic candidates over the years, and signed onto the letter, said he will continue to contribute to the party but it’s the superdelegates’ prerogative to choose who they want.
“The real issue is fundamental fairness in making sure that the superdelegates carry out their role. They are not, as Nancy Pelosi, would suggest ‘confirmation delegates.’ They are not robot delegates. They are superdelegates whose charter authorizes them to analyze who will be the better candidate of the two to run against the Republican candidate and win the presidency,” Johnson said. He added that he has a letter on his desk from Pelosi asking him to contribute $100,000 to the national convention, but he has not decided yet whether he will donate.
The MoveOn team also calls for the members to match “whatever the CEOs and billionaires refuse to contribute.”
Calling Clinton’s donors “the old guard,” the MoveOn group said, “This is how the Democratic Party used to function — the big donors called the shots. But the small donor revolution has changed that. The 20 people who signed this letter have given Democrats an average of $2.4 million per year over the last 10 years. Small donations now dwarf that: In February alone, Obama and Clinton raised $47 million in small donations.”
The Democratic party stepped on their toes in FL and MI. They should have just allowed the candidates to campaign, included every candidate to be on the ballot, and halved the delegates. Unfortunately for them they were not smart enough to see this coming.
The bigger concern is why they would have Superdelegates in the first place. The whole purpose of the Superdelegates is to give some power in the case where the voters choose a candidate that the party does not favor. The party will then have some ability to override the will of the voters. How comical is that?
In the response to the individual from the 82nd Airborne, what a shame it is to hear you speak out against the price of freedom. I have friends from the 82nd Airborne that would be ashamed of that. It is tragic that we lost close to 4,000 soldiers and it cost close to a trillion dollars, however, I would prefer to spend trillions to keep as many soldiers alive as possible and bring freedom to a country long tormented and slaughtered by a dictator. We lost close to 60,000 soldiers in Vietnam, but improvements in technology have resulted in the loss of only expensive equipment, not lives. I’ll be happy to pay my taxes and help foot the bill for that any day.
to jenna, what world do you live on? florida and Michigan both were told if you do this ,this WILL HAPPEN. they did it and true to word they lost out, whose flault is that?HINT:(florida and Michigan). let them take responsibly for their actions. 48 other states followed the rules what about them? this is a land of laws and rules. mr.obama was not on the ballot in Michigan and the people that would have vote for in florida did not come out to vote because they were told that florida broke the rule and their vote would not count. the problem with a revote is this in florida there would be no way to varify the votes because of florida laws; there’s that word again. as for Michigan they will not allow people who voted in the republician primary to vote again and the only reason a lot of them voted in that primary was because they were told the dems primary would not count. hillary signed off on this. but since she’s losing she has now this great love for florida and michigan and you bought into it. as for your threat to go to another party PLEASE DO! if you can’t pay more attention to how people are using you; you need to go.every thing i have said here YOU can look it up on the web and SEE for yourself. please read before you make threats.
The liberals and Dems are tearing apart their party. All we can do is sit back, smile and hope for the best! The GOP hasn’t had to bash them, they are doing it themselves. Gotta love dumbocrat sniping
Superdelegates were created to vote independant of what the voters have chosen. This is the party’s sytem of check and balances. Nancy Pelosi was wrong to say that superdelegates should vote the same way as pledged delegates. If that is the case, then eliminate superdelegates all together. I myself am near the breaking point, I may switch party allegiance pretty soon. And to all Obama supporters. There is an increasing amount of information coming out now about him. Read them all carefully and you will see a different hidden Obama. I would rather McCain be President, atleast I know pretty much who he is. No Obama the chameleon.
Isn’t democracy the will of the people? So why do we need SuperDelegates to skew that?
Aren’t SuperDelegates essentially voting twice and with more power (their vote is more powerful than a single voter and is on par with state delegates). Aren’t they all power brokers and special interest groups?
So why were they created? More than likely to maintain status quo of powerful people.
The Democratic party isn’t about democracy, it’s about maintaing status quo.
The hill-billy bipolars, are now Tri-polar, they will do anything, they are diabolical, and they frighten me. Hang in there Barack, watch your back
I am a registered Republican and was thinking of switching party’s, but to me the Democratic party is way off course using a small group of people who can actually override the popular vote of “the people” to make the final decision as to who their party’s candidate will be. This procedure is exactly opposite of a democracy, and I could not support a political party who does this.
See Snake.
See Snake Eat It’s Tail.
See Snake No Mo’.
(Old Cajon Saying)
Now, I don’t have a dog in this hunt but like so many others I find this very, very entertaining.
Jenna wrote: “Nancy Pelosi says she is respecting millions of voters, what about Florida Nancy? What about Michigan Nancy? What about those millions of voters who voted overwhelmingly for Hillary? How is this fair?”
Let’s look at Jenna’s statement about the millions of voters who voted for Hillary. So Hillary wants the two state delegations to be seated so that every vote counts. Of course, this is an opposite stand from what she agreed to before the primaries began. What is troubling is that she now has changed her position on these two states AND has begun suggesting that pledged delegates fom all states [presumably that Obama won] can vote any way they want, despite the voter’s voice in their state.
If I read this all correctly, Hillary wants every vote to count via delegates at the convention, has changed her mind about how Florida and Michigan are to be handled now that she is behind, and now is encouraging pledged delegates to ignore the will of the people in their state and vote for her at the convention. ignoring the ‘every vote by citizens of that state counts.
Add to that outrageous position, she has recruited the force of the ‘fat cats’ that have supported her and Bill for many years to intervene in her behalf and force Speaker Pelosi to back off of her stand.
Just what is ‘democratic’ about all this?
” I don’t belong to any organized political party. I am a Democrat.”
Will Rogers