Patterico's Pontifications

2/6/2008

Democrat Nominee to Be Hand-Picked by Party Elites

Filed under: 2008 Election,General — Patterico @ 7:04 am



In my view, the most important election news from yesterday was reported long before the polls closed: the Democrat nomination is going to be resolved by “superdelegates” (members of the party elite) and not voters. Allahpundit explains:

2,025 delegates [are] needed to clinch, but the Messiah’s made such a contest of it that realistically neither [Obama nor Clinton] can win enough pledged delegates (i.e. delegates you earn by picking up districts and winning the state popular vote) to do it. Which means it falls to the 796 unpledged “super” delegates — the party elite, many of whom are accountable to no one — to decide.

(My emphasis.)

After yesterday’s results, nothing has changed. Democrat elites will be picking the nominee. As Allah says: “Say it with me: Selected, not elected.”

Let’s see how long it takes our friends in the Dinosaur Media to catch on to this disturbing reality. I don’t see any mention of it in today’s L.A. Times story on the current state of the Democrat race.

31 Responses to “Democrat Nominee to Be Hand-Picked by Party Elites”

  1. For Democrats, this is a good thing as the super delegates will decide who is the better candidate. Hillary has the funding rolodex but Obama is the better general election candidate. The question will be which is more important. I’m sure McCain is pulling for them to choose Hillary.

    Mike K (86bddb)

  2. Here I am thinking how bad off the GOP is all the while the Democrat Party is really in deep doo-doo.

    There’s no way out of this mess, if Hillary wins the Obama people will riot on the streets and if she loses her lifelong career Democrats will riot in Congress.

    Lets hope McCain isn’t dumb enough to offer Huckabee or Lieberman the VP slot. If he picks a great VP to rally around I’d get on board his Strange Bus.

    syn (95c574)

  3. “Selected, not elected” only applies to Republicans.

    The spin will be, “Hillary! elected by a grand coalition of grassroots activists and party leaders.”

    Don’t you think she’s already planning her inauguration?

    steve miller (ac77f8)

  4. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/02/road_ahead_tough_for_clinton.html

    has an interesting analysis. pressure may come from within the Democratic party for her to leave if things go as described. Could have an effect on what the superdelegates do or whom they choose.

    voiceofreason2 (10af7e)

  5. Chicago 1968.

    nk (4ebdf4)

  6. Politico has an interesting story on this:

    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8353.html

    JayHub (0a6237)

  7. Bill Clinton has some $200 million in his library’s slush fund to help super delegates make up their mind. Bill can also secretly tap millions more in foreign donations so their “voices” can be heard.

    Perfect Sense (b6ec8c)

  8. If he picks a great VP to rally around I’d get on board his Strange Bus.

    McCain/Jindal ’08

    I’m in. McCain will be 72 next year. I think the actuaries will be betting against him. No way he does two terms with his temper.

    Actual (a1f9b0)

  9. Democrats: I’m assuming the Clintons have a super “superdelegate” advantage because they have long ties with most of the old party politicos and probably have dirt on each one of them.

    Republicans: What’s happening in the Republican delegate system? Can somebody explain it? Republicans also have “unpledged” delegates. The unpledged delgates come from party delegates and from the states in a way I don’t understand.

    Anyway, you need 1,191 to be nominated. After Super Tuesday, there are still 1008 delegates to be selected, and McCain needs more than half of those, and only 99 of those are in winner take all states. Here’s the list:

    9-Feb Louisiana 47
    9-Feb Washington 40
    9-Feb Kansas 39
    12-Feb Virginia 63 Winner Take All
    12-Feb Maryland 37
    12-Feb D.C. 19 Winner Take All 19-Feb Wisconsin 40
    4-Mar Texas 140
    4-Mar Ohio 88
    4-Mar Rhode Island 20
    4-Mar Vermont 17 Winner Take All
    10-Mar Mississippi 39
    22-Apr Pennsylvania 74
    6-May North Carolina 69
    6-May Indiana 57
    13-May Nebraska 33
    16-May Hawaii 20
    20-May Kentucky 45
    20-May Oregon 30
    27-May Idaho 32
    3-Jun New Mexico 32
    3-Jun South Dakota 27
    TOTAL 1008

    The catch phrase is always, “Democrats fall in love and Repbulicans fall in line.” But I think this year, so far, the Republicans are refusing to fall in line. So, if everybody stays in the race, couldn’t we go to a brokered convention on the Republican side too, with all these “unpledged” delegates making the difference?

    JayHub (0a6237)

  10. THE SF Chronicle mentioned the issue. I’d say it’s premature to worry that superdelegates will reverse the decision of the elected delegates, but I guess Repubs need something to buoy their spirits after last night.

    Andrew J. Lazarus (7d46f9)

  11. McCain/Jindal ‘08

    Jindal’s time is yet to come. He needs to spend some time at the helm of LA and he’ll be a formidable candidate on the national stage in years to come.

    If it must be McCain, then let it be McCain/Steele. Especially if it’s Hillary on the donkey side.

    Pablo (99243e)

  12. As to McCain/ Jindal, I’d love it but agree with the comment that Jindal is actually TOO young, too new and will benefit tremendously (as will LA) with a term or two of state office.

    McCain/ DeMint? DeMint is an actual conservative, one who endorsed Romney.

    Mitch (890cbf)

  13. I heard a radio commentator mention McCain/Kay Bailey Hutchison, which would drive me even crazier than I already am. But my biggest fear is McCain/Huckabee.

    DRJ (8b9d41)

  14. I don’t get it. Dems have always been emotion-driven lemmings led around by the nose by their elites. How is this different?

    McCain/Huck vs. Hillary/Obama. I can’t imagine a worst choice.

    Peg C. (836973)

  15. I have never seen such an opportunity for a 3rd party in the US as exists today and brokered conventions will only add to that.

    Petraeus/Jindal, for ex, would run the table, as would any number of other combn’s.

    [Jindal has more exec experience by far than Obama, so how come Jindal needs more and Obama gets a pass? Just askin’]

    ras (fc54bb)

  16. Petraeus/Jindal, for ex, would run the table, as would any number of other combn’s.

    If the electorate was primarily composed of crazed ideologues, this would be true. Fortunately, it isn’t.

    Vergil (444e9b)

  17. Ras,

    I suspect the reason for Obama’s getting a pass involve the (D) in his resume. I hope it’s not a race thing.

    Speaking of Obama’s getting a pass: I saw a clip from Hannity & Colmes in which Sean asked Frank Luntz, the focus-group guru, to ask his group of self-described Obama voters to name one specific thing Obama has accomplished. None of them (about 15) could do so.

    Mitch (890cbf)

  18. If the level of animosity remains where it is between the Clinton and Obama camps, and Clinton manages to squeeze out the nomination via basic Clintonian attack politics, 2008 might be 1968 all over again for the Demos with the young, idealistic, and minority wings of the party feeling like they’ve been steamrolled by the party establishment.

    If Hillary wins the nomination as the result of backroom deals between the Dem. members of Congress — all of whom are “Super-delegates” I believe — as well as Dem. leaders in state legislatures (again I think they make up a share of the Super-delegates), any hope for unity coming out of the convention will be lost.

    Such a fiasco will turn-off independents who might feel they have a perfectly fine alternative in McCain.

    The trick for McCain will then be to turnout the base of the GOP.

    If it means a chance to beat Clinton I think he’ll be able to do it.

    If he picks a conservative running mate who can be seen by the party as the heir apparent to McCain — thereby returning the leadership of the party back to the conservatives after a McCain presidency — I think the conservatives will come around.

    WLS (68fd1f)

  19. I hope McCain will follow the advice in your last paragraph but it doesn’t sound like something he would do.

    DRJ (517d26)

  20. Vergil,

    You came into the wrong room: the narcissism support group is next door and they’re waiting for you.

    /empirical observation

    Mitch,

    Agreed that Obama is mostly about identity politics, but also his personality plays a large role: his manner is less strident and more comfortable and adult-like than any other major candidate still in the race for either party.

    Fred Thompson could match it, but Fred’s out now. McCain snipes, Hilary’s cold, Romney looks unwilling to open up, Huckabee sells pieces of the true cross.

    ras (fc54bb)

  21. ras,

    My mistake – I thought this room held the Bobby Jindal Fan Club for Crazies. Since you’re the President and sole member and are hanging out here, you can see how I reached that conclusion.

    Vergil (444e9b)

  22. …I guess Repubs need something to buoy their spirits after last night.

    For me it was quite enough to see Obama stay even with Hillary. The Prog Super Delegates just might have to face the choice of either squashing The Blackman or nominating The Vacuous.

    Not to mention the somewhat similar impending Prog problem of seating delegates from Fla. and Mich., which the MSM has also not caught onto very quickly. On MSNBC, Bob Beckel actually looked and acted rather depressed by the situation – already even blaming himself – especially including the specter of a Hillary/P-Obama/VP ticket. And that was before the tuesday vote.

    Smiting the Progressive, imminent threat to America and individual free thought is my priority. If the Progs look like they will assist my vote against them, so much the better.

    J. Peden (88f155)

  23. The troll confirms both the original diagnosis AND the candidates that the Lefties most fear. See guys, it’s all in how you use your trolls; they’re just tools.

    ras (fc54bb)

  24. Before any super-delegate vote, the behind-the-scene pressure on Obama to drop out as part of a deal with the Clintons will be intense (the Obama people can try to do the same thing, but realistically it only works if they’re willing to play the race car against Bill and Hillary, and they would be a killer if he hoped to beat McCain in the November election).

    The argument will be that Obama is young enough to still try again in 2016, and that he can sit in waiting until then. The dreamers in the party or and the Clinton team would probably want a unity ticket of Hillary and Obama, though if I’m Barak I’m crazy to take that, no matter how many promises are made about a high-profile role in the administration, because any vice-presidential duties not specifically mandated by the constitution will be filled by Bill, not Obama, who would be sent out for public appearances only before the proper (i.e. African-American) audiences. Bill will end up doing all the other heavy lifting that has been part of the job for Cheney, Gore and GHWB over the past generation; a vice-president Obama will get as much love as LBJ got from JFK or what Johnson provided to Humphrey.

    It’s a pretty moldy carrot to be put out before Obama, and the Clintons no doubt will also have a stick waiting to coerce him into avoiding an open fight with Hillary for the super delegates. We’ll just have to see if he and his supporters are strong enough not to buckle under the pressure.

    John (34537e)

  25. Re the question of whether Obama would accept a VP nod if offered by Clinton, I have a two word response: Al Gore.

    Remember, he’s an Obama supporter. His political career and path to the Presidence were wrecked by the Clintons.

    And, I just don’t see the Clintons offering the slot to Obama given the number of former Clinton supporters that have lined up and endorsed him. In the Clintonian world they are traitors. By bringing Obama into the fold via a VP slot, they would be suggesting to all those former supporters that there is no price to pay.

    I think the hubris of the Clinton camp will be that if they can beat Obama, beating McCain will be no problem — i.e., they don’t need Obama on the ticket. The ticket will be, in effect, Clinton/Clinton, with some other guy’s name appended to it because that’s what the rules require.

    Obama should go back to the Senate, finish his term and run again, then prepare himself for his real run for the Presidency in 2016.

    I wonder if I can get a future’s book bet on him to win in 2016?

    WLS (68fd1f)

  26. I like the Michael Steele option, regardless of the Democrat nominee

    Horatio (7d8b39)

  27. For Democrats, this is a good thing as the super delegates will decide who is the better candidate.

    Yeah – hoo-ray, Head Starters, let’s all sing the Idiot Wind song:

    Now everything’s a little upside down
    As a matter of fact the wheels have stopped
    What’s good is bad, what’s bad is good
    You find out when you reach the top
    You’re on the bottommmmmm…

    Ah, Progressivism at its finest!

    J. Peden (88f155)

  28. ras,

    [Jindal has more exec experience by far than Obama, so how come Jindal needs more and Obama gets a pass? Just askin’]

    Jindal has just now taken his seat as LA governor. It would be bad form to leave now, and staying there gives him plenty of opportunity to establish his executive bona fides for future races in his own right. He’s got a long career ahead of him and it wouldn’t do him any good to jump onto McCain’s coattails at this point. It’s in his own interest to stay where he is.

    WLS,

    And, I just don’t see the Clintons offering the slot to Obama given the number of former Clinton supporters that have lined up and endorsed him. In the Clintonian world they are traitors. By bringing Obama into the fold via a VP slot, they would be suggesting to all those former supporters that there is no price to pay.

    There’s also the fact that Obama outshines Hillary, and the last thing she wants is to have her cult of personality diluted by another man. And then there’s this.

    Pablo (99243e)

  29. The Democratic race is certainly getting interesting.

    DRJ (517d26)

  30. This past weekend, I had the “opportunity” to watch two rallies on TV. One was a rally in East LA for Hillary Clinton. What was so striking about this one was that on the stage with her was virtually every rotten politician that has run California into the mud in recent years. There was LA Mayor, Tony Villaraigosa (her national campaign co-chair) fresh off his revealed love affair with Telemundo reporter, Mirthala Salinas. There was State Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, under a very dark cloud for his extravagant travels around the world on various boondoggles. There was Maxine Waters, Congresswoman from the LA area and one of the more obnoxious members of Congress. Left-wing activist Ron Dellums, former congressman and now mayor of Oakland, presiding over one of the nation’s worst murder rates was there as well. State political hack Gloria Molina was there-even drawing some well-deserved boos when her name was mentioned. Worst of all, ex-governor Gray Davis was there. This was the guy who was recalled by voters a few years back after he nearly bankrupted the state with his liberal, out of control spending. (Of course, now Governor Schwarzenegger is carrying on the grand tradition.)

    Then there was Hillary, who gave a long “stemwinder” promising everything from free government cheese to a cure for restless leg syndrome. She was at her oratorical worst, loud and shrill-but the crowd loved it.

    Meanwhile, back in Boston, Teddy Kennedy, “fresh” from his trip to the West Coast, presided over a campaign rally for Barack Obama. His speech began at 11pm (and you know what that means.) Yes, Teddy was pretty much feeling no pain as he rambled on about his trip out west. What was really cool was how he kept referring to Obama as Deval Patrick (the African-American governor of Massachusetts), who was also on stage. I counted at least 3 times Kennedy used Patrick’s name in referring to Obama. In the crowd behind Kennedy were 3 or 4 black guys who cracked up every time he did that. At least he didn’t call him Osama bin Laden.

    In the case of the LA rally, one would have thought that any sensible voter would have taken one look at the rogue’s gallery on stage with Clinton and gone straight out to vote for Obama. Not a chance. Hillary carried California comfortably, which pretty much shows you in whose hands this state lies.

    In the case of Massachusetts, the endorsements of Kennedy, Patrick and John Kerry were not enough to give the state to Obama. But hey, when you have a drunk leading your pep rally, you can’t expect great results.

    posted by Gary Fouse @
    fousesquawk

    fouse, gary c (d1488b)

  31. Who will they select DARTH SIDIOUS or DARTH VADER?

    krazy kagu (2768c2)


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