Superdelegate Coup

by Kent Ninomiya

Hillary Clinton's 10 point victory in Pennsylvania extends an already epic political battle with Barack Obama. Just when you think Hillary is down for the count... she gets back up. Prior to Pennsylvania Clinton pulled out "must wins" in Ohio and New Hampshire. In each instance the experts declared her finished if she didn't win. Everyone expected Clinton to win Pennsylvania. The demographics favor her and she went in with a 31 point lead. By the time the votes were cast she won by 10. Any less and Clinton's victory would have been seen as a defeat. A close loss by Obama would be seen as evidence that Clinton's momentum was gone. As it turns out she has just enough to muscle through another primary and keep the race going. There's little doubt now that this will come down to which candidate can convince the superdelagates to crown them the nominee.

This is NOT how we should be electing a president. It essentially gives each superdelegate the power of thousands of voters. That's not democracy. What could end up happening is a candidate who loses the delegate count and popular vote could be awarded the nomination anyway. The United States has a long history of "liberating" countries with the justification of giving their people "democracy." How then do we justify party leaders deciding who might be our next president?

Remember the 2000 presidential election? Remember hanging chads in Florida? George Bush was awarded the presidency by the Supreme Court and Florida election officials. Thanks to them Bush won the electoral vote despite losing the popular vote. The mess left a lot of Americans angry with the process and screaming "fix!" Keep in mind that the electoral college is mandated by the constitution. It is backed up by history and law. Superdelegates date back to 1984 and exist at the whim of democratic party leaders. Imagine how upset voters will be if their will is ignored by superdelegates. It's the equivalent of a coup by party leaders.

It's any one's guess how this will all turn out. Maybe the superdelates will get it right. Maybe they wont. The only thing certain is that a lot of people will be unhappy with what happens. Before the United States goes around telling other countries how to pick their leaders, maybe we should figure it out ourselves.

*** Kent Ninomiya ***