Time for the Party to settle this?

[GihrenZabi]

I was just reading on CNN.com the results of a recent poll of Democratic voters:

"The poll asked Obama voters if the presidential election were between Clinton and John McCain, whom would they vote for. In the poll, 16 percent said McCain and 16 percent said they don’t know. That’s 32 percent who refused to say flatly they would support Clinton – the other Democrat.

When Clinton supporters were asked whom they would support if the presidential race were between Obama and McCain, 26 percent said McCain and 18 percent said they don’t know. That’s 44 percent who refused to say flatly they would vote for Obama."

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/14/blitzer-dem-elders-starting-to-worry/


Here's what I don't understand - why isn't the DNC putting an end to this by rallying the superdelegates to make their stands now, instead of waiting?

I get what Dean has said in the past about "making sure each candidate is treated fairly," but is it UNfair for the superdelegates to publicly weigh in right now? We hear stories that most of the superdelegates are ready to endorse Obama but are afraid to do so on account of the (now very well outed) Clinton smear machine. Perhaps these are just stories.

If not, and they ARE keeping their mouths shut due to Clintonphobia...doesn't this say a lot about the cowardly nature of the Democratic Party which has abandoned their Progressive principles by running to the center for 20 years, been totally unwilling to fight back hard against the Republicans in the media, and who backed away from the hijacking of the President sElection of 2000 by the Republican-dominated Supreme Court?

I don't think I've ever been so disgusted with the DNC. Now is the time for the Party leadership to step in and end this. The splintering is only going to get worse, not better.

It is possible that Hillary Clinton can win the Party nomination...but highly improbable that she will do so without overturning an Obama lead in both pledged delegates and popular vote. That would be the most pyhrric of victories, as the resentment and disillusionment that would accompany such a move would surely mean the defeat of the Democrats in the GE.

Why do so many people wish to bury their heads in the sand to this essential truth? Hillary supporters: I can understand your passionate support for your candidate on an intellectual level, but which is more important to you: the Party's chances for success in the GE, or Hillary's chances of success in the Primary race, once-removed from the contest that REALLY matters?

Hillary supporters most likely do not understand what is at stake here...but surely the DNC does. Isn't it their JOB, their solemn PURPOSE as the leaders of the Democratic Party to be willing to make the hard decisions and step in at a time like this?

If they are waiting until after PA, I fail to see the point. We all can predict the results, something along the lines of a 50/50 split. Obama is winning now, and he will be winning after PA. The upcoming contests favor Obama, not Clinton - so while they may continue the sort of delegate splitting that's been taking place in the last round of contests, Clinton still is not going to surpass Obama in the hard numbers.

If the superdelegates chime in now, they could sway the vote in PA in one direction or the other, end this thing in 7 days, and allow the Democratic Party to build its GE war chest and begin dismantling McCain. McCain is rallying his troops as we speak while the Democrats are floundering in the mud with the wishful thinking that the Party will rally around their eventual nominee after MONTHS more of this infighting...and Democrats have more than proven that they are not so good at falling into lock step with the Party the way their Republican opponents do.


Isn't now the time for Dean and the DNC to rally the superdelegates to make their voices heard, regardless of which candidate they support, to take the chance that a clear winner will emerge and this civil war within the Party will end?

Yes, there would be a risk to such a move - if the superdelegates prove to be as fractious as the Democratic voters then the splintering could be exacerbated...but honestly, if the superdelegates aren't ready to overwhelmingly support one candidate over the other, the GE is already lost...and the superdelegates should be politically-savvy enough to see the way the wind is blowing.

[mrJJ]

1. Its The Dem "Grand Poo Bahs"

The so called Dem Super-Delegates or "Grand Pooh Bahs" could care less what is happening to their party. The writting is on the wall. They will allow McCain to get a free pass until they feel its "safe" to take their heads out of the sand and cast their vote.

[GihrenZabi]

2. I fear you're right

Perhaps it is time to strip the superdelegates of their status, then, and either find some new ones or eliminate the system altogether.

Now is the time for them to do what they are supposed to do and they're too cowardly to step up to the plate.