Bill Jones wrote:
Who decided how many regular delegates there would
be? Democrats should be incensed at how the vote of the people can be
so easily subverted. Hey, don't we all know that this is why
"superdelegates" exist to begin with? So sad....
Bill, I was curious myself-being a Libertarian and a Republican before
that, I had no clue about the Dems, so I did some reading. What I've
quoted below is from about.com..full link at end of article...
Who Are Super-Delegates?
Super-delegates (approximately 850 in 2008) include the following:
* Elected members of the Democratic National Committee (~450)
* Democratic Governors
* Democratic US Senators and US Representatives (including
non-voting delegates)
* Distinguished party leaders (current and former Presidents and
Vice Presidents; former Democratic leaders of the Senate and House;
former DNC chairmen)
* Unpledged "add-on's" chosen by the DNC
Rationale For Super-Delegates
The Democratic Party established this system in part in response to the
nomination of George McGovern in 1972. McGovern took only one state and
had only 37.5 percent of the popular vote. Then in 1976, Jimmy Carter
was a dark-horse candidate with little national experience.
Super-delegates were implemented in 1984.
Super-delegates are designed to act as a check on ideologically extreme
or inexperienced candidates. It also gives power to people who have a
vested interested in party policies: elected leaders. Because the
primary and caucus voters do not have to be active members of the party
(in New Hampshire they can sign up and sign out going-and-coming at the
polls), the super-delegate system has been called a safety-value.
Importance of Super-Delegates
The Democratic Party allocates delegates based on a state's Presidential
vote in the prior three elections and the number of electors. In
addition, states that hold their primaries or caucuses later in the
cycle receive bonus delegates.
It has been 30 years since the Democratic Party had a cliffhanger going
into the Convention. If there is no clear winner after state primaries
and caucuses, then the super-delegates -- who are bound only by their
consciences -- will decide the nominee.
Super-Delegates In 2004
In 2004, Vermont Governor Howard Dean had the longest list of
super-delegates of any candidate as the primary season kicked off in
Iowa. One of those was Rep. Tom Harkin (D-IA) who said: "In my entire
adult lifetime, I have never seen anyone broaden our party and bring
people in and excite young people... like Governor Howard Dean." Whether
it was his loss in Iowa or the "Dean Scream" broadcast over-and-over on
TV, he began losing super-delegates shortly after Iowa. Within two
weeks, he had lost 36 of his 132 super-delegates.
Super-Delegates In 2008
21 Jan 2008
In 2008, a candidate needs 2,025 votes to win the Democratic
presidential nomination. There are about 850 super-delegates.
Roll Call keeps a list of Congressional endorsements:
* Clinton - 80
* Obama - 47
* Edwards - 15
Stateline (pdf) is tracking gubernatorial endorsements:
* Clinton - 9
* Obama - 5
See this list at CNN and this one at Democratic Convention Watch.
The most public super-delegate endorsement so far this season was Sen.
John Kerry's endorsement of Obama in SC.