Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 68 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H1'ed 2/11/16

Bernie Didn't Win New Hampshire. No Joke.

Follow Me on Twitter     Message Rob Kall
Become a Fan
  (295 fans)

Huge Crowds, Huge winning margins in state primaries won't matter if the Democratic party steals the primary election with superdelegates
Huge Crowds, Huge winning margins in state primaries won't matter if the Democratic party steals the primary election with superdelegates
(Image by Hollywata)
  Details   DMCA

It's true. Bernie earned 15 delegates by winning 62.5% of the Democratic vote-- the bottom up democratic way. But Hillary also received 15 delegates. The difference is, she earned 9 delegates because people voted for her. But the anti-democratic, top down Democratic Party provides a system that prevents the people from electing candidates. The DNC enabled her to have six superdelegates. That makes the New Hampshire delegate count a tie-- 15 to 15.

As it stands, Bernie Sanders could continue to win popular votes in more early primary states and lose or tie elections because the DNC gives Hillary superdelegates. This is comparable to intra-party gerrymandering.
This is bullshit, an outrageous obscenity against justice and Democracy. It should go no further.
I demand that the Democratic party eliminate superdelegates ASAP.
We live in a time where the system tries to disconnect us from participation in influencing how things are decided. A handful of elites are in charge of a very top down system and they like it that way. Superdelegates are an invention of the Democratic party-- designed to prevent popular candidates from winning primaries. Superdelegates are elected officials-- members of the senate, the house of representatives. Here, Wikipedia provides more details:

For Democrats, superdelegates fall into two categories:

  • delegates seated based on other positions they hold, who are formally described (in Rule 9.A) as "unpledged party leader and elected official delegates"[2] (unpledged PLEO delegates); and
  • additional unpledged delegates selected by each state party (in a fixed predetermined number), who are formally described (in Rule 9.B) as "unpledged add-on delegates" and who need not hold any party or elected position before their selection as delegates.[2]
And here's who the superdelegates are, according to Wikipedia:
"There is no fixed number of unpledged PLEO (Party Leaders and Elected Officials) delegates. The number can change during the campaign as particular individuals gain or lose qualification under a particular category. The unpledged PLEO delegates are: all Democratic members of the United States Congress, Democratic governors, members of the Democratic National Committee, "[a]ll former Democratic Presidents, all former Democratic Vice Presidents, all former Democratic Leaders of the U.S. Senate, all former Democratic Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives and Democratic Minority Leaders, as applicable, and all former Chairs of the Democratic National Committee."
Originally, Superdelegates made up 14% of the total delegates. It has crept up to 20%, with the additional delegates appointed by powerful people in the party. This has always been bullshit. This is what elites holding top down power do when bottom up movements threaten their power.
It is essential that we the people, independent of Bernie Sanders or his organization, take action to force the Democratic party to get rid of the superdelegate system.
If the DNC does not get rid of superdelegates I believe there will be a mass exodus by the people who are supporting Bernie. They will leave the Democratic party. There will be a meltdown and a massive repudiation of the Undemocratic party. Bernie's enthusiastic supporters, especially the young ones, who Bernie has inspired to get involved in politics, will not show up on election day. If Mike Bloomberg runs, he will get some of their votes, Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate will get some of their votes. A Hillary win through superdelegates will lead the Democratic party down a primrose path to defeat-- a well deserved defeat.
The Democratic party go down in flames. I don't want that to happen. I want the Democratic party to live up to its name. Bernie Sanders is the only declared candidate who can make that happen, the only candidate who embraces bottom up as the way to make change happen.
"Change never takes place from the top down. it always takes place from the bottom-up" Bernie Sanders
What is bottom up? It's a way of seeing, doing and relating, a metaphor that we see in systems that are interconnected and interdependent, a metaphor through which life exists and change happens. The opposite of bottom up is top down. That's the way Hillary Clinton has always operated.
The leaders of the Democratic party may just be willing to lose this election rather than give up their top down control. Some of my most experienced political colleagues believe that to be the case. it is up to the grassroots voters to take ownership of the Democratic party. Insurrection is in the air in both major parties. Bernie Sanders has already achieved far more than the party leaders feared. Now, they are freaking out. It is time to make it clear to them that they will lose the White House and lose their shot at taking back the Senate if they don't terminate the superdelegate system, one that should have never been instituted in the first place.
The future is bottom up. If the Democratic party's superdelegate system is not ended, the Democratic party will not be a viable part of the future.
Sign my petition. Tell the DNC to get rid of the anti-democratic Superdelegate system
Petition: Tell the DNC to Dump Undemocratic Superdelegates
Read more about the superdelegate threat here:
Will the DNC Use Super-Delegates to Steal the Primary Election from Bernie?
Update:
Some people say that superdelegates are not locked in, like delegates based on votes. That's true. They can change their minds. But we the people should not have to worry about whether a batch of former senators, congresspeople and governors and a nebulous collection of party leaders and people the elected people appoint can decide who wins the primary. It's wrong.
and
Some say that this kind of article is negative and will turn off or discourage potential Bernie voters. I believe knowledge is power. In the comments you will find two additional petitions calling for changes in the superdelegate system. I say this kind of information can put pressure on the powers that be and that's what Bernie's campaign is all about-- not accepting the establishment's power anymore.
Must Read 14   Well Said 8   Valuable 8  
Rate It | View Ratings

Rob Kall Social Media Pages: Facebook Page       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Rob Kall is an award winning journalist, inventor, software architect, connector and visionary. His work and his writing have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC, the HuffingtonPost, Success, Discover and other media.

Check out his platform at RobKall.com

He is the author of The Bottom-up Revolution; Mastering the Emerging World of Connectivity

He's given talks and workshops to Fortune 500 execs and national medical and psychological organizations, and pioneered first-of-their-kind conferences in Positive Psychology, Brain Science and Story. He hosts some of the world's smartest, most interesting and powerful people on his Bottom Up Radio Show, and founded and publishes one of the top Google- ranked progressive news and opinion sites, OpEdNews.com

more detailed bio:

Rob Kall has spent his adult life as an awakener and empowerer-- first in the field of biofeedback, inventing products, developing software and a music recording label, MuPsych, within the company he founded in 1978-- Futurehealth, and founding, organizing and running 3 conferences: Winter Brain, on Neurofeedback and consciousness, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology (a pioneer in the field of Positive Psychology, first presenting workshops on it in 1985) and Storycon Summit Meeting on the Art Science and Application of Story-- each the first of their kind. Then, when he found the process of raising people's consciousness and empowering them to take more control of their lives one person at a time was too slow, he founded Opednews.com-- which has been the top search result on Google for the terms liberal news and progressive opinion for several years. Rob began his Bottom-up Radio show, broadcast on WNJC 1360 AM to Metro Philly, also available on iTunes, covering the transition of our culture, business and world from predominantly Top-down (hierarchical, centralized, authoritarian, patriarchal, big) to bottom-up (egalitarian, local, interdependent, grassroots, archetypal feminine and small.) Recent long-term projects include a book, Bottom-up-- The Connection Revolution, (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

A Conspiracy Conspiracy Theory

Debunking Hillary's Specious Winning the Popular Vote Claim

Terrifying Video: "I Don't Need a Warrant, Ma'am, Under Federal Law"

Ray McGovern Discusses Brutal Arrest at Secretary Clinton's Internet Freedom Speech

Hillary's Disingenuous Claim That She's Won 2.5 Million More Votes is Bogus. Here's why

Cindy Sheehan Bugged in Denver

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend