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Should the Democratic Party hold a caucus of the superdelegates?

By Ann Althouse

This idea, proposed by Tennessee governor Philip Bredesen, is designed to avoid a brutal summer of fighting between Obama and Clinton:

In early June, after the final primaries, the Democratic National Committee should call together our superdelegates in a public caucus....

This is not a proposal for a mini-convention with all the attendant hoopla and sideshows. It is a call for a tight, two-day business-like gathering, whose rules would be devised by the national committee, of the leaders of our party from all over America to resolve a serious problem. There would be a final opportunity for the candidates to make their arguments to these delegates, and then one transparent vote.

It sounds like a very sensible idea, which is why my sense is that this won't happen. Think about why not. One candidate or the other stands to benefit from waiting until August, and that candidate and some number of her supporters will resist the caucus. How can it happen without widespread agreement?

Some might raise reasonable concerns about the cost and logistics of assembling these superdelegates. But those would be manageable; this is a business meeting of a few hundred people almost three months from now, not an extended, cast-of-thousands convention.

If it's possible to do this, isn't it possible to line up the superdelegates behind the scenes and force them to make firm, public commitments? That would achieve the same result. Also, if you have this assembly when the nominee is still unknown, you're inviting strong partisans to a huge national stage ? it will be far more dramatic than any political convention we've seen in our liftetime ? and who knows what bloody chaos will play out?

Bredersen thinks what America will see is "a modern political party focused on results," which, "confronted with an unexpected problem," used "common sense to come together, roll up our sleeves and direct events to a successful conclusion." Yes, it would be great if we got to see such a fine party in action, but since it's a real political party, you don't know what might happen. It could be uglier than a summer-long struggle. If you want to be pragmatic, Governor Bredersen, you can't be idealistic about it. Think of the risks. And if it's necessary to script the caucus and ensure a smooth resolution of the problem, why do you need a meeting at all?

Full post as published by Althouse on March 19, 2008 (boomark / email).