This Just In

A one-stop guide to RI’s delegates and superdelegates

Democracy?

By MATT JERZYK | February 27, 2008

If you thought Al Gore got screwed in 2000, or if you think the Electoral College is just another Ivy League school not worth applying to, get a load of how the Democratic Party selects its presidential nominee — and how Rhode Island fits into this process.

Here’s how the system works: 4050 delegates at the Democratic Convention in Denver will select a nominee for president. Of these, 3250 are elected delegates who are chosen through the state-by-state primaries or caucuses. In addition, 800 superdelegates have a vote at the convention.

Superdelegates are quintessential Democratic insiders: governors, senators, representatives, and party officials. Thus, after 37 contests, while Obama currently holds a 1180–1026 elected delegate lead over Clinton, according to The Associated Press, Clinton retains a 239-176 superdelegate lead over Obama.

The power of superdelegates to “anoint” a nominee has raised the ire of party activists. The advocacy group MoveOn.org recently published a full-page ad in USA Today, urging the superdelegates to postpone their endorsements and to allow the elected delegates to determine the winner. More dramatically, Donna Brazile, Al Gore’s former campaign manager, has threatened to resign from the Democratic National Committee if the superdelegates contradict the choice of the elected delegates.

How does this process play out in Rhode Island? A 50-page delegate selection plan available at the RI Democratic Party Web site provides a road-map.

Rhode Island will send 33 delegates to the Democratic Convention: 21 elected delegates, 11 superdelegates, and one delegate chosen at the June state convention. Rhode Island voters will select 13 of the 21 elected delegates in Tuesday’s presidential primary. Six will be elected from Congressional District 1 and seven from Congressional District 2.

These delegates will be proportionately allocated, depending on the popular vote in each district, to Obama or Clinton. For example, if a candidate gets 60 percent of the vote in District 1, that candidate gets four of the six delegates (meaning, the top four vote-getting delegates for that candidate in that district).

Similarly, the remaining eight elected delegates must be proportionately allocated to Clinton or Obama, depending on their performance in each Congressional District. These remaining slots are open to RI Democratic Party members who apply and who are accepted by the party leadership, although preference is given to women and people of color.

Of the 11 superdelegates, Clinton currently has eight, and Obama two, and there remains one uncommitted vote.

Here is a list of the superdelegates, their titles, and who they currently support: Bill Lynch, RI Democratic Party Chair (Clinton); State Representative Grace Diaz, RI Democratic Party Vice-Chair (Clinton); Frank Montanaro, RI Democratic National Committeeman (Clinton); Edna O’Neill Mattson, RI Democratic National Committeewoman (Clinton); Mark Weiner, DNC Member, (Clinton); US Senator Jack Reed (Uncommitted); US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (Clinton); US Representative Patrick Kennedy (Obama); US Representative Jim Langevin (Clinton); Attorney General Patrick Lynch, Democratic AG Association (Obama); Providence Mayor David Cicilline, Democratic Mayors Association (Clinton).

Thus, due to Clinton’s strong support among Rhode Island superdelegates, even if Obama wins an upset victory in Rhode Island on Tuesday, a greater number of Rhode Island delegates will be committed to Clinton.

The prospect of such a result and the ongoing controversy surrounding the role of superdelegates have led many party activists to question why the “Democratic” Party has such convoluted and possibly “undemocratic” procedures for selecting its presidential nominee.

Those activists would be wise to follow their own implied advice about the best way to change democracy and its institutions: get involved!

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Topics: This Just In , Barack Obama , Politics , U.S. Politics , More

Comments

A one-stop guide to RI’s delegates and superdelegates

Standing by A Friend: Incase you missed it........................ During the Feb 19th debates in Ohio Senator Obama who also serves as Chair of the subcommittee that has oversight over NATO admitted he has not held one single substantive hearing to figure out what the U.S can do to have a stronger presence with Nato in Afghanistan. Obama admitted it was true stating it was because his responsibilities as chair began at the same time he started running for President. So while hundreds of thousand of our young men and women are at great risk and being killed in Afghanistan Obama’s admission that he was too busy running for president clearly proves he is not only not ready to be president, but someone should be questioning his ability to be an effective senator as well. The day after Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee noted that Senator Clinton has introduced more legislation to address the problems facing wounded service members than any other Senator, including The Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act (accomplished while running her presidential race). Kennedy got it wrong or failed to do his homework when he endorsed Obama in Rhode Island for having better judgement. As Cher said on YouTube....for me it's a no brainer... it's Hillary!

By Another voice on 03/02/2008 at 11:39:54

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