Politics

Quit Picking on Superdelegates

By Matt Cooper

Barack Obama is already out there saying that it would be disturbing if he were to win the majority of delegates elected by the people and then have the results overturned by party superdelegates. Oh, please. Look the rules about superdelegates didn't come about by total accident. There was a genuine feeling after the 1970s and early 80s that the process had become too democratized. And indeed the degree to which primaries are open to independents and Republicans, superdelegates represent a legitimate counterweight. Parties are essentially private enterprises and are allowed to set what rules they want. Obama, who is being a stickler for party rules, when it comes to seating the Florida and Michigan delegations suddenly wants to chuck them when it comes to superdelegates. He's insisting that the two swing states which jumped the primary schedule and lost their seating privileges for the infraction should not be seated. Fair enough. It's nuts though to call for the disfranchisement of two of the nation's largest states and then be shocked, shocked by superdelegates. Obama is an inspiring figure but this is a reminder that he's a politician, too.

Clinton, on the other hand, is hypocritical, too. She wants to have the Michigan and Florida delegations seated at the convention in Denver this summer but is clinging to the importance of superdelegates because they favor her. My spouse, I always note, works for Clinton

Full post as published by Portfolio.com: Capital on February 12, 2008 (boomark / email).