Tuesday, April 05, 2016

Democracy Now!

Because whoever said revolutions were democratic, amirite?

Here's the thing about delegates to a political convention:  they aren't representatives of the voters who voted in the primaries and caucuses.  They are pledged to a candidate through the first ballot and, after that, they can vote for Mortimer Snerd if they want to.  So the most "undemocratic" thing any candidate can do, is to wish for a brokered, er, contested....no, I'm sorry, the newly preferred adjective is "open"....convention.

The campaign manager for Sen. Sanders (I-VT) argued in a Tuesday interview on CNN’s “New Day” that there was a path for his candidate to secure the Democratic nomination during the party’s July convention in Philadelphia.

"I think what this campaign is looking for and what the senator is looking for is going into the convention and coming out with the nomination," Jeff Weaver told host Chris Cuomo.

“When we arrive at the convention, it will be an open convention, likely with neither candidate having a majority of pledged delegates," Weaver added.
I'm old enough to remember when Democratic super delegates were the great evil and scourge of the party because they are not elected by any voters to serve as delegates, and therefore are "undemocratic."  But apparently ignoring the will of the majority of the voters (because, according to some Sanders supporters, the primaries are "front-loaded" with "conservative" states, which is somehow a conspiracy against The Berne) who have voted, and finally all the voters who are going to vote, we should go into an "open" (sounds so much less GOP than "brokered," which is what THEY are going have!) convention and elect Bernie because democracy works best when the fewest people get to make the decision.

And the fewest people, in this case, would be the delegates.

I do understand them's the rules, and that's how the game is played, and what's sauce for the GOP goose may well be sauce for the Democratic gander, too.  But to decry the process so far, including the pledging of "super delegates" to one candidate or the other, as "undemocratic," and then to tell Stephen Colbert:

“We have won six of the last seven caucuses, most of them by landslide victories,” Sanders reminded Colbert. “And I think superdelegates should listen to the will of their people.”

“I think what we need in the Democratic Party is some democracy,” he continued. “I would hope that superdelegates take a look at who the strongest Democratic candidate is. And, you know what, that’s me.”
Well, clearly democracy works when the "right" person wins, no?  Because if the super delegates don't choose to feel the Berne, and the delegates don't vote to feel the Berne after the first ballot, then clearly the Democratic party is lacking in democracy.

Although how a bunch of non-representative people in a large building are the model for democracy is one I haven't had explained to me yet.....

3 comments:

  1. Does the Sanders' camp know that some of the super delegates are elected officials, members of Congress and governors? That's at least somewhat democratic. Also, some of the pledged and super delegates are running for reelection in local offices. Clinton raises money and campaigns for them, and Sanders does not. Why would they switch? Sanders is for Sanders and his millions who will rise up. When he has more votes and more pledged delegates than Clinton, he can ask again. Till then it's rainbows and unicorns.

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  2. As this goes on my respect for Bernie Sanders has taken a nose dive. And especially for the celebrities and others who are Bernie or Busters.

    After Wisconsin I'm expecting it will get worse. I will point out that the left in Wisconsin can't even win against one of the worst governors in the country (as I pointed out about Maine a few weeks back) so their cumulative choices in politics don't seem to be so good these days. I'd be a lot more impressed with their judgement if they didn't have Walker as Governor. Some of those very same people who are giddy over Sanders' taking the majority of the vote are also saying they couldn't even avoid the installation of a truly horrific Supreme Court member - it always being such a great idea to have your courts directly involved in partisan politics.

    I'm never going to feel the same way about Bernie Sanders or the left that forms the cultish part of his support. I'm still hoping they are a small minority of that. I never could forgive Ralph Nader after 2000. I'd voted for him in 1996, as I knew there was no way Dole would win the election, as a protest vote. I don't do protest votes anymore, votes are a dangerous and irresponsible means of sending that message.

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  3. Good point about Maine and Wisconsin with two of the worst governors in the country.

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