There have been a few superduper delegates so far. Will more of them announce themselves and when they do, will they totally change the primary race?
What makes a person a super duper delegate? Simple. A super duper delegate's vote is worth two votes.
This is not a category the DNC has created.
It's a category that is awkward, that can and will cause discomfort and epithets.
But it is very likely that this mutated form of superdelegate will probably begin to become more common in the coming days.
One might speculate that they will come out "for the sake of the party," but I think they'll do it because timing is everything.
As Obama takes the reins, running the Democratic party, as its presidential nominee, Clinton backers will inevitably lose power and fall in status.
Some of the superdelegates backing Clinton, seeing the writing on the wall, will jump ship and move to Obama. Already, some superdelegates have become super duper delegates, taking the leap, virtually giving two advantage points to Obama-- Joe Andrew, former DNC chair, rep. John Lewis, of Atlanta, and Nancy Larson, a Minnesota DNC member.
Becoming a super duper delegate will not be easy. The Clintons-- Hillary, Bill, Chelsea, have made sure of that. The Clinton supporters who leave the fold have been coddled and regularly attended to. But the floodgates have been opened. Sure, there are a lot of superdelegates waiting in the wings for the last primary vote to be cast June.
But there will be some superdelegates who metamorphose into super duper delegates because they have had enough of the Clinton strategists' scorched earth tactics. There will be some who do the switch because they believe it will position them better politically in the new DNC Obama firmament's hierarchy.
There will be some super duper delegates who declare for Obama because they think the time has come to end the internecine conflict in the Democratic party... or at least that's what they'll say.
One thing that is very, VERY unlikely, that we have not seen at all, will be superdelegates going in the opposite direction, becoming super duper delegates for Hillary.
Today, Hillary holds a 14 superdelegate lead. My guess is in the coming days, Obama will overtake Hillary. He'll do it with the help of superdelegates who finally declare, but also, with the help of the super duper delegates. Each announcement by a super duper delegate will be a body slam to the Clinton campaign, but also a source of gathering momentum for the Democratic presidential nominee.
It may just turn out that the superdelegates who waited actually lost their opportunity to make the big splash, to maximize the influence of their decision. If just eight or ten superdelegates make the leap, Obama will take away the lead from the last significant numeric bastion Hillary held.
At some point, the Democratic party will have to come together.
If 25 or 50 of Hillary's supporters take the super duper leap, it will send the message Obama has been waiting for. If the superdupers declare their switch this week, the rest of the primaries could become an exercise in futility for Hillary.
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I wouldn't have been so positive before yesterday. I also think that one of those superduper delegates who missed the splash was John Edwards. I'll bet he wishes now he had thrown his support to Obama.
It should be interesting to see where Al Gore goes and my own local congressman Sam Farr. Seems obvious those remarks made by Hillary to appease the right , those obliteration comments hurt her far more than did the press manipulated Reverend Wright debacle hurt Barrack. She almost lost Indiana as well as being slaughtered in North Carolina. I wish she would step down at this point. But it doesn't look like she will ever do that. She no longer has the argument Obama can't win a big state and she can no longer say she is more electable than Obama.
I hope big Al comes to the rescue and gives Barrack his support, then this healing process can take fold and we can proceed to kick John McCain's ass.
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Michael Shaw (6 articles, 1 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 244 comments)
on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 11:28:08 AM
We have two super delegates here in the glaciated Republician stronghold of Alaska, One of them a woman has publicly stated that she will vote for Clinton reguardless of the party nomination. I find this most dissapointing. Gerrymeandering, is a term that comes to mind. All the fiddeling with what should be a real streight forward prossess is most unseemly, esspecialy in light of recent voting scandle laden selections. All this nonsence reinforces the carpetbagger personna Hillary so justly deserves.
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Keith Hupp (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 5 comments)
on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 11:32:16 AM
The Democrats just can't stand not to shoot themselves in the tootsies. Super delegates were invented to prevent another George McGovern, thereby giving us that ultimo candidate, Michael Dukakis. That was not enough. They had to threaten Michigan and Florida with a gun that wasn't loaded.
Now, both genius schemes are stuck down their throats. Deservedly so.
I was concerned when Howard Dean appeared on John Stewart's show just last week and said two things;
1) Michigan and Florida will be seated.
2) Superdelegates may not vote for the popular winner, but will vote for the person who can beat John McCain (as if they had even the vaguest idea of who that might be).
That sounds frighteningly (to me) like Clinton.
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Jim Freeman (107 articles, 39 quicklinks, 126 diaries, 297 comments)
on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 3:24:22 PM
Handing the race to Clinton would split the party even further.
Personally, I don't believe that either of the candidates are nearly progressive enough. They both represent a continuation of the status quo. It's just a matter of degrees.
As we continue to pander to big business and big business at the expense of the people and the planet our time is running out.
There is a storm brewing - my hope is that the progressive movement, which is just getting started, begins exponential growth. Nothing short of all of us working together will change our future in a positive way.
Our short sighted focus on profits for the few, at the expense of the many, has got to come to an end once and for all.
This election will barely dent the big problems in our country and around the globe.
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August Adams (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 277 comments)
on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 8:40:53 PM
I can see only two legitimate reasons why Hillary would continue in the primaries. Either she is hoping for some scandal to squelch Obama's chance for beating McCain, leading to her selection by the superdelegates; or she hopes to gather sufficient power to force Obama to name her as VP. Of course, both reasons may be in play at the same time.
She should strike the deal now to gracefully drop out by suspending her campaign in exchange for the VP position, and if Obama is hit by an unexpected scandal, even up to an "October Surprise", she would be positioned to immediately replace Obama as the new Democratic contender. If this resolution of the primary race is possible, the superdelegates should be foisting it upon her and Obama now, before the party splinters any further, and before the parties irreparably damage their relationship.
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W.M.L. (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 217 comments)
on Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 5:27:11 AM
Actually, There are Three Reasons For Clinton To Remain In The Race Even though all people who think they are “in the know” are saying Clinton should drop out and be a true champion, there are actually three reasons for her to remain 9in the race. First, the Power Elite are strongly behind her. This group is comprised of not only Democrats, but Republicans, Neo-Conservatives, and others, foreign and domestic, who have been fighting for their “New World Order”, or “Global Economy”, or whatever else they call it. This group will do what it takes to ensure victory in November and they already have the Republican candidate in the fold, but the Democrat's candidate is not. Obama is not one of them. Clinton is. Second, if she drops out of the race it will be difficult to bring out more scandals like the Reverend Wright farce, and other such situations that might turn people against Obama. It is much more easily done if she remains in the race, keeping Obama on the stage where he can easily say something that can be misconstrued. Third, there is also the strong possibility of another Mel Carnihan or Paul Wellstone incidents. One tends to forget that both of these individuals were leading in their campaigns and neither were among the Power Elite circle. Wellstone was actually a threat to their agenda. Obama is a threat to the agenda of that same group. He is looking to change what has been happening to the United States of America over the course of the past 28 years when that Power Elite called the shots during the Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and now Bush regimes. The Power Elite cannot afford “slippage” in their gains. This is truly a most important time in the history of our country. Should Obama finally win out and it looks like he will defeat McCain in November look for the fourth card to be pulled – Martial Law. Don't be surprised, the Power Elite will not take the chance of losing ground on their agenda.
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Dennis Kaiser (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 14 comments)
on Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 8:02:13 AM
Hillary isn't going to give in. She said she was going to the end. I really do believe her and Bill are pandering a little too much for ppl not to realize they are Bush lite. Most of we Liberals know they are, but most don't know. Shoot, they are on FauxNews more than any other channel. Bill likes talking on Rush's radio show. I mean, how stupid do ppl have to be not to see through their charade.
I recall Donna Brassil(sp) saying she would leave the Democratic Party if it came down to Super-delegates. Looks like I am going to have to call out Donna! She will just backpeddle IF even the MSM brings it up. maybe she has, like I said, I just can't watch anymore Camp pains.
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shirley reese (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 152 comments)
on Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 8:08:27 PM
