Friday, October 26, 2007

Superdelegates

Why doesn't anyone ever talk about superdelegates? It seems that the Democratic party got tired of people like George McGovern and Jimmy Carter being chosen as their presidential candidates. So, now about one third of the delegates are given delegate spots because they are reliable party regulars (use your own imagination as to what that might mean). These delegates, the superdelegates, are not chosen in caucuses or primaries. They are put in place by the party establishment. The fact that the superdelegates are one third of the total delegates means that the party establishment has a virtual veto over most candidates. It can also be deduced that a candidate with 18% of the popular support could become the final candidate. If we compare the Democratic party to a party that chooses its delegates based on primary and caucus votes, a rank and file Democrat's primary vote is worth one third less. If anyone has a friend who is a Democrat, pointing this out to them might be doing them a favor since it is not information that is commonly known.

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