If you partake in the American political system by voting for your favorite candidate then you should be commended…..but if you look beyond the thrill of participation then you will see that the voter is not really needed at all.
About now some will think that I have flipped my ever-loving mind, right?
If you are a Dem voter then there are delegates called the “superdelegates” these are people that are pledged to one candidate or another….the problem is this election most of these pledged themselves to Clinton before she had any opposition and they are staying there….
The number is large enough that voters are not needed after a certain point in the primaries….but check out what I am going on about……
Every election cycle, family members call to ask how they should vote on propositions and for which candidates. Our readers frequently ask the LA Progressive to prepare a “progressive slate.” They know we work hard to stay on top of issues while also keeping tabs on the positions candidates have taken. That requires a lot of effort but staying informed is essential for democracy to work. Thomas Jefferson said, “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.”
We agree. We like freedom. So using our energy to educate ourselves and others seemed like a worthwhile expenditure of time and money.
Well, turns out, that expended energy may have all been for naught. In other words, keeping tabs on the goings on in the political sphere could have been a big waste of time, especially in light of the transcripts uncovered by Branko Marcetic, an investigative journalist from In These Times. Marcetic has uncovered documents that reveal the true reason that the Democratic Party instituted the superdelegate system. It appears that the intention, all along, was to take power away from “the people” and put it into the hands of a concentrated few.
Source: With Superdelegates, Who Needs Voters? – LA Progressive
This is NOT a democratic way to pick a nominee……it is what is always being done…..the system is gamed in favor of a certain candidate……
Time for this stupid practice to end….let the voter decide who the nominee should be….PERIOD!
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I’m somewhat torn on this.
1) Super-Delegates Within the context of the current Primary system, I have no problem with the concept of giving party VIPs Delegate Status. While it’s an incredibly lame “reason”, Super-Delegates actually give the media recognizable faces to stick a microphone in front at the conventions…where absolutely NOTHING has been decided in over 30 years. That’s the REAL problem with conventions, nothing happens at them anymore. This is why everyone is so desperate to fill airtime.
The creation of Super-Delegates was essentially a statement by the party that nothing of ANY value would ever happen at a convention again. But the entire purpose of a convention-based system is that things ultimately get decided there after party members have get their say. (aka Representative Democracy) Unfortunately, the Party Establishment wants the opposite. They don’t want democracy. They want a group hug around their corporation’s new product and the marketing strategy for that product. And that move has completely irradiated the point of a convention based system.
But that’s only within the context of the current Primary System which, while occasionally entertaining, sucks. It’s FAR too heavily “front loaded” and leaves the vast majority of voters voting looooong after its all been decided. As the rare instance when there is an actual race, 2016 demonstrates how easily the Establishment can predetermine the winner, even before the 1st vote is taken.
I’d give Super-Delegates a vote, but merely be as reward for getting elected. In my books, only sitting members of Congress, sitting Governors and sitting/past Presidents/VPs would get this status. All these DNC/state level Super-Delegates can go fuck a duck! If they want to be a Delegate, they can damn well get in line with the rest and hope voters “allocate” them with their votes. (They -& their selection process- are the biggest problem with Super-Delegates.) And under NO circumstance would Super-Delegates make up 5% of the Delegates, never mind 15-20% as they do now. Ideally, they should total about the same as Guam, the Dominican Republic, Washington DC and the other US colonies 2nd-3rd-4th class citizenship.
Seeing as the official excuse for their existence is to appear at the convention, Super-Delegates should be forbidden from undercutting their function by making public declarations before the convention. They are “Un-pledged Delegates” after all, not Deck Stackers. This way, some mystery/suspense may remain. This year, not knowing how Super-Delegates are voting would have ensured EVERY party member and EVERY likely voter would turn into their convention. Even though it’s a rare close one, Super-Delegates stacked the deck months before the 1st vote, so who knows if anyone will watch? The worst possible thing the Democrats could do in 2016 was have a boring convention run opposite Trump. Even a bench clearing brawl would be better.
2) Alternatives Direct election is a good idea. The problem however, is that just can’t happen. The Democratic Party is a private club, one of 2 that have a monopoly on American “Democracy”. While it’s all a Jedi Mind Trick, I’m surprised they allow non-members as much say as they do. Then again, it’s all part of their marketing strategy to attract members and we all buy into it every time.
Ultimately, they only way to inject democracy into US “democracy” is to undercut the 2 party monopoly and better utilize the the Presidential ballot itself. That’s the only place where voters actually have democratic rights. (feeble as they are).
Give enough money to the DNC and you too can be a delegate…I want see ij Bernie gives in pressure fir unity….
I could be a Delegate? That would rock! Maybe I could flash my Super-Delegate badge & get lucky with Cher.
If Bernie ever wants to consolidate his success and take-over/re-orientate the party in the future, he doesn’t have any choice but to “play nice”, certainly after the convention. Anybody seen as dividing the Party and costing them an election, (an election there’s NO way in hell they should have lost)…well, that person will be persona-non-grate. If that happens, Bernie just wasted his time….and the grumpy old man just doesn’t have much time left to waste.
That said, he doesn’t have to “roll over” until after the convention process is finished & produces…the sucky shit they’ll eventually force feed everyone.
His followers will be interesting to watch at the convention.