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Imaginary contradictions
There's a rapidly-spreading meme from the Hillary camp that says that Obama is being inconsistent when he says the Michigan and Florida delegates should not be seated (not immediately, which is not to say that they wouldn't be seated at some point) and when he says that the super-delegates shouldn't take it upon themselves to override the clear wishes of primary and caucus voters as seen in the elected delegate counts.
That's not inconsistent or contradictory at all. The DNC rules say that the Michigan and Florida delegates should not be seated. The argument in this case is that the rules shouldn't be changed in mid-game.
But nobody is arguing that the rules should be changed for the super-delegates. According to the rules they are free to choose anyone they want to choose. The argument in this case isn't that the rules should be changed, it's that the super-delegates would be making a strategic blunder to give the nomination to someone who lost the elected delegate count. But it's a blunder that, according to the rules, they are free to make.
I support Obama. I suspect that if the situation were reversed, the positions of the two candidates on both issues would be reversed. But I'm much happier being on the side of arguing that (a) the rules shouldn't be changed in mid-game, and (b) the super-delegates should take into account the likely backlash of giving the nomination to the candidate with the fewest elected delegates.Trying to change the rules in mid-game just seems sleazy. And without a doubt if my candidate has the most elected delegates and ends up not being the nominee, I'll accept that this was within the rules but won't be happy that the bigwigs took it upon themselves to override the will of the majority of voters in the primaries and caucuses.
Comments (1)
The super delegates mostly are also elected officials. Their decisions will be answered by the electorate next time they run for office.
Should the super delegates eviscerate the will of We the People, the will of the majority from caucuses and primaries that followed the DNC rules as all agreed to ahead of time, the people will rise up in fury. The super delegates know this. They want to avert a party battle.
This will be settled soon. And they will settle on the candidate who has gained a plurality of votes cast "legally." Then we'll all come together. And I'm betting we'll see Barack Obama taking the oath of office next January.... the first president to have taught Constitutional Law. Now that is history!!!!
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February 15, 2008 12:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
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