Howard Dean Calls for Superdelegate Decision by July 1
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean (AP Photo)
Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, hoping to avoid a divisive fight on the convention floor, weighed in on the Clinton-Obama battle Friday by calling on all party superdelegates to declare whom they support by July 1.
The 800 or so Democratic superdelegates will almost certainly decide the presidential candidate, because it’s unlikely either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton will gain enough pledged delegates in the remaining primary contests to win the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the nomination outright.
Dean, appearing on CBS’ “Early Show” Friday morning, was asked about the prospects of a vote among the superdelegates before the convention, an idea floated as a way to settle the still undecided Democratic race.
“Well, I think the superdelegates have already been weighing in. I think there’s 800 of them and 450 of them have already said who they’re for,” Dean said. “I’d like the other 350 to say who they’re on between now and the first of July so we don’t have to take this into the convention.”
Dean was not asked to elaborate on his remarks during the interview.
In a separate interview with The Associated Press, Dean warned against “demoralizing” Democrats with a drawn-out fistfight between Clinton and Obama.
“You do not want to demoralize the base of the Democratic Party by having the Democrats attack each other. … Let the media and the Republicans and the talking heads on cable television attack and carry on, fulminate at the mouth. The supporters should keep their mouths shut about this stuff on both sides because that is harmful to the potential victory of a Democrat,” Dean told the AP.
Dean’s comments follow an increasingly bitter and widening battle over the Democratic nomination. On Thursday, the deep-pocketed liberal organization MoveOn jumped into the fray, calling on its members to sign a petition rebuking a group of Clinton fund-raisers.
MoveOn’s action was prompted when the Clinton supporters sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, threatening to dial back their gift-giving if Pelosi maintains her position that superdelegates should follow the will of primary and caucus voters.
The Clinton campaign and its supporters — seeking to gain an edge in superdelegates — have argued that superdelegates are not bound by primary voting trends and were established under party rules to be independent.
Pelosi did not back down Thursday.
Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said Pelosi “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.
Democrats also are battling over how to handle the delegations from Michigan and Florida. The party stripped the two states of their delegates to the convention when they decided to hold their primaries before party rules allowed.
Can someone please explain why MI and FL went ahead with their earlier primaries even after they were told by the DNC that their delegates would not be seated as a result? I have not heard a single media voice explain why those two states are in the situation they’re in. And I really can’t understand why voters would turn out in those states if they knew that their votes wouldn’t be counted. This is, of course, assuming they were told in advance. If that has been a long-standing DNC rule regarding moving up your primary, why would FL and MI do that in the first place?
Any knowledgeable response would be much appreciated.
It’s amazing that too much infighting has been a concern of Dems for months yet both candidates are too selfish to just take one for the team and step aside (probably should be Obama since he has his whole future ahead of him). They’re like two wolves fighting over the same piece of meat and all they’re going to do is shred it so bad that neither one of them will eat.
This is only helping the Republicans who now, because of this whole debacle, actually have a chance to win this thing!
This is nothing more than elements in the Democratic party trying to get their far left candidate elected over a left of center candidate, Hillary. Any advantage that can be given to Obama is given. As time goes on the superdelegates may realize Obama is not electable and those early leads won’t mean a thing if he heads into an election with eroding support from, as he described it “typical white people”. The superdelegates are a check for the Democrats to weigh in with a decision that is best for the party - and the Obamabots are afraid of that careful consideration of all facts and despite their party rules are quite happy to scrap them if it favors Obama.
“Had he not acknowledged that what he said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I think is the great character of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn’t have felt comfortable staying there at the church,” Obama said on the show.
I’m a bit confused??? When did Wright “acknowledge” these statements? I do not recall hearing or even seeing this pastor apologize to the nation regarding his offensive comments. In fact, Wright has pretty much disappeared from the public eye. What is Obama talking about?? I want to hear Wright come out and say these words, not Obama. Then, I can believe on why Obama would say this and decided to stay at the church. That is a bunch of crap to, because it’s not like Wright just started saying these things and Obama got offended. What about 5, 10 or even 20 years ago, why didn’t you leave then? You make no sense OBAMA. double talker. Obama will tell you anything you want to hear to get him elected! Do not believe the hype!!
Florida and Michigan aren’t to blame for this. Howard Dean is to blame for this! The voters in two sovereign states decided to vote when they wanted instead of when Howard wanted to allow them to vote. Howard, having his panties all twisted, decided to cut his nose off to spite his face. The man is a moron, and now the world has proof! Silly little Howard…
I totally agree with Pelosi that the super delegates should vote like the people wanted or otherwise we didn’t have a say. I think they should continue on with the race so we can learn more about the candidates plus give all the states their votes. I am a Texas delegate and we go tomorrow to vote. I’d like someone to explain to me how come the news media was announcing March 11th that Obama had won the Texas caucus and Hillary the popular vote? I realized how they came up with popular vote, but how did they have a clue about the caucus? Did we really have a voice in this? I think the USA needs to do away with delegates, super delegates, and just go back to letting the people win by the popular vote and be done with all this confusion. I don’t trust the super delegates anyway. Look at judas Sen. Richardson. I think James Carville hit the nail on the head. I’m sure Ted Kennedy and John Kerry will follow his lead and be just as low.
Just heard on the news, CNN, that Pat Leahy, Chris Dodd and Howard Dean are saying Hillary Clinton should drop out. I thought that being CNN as being part of the media admiration society for Obama, that this was exaggerated. Turned to FOX news and sure enough they were reporting the same thingThe Democratic Elite are going to try to muscle Hillary Clinton out using the excuse of what it is doing to the Democratic Party. I think they are doing this as an easy fix to the mess they made in Florida and Michigan. They have big problems for the General Election if they keep this nonsense up. As it is, the fact of what they are going to lose is not anything that they can imagine because they figure they will be able to fix this by November. Guess what?? You can’t fix it now by leaving the election run its course, you will not fix it in November. I think if the Democratic Party keeps it up, they will not have to worry about some Democrats voting for McCain, most will vote for the Third Party Candidate. So stop the march by going on to these media sites and telling them to butt out of this election and let it run its course. To stop favoring one candidate over the other and report the facts and do some research on the candidates and their records. That is what the people want to hear. The Democratic Elite better just pay attention to fixing the Florida and Michigan mess instead of looking for the easy way out on the expense of the voters.
Where’s the “Don” (Donald Trump) when we really need him? He’d simply say..”Mr. Dean” “You’re Fired”.. and Howard would simpy fade away… never to be seen again, along with the Clintons. The TRUTH.. “Howard Dean simply doesn’t have the character to step up to the plate like a man and admit he’s personally responsible (and the only one responsible) for the mess he’s got the Democratic party in to at this late stage of the primary. It was Howard Dean who went on national news and announced to the world that the States of Florida and Michigan’s delegates would not be seated nor would they count. Why..? because they broke the rules of the DNC. And, after all, the “rules are the rules”. It’s not up to the “SuperDelegates” to come to Mr. Dean’s rescue. Someone needs to pull this guy aside.. or better yet, just puch him out the door and ask as nicely as possible, to just simply never.. never come back.
Of course Dean wants this to end before any mor people can figure out that they can’t even run their own party, let alone the country.
Who is to blame for this mess - Florida and Michigan, Proportionate Allocation and Two strong candidates who have a distinct voter-base. Republicans are going to have a home run this fall. The only thing that can save Dems is a joint bid for Obama and Hillary.