I just read that op-ed by Geraldine Ferraro and I'm seeing that Kleefield dropped a link to it too.  This is cross-posted to my blog:


And in keeping in line with the Clinton’s insulting voters at every turn, superdelegate, Ms. Ferraro tells us that voters don’t represent rank-and-file Democrats:

Besides, the delegate totals from primaries and caucuses
do not necessarily reflect the will of rank-and-file Democrats. Most
Democrats have not been heard from at the polls. We have all been
impressed by the turnout for this year’s primaries — clearly both
candidates have excited and engaged the party’s membership — but, even
so, turnout for primaries and caucuses is notoriously low. It would be
shocking if 30 percent of registered Democrats have participated.

You’re looking a little green. Go ahead and spit out that bile in
your mouth. I know how it is. It’s kind of sad that a former Vice
Presidential candidate went that far. That with record turnout at the
polls and at caucuses, Ferraro had decided that dismissing all those
people participating in democracy was a good idea. This goes to show
that Team Clinton really did expect a coronation. Like it’s the voters
or Barack Obama’s fault the Clinton’s can’t run a national campaign.

The focus of Ferraro’s op-ed is that only the superdelegates know
what’s best for the party. That’s why they’re super, thanks for asking…

But the superdelegates were created to lead, not to
follow. They were, and are, expected to determine what is best for our
party and best for the country. I would hope that is why many
superdelegates have already chosen a candidate to support.

Wouldn’t you just love to hear the explanation as to why these
supers haven’t found it fit to lead these last 16 years. Why they felt
rolling over for the GOP was better than leading. Why they were so
scared that the infantile infotainment channels might say something
mean about them? Oh wait, it was the voters who were clamoring
at these guys not to rubberstamp an illegal war the PATRIOT ACT, NCLB,
the FISA bill, torture or the bankruptcy bill. It’s so heartening to
know these superdelegates lead us right down the drain with their
special brand of leadership. Since I can’t quite remember Geraldine
Ferraro standing up for our democracy and country then, I can only
wonder why she feels the need to inject herself right now.

We can add Geraldine Ferraro into the long list of Clinton backers who now want to change the rules midgame. Now, it’s a problem that Republicans and independents are voting in our primaries. A more optimistic person would be thrilled. They’d say, “Wow, look at all these people switching over. We should do something to engage and keep them.” The Clinton’s camp looks at them as more people who’d muddy up their flowcharts and focus-tested phrases, making them pay Mark Penn even more money for his microtrends.

Perhaps because I have endorsed Mrs. Clinton, I have noticed that most of the people complaining about the influence of the superdelegates are supporters of Mr. Obama. I can’t help thinking that their problem with the superdelegates may not be that they’re “unrepresentative,” but rather that they are perceived as disproportionately likely to support Mrs. Clinton.

And I am watching, with great disappointment, people whom I respect in the Congress who endorsed Hillary Clinton — I assume because she was the leader they felt could best represent the party and lead the country — now switching to Barack Obama with the excuse that their constituents have spoken.

Yeah, uh…because, why should they start representing their constituents now when they’ve managed not to do that the last 16 years, right? Naturally, Ferraro’s piece devolves into Team Clinton’t usual bleating about seating Florida and Michigan delegates. Naturally, Ferraro’s piece manages to not mention that Clinton had signed an agreement saying her name would be removed from the ballot, but Ms. Ready from Day One managed to forget to do it.

I’m tired ya’ll…this race shouldn’t be this hard. I never thought that I’d see a former First Lady or a sitting Senator use race-baiting and xenophobic tactics on a member of the same party. I never thought I’d see a former First Lady or a sitting Senator decided that voters in 24 states, black voters, activist and caucus-goers aren’t part of the electorate, that those groups don’t count. I never thought I’d see a former First Lady or a sitting Senator accuse an opponents supporters (over 10M people!) of being delusional for supporting him. I never thought I’d see a former First Lady or a sitting Senator who did not stand up to be counted when an election was being stolen, sit here and try to undermine the democratic process of voting.  But what I really can’t wrap my head around, is that I never thought I’d see a former president, a former vice presidential candidate, Senators, Governor and Congresspeople, acting like this presidency was an entitlement that Clinton deserved. I never thought that I’d see these elected Democratic officials doing their damnedest to undermine the Democratic Party and democracy as a whole.