Breaking down super delegates
2008 Democratic Presidential Race
The Democratic Party has three types of delegates; two types are elected at the state level. The third is less well publicized or understood: the super-delegate.
What Are Political Party Delegates?
Delegates are people who attend a political party national convention and who elect the party nominee. Some states select delegates during a Presidential primary and others during caucuses; some states also have a state convention where national convention delegates are selected. Some delegates represent state congressional districts; some are "at large" and represent the entire state. The Democratic party also has a third type: super-delegates. A super-delegate is a leader in the National Democratic Party who has a vote at the national convention; they not selected by state party members.A candidate needs 2,025 delegates for the nomination. Pledged (not super delegate) delegate estimate (14 February):
Who Are Super-Delegates?
Super-delegates (approximately 850 in 2008) include the following:- Elected members of the Democratic National Committee (~450)
- Democratic Governors
- Democratic US Senators and US Representatives (including non-voting delegates)
- Distinguished party leaders (current and former Presidents and Vice Presidents; former Democratic leaders of the Senate and House; former DNC chairmen)
- Unpledged "add-on's" chosen by the DNC
Rationale For Super-Delegates
The Democratic Party established this system in part in response to the nomination of George McGovern in 1972. McGovern took only one state and had only 37.5 percent of the popular vote. Then in 1976, Jimmy Carter was a dark-horse candidate with little national experience.The purpose of the super-delegate system is 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. Because the primary and caucus voters do not have to be active members of the party (in New Hampshire they can sign up and sign out going-and-coming at the polls), the super-delegate system has been called a safety-value.
Importance of Super-Delegates
The Democratic Party allocates delegates based on a state's Presidential vote in the prior three elections and the number of electors. In addition, states that hold their primaries or caucuses later in the cycle receive bonus delegates.
It has been 30 years since the Democratic Party had a cliffhanger going into the Convention. 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.
If you want to know the real truth, Obama introduced to bill to assist illegals immigrants in becoming US citizens. Clinton did not co-sponsor the bill.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery Bill # 22
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i think the super delegates need to be done away with, and instead have a national vot for both parties on the same day. the person who gets the most votes from each party will then runnagainst each other in the fall with the person with over 50% of the vote being the winner. this will put a end to super delegates not voting the way of the popular vote and elimnate the crap we have had to endure for the last year and a half.
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Wouldn't you like to be able to tell the next president what you think they should do On Day One?
Visit http://www.OnDayOne.org/ and share your ideas on the website that was created with you in mind!!
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