If You're NOT A Dem Party Member, Stop Complaining About Delegates

Please tell me you didn't think that nominating a presidential candidate was as random a process as just waiting for people to vote for a nominee.

Or that candidates just hoped for the best in the areas of fundraising, party member endorsements, and voter turnout.

Frankly, I have to scratch my head when people who should know better, namely David Sirota, start proposing "short-term solutions to the potential super-delegate problem."

And what's with that Nazi parallel title, Sirota?

Creepy. Anyway...

Don't like the 2008 Democratic National Convention delegate selection process?

Too bad.

The rules were adopted last year.

By people who actually belong to the party.

Yep, card-carrying members.

So stop whining.

Join the party and do something about it, but stop complaining today. Your chance to affect this year's delegate roster came and went last year... last summer; in fact:

What are the types of delegates? How are they selected?

Pledged delegates differ from unpledged delegates in that they must openly commit to a candidate before the vote and are subject to review by that candidate. Unpledged delegates are sometimes referred to as "superdelegates." (Except for the ones who have already publicly committed support for particular candidates, that is.)

District-level delegates - These make up roughly half of delegates, and must file a statement of candidacy designating the presidential or uncommitted preference and a signed pledge of support for the presidential candidate the person favors, if any, with the state party by a date the state party specifies. They must run for election in the district they are registered to vote, and are subject to review by the candidate they support.

At-large delegates - Must also file a statement of candidacy designating the presidential or uncommitted preference and a signed pledge of support for the presidential candidate the person favors, if any, with the state party by a date the state party specifies. The state party determines how these delegates are selected, but they are often selected by the district-level delegates.

Party Leaders and Elected Official (PLEO) delegates - DNC Members, Democratic House and Senate members, Democratic governors, and former Democratic Party leaders are automatically confirmed to the state parties. In addition, these positions are considered according to the following priority: big city mayors and state-wide elected officials, state legislative leaders, state legislators, and other state, county and local elected officials and party leaders. These delegates can be chosen by a state convention, the State Party Committee, or by a committee consisting of a quorum of district-level delegates. There are both pledged and unpledged PLEO delegates.

Add-on delegates - May be selected by either the same selecting body that selects the state's PLEO delegates or by the same selecting body which will select the state's "at-large" delegates. They can be selected whether or not they previously filed a statement of candidacy for a delegate position or submitted a pledge of support for a presidential candidate. There are both pledged and unpledged add-on delegates.

Still don't like the rules?

Get up off the couch and

Join the party.

One last question: Where did you think super-delegates came from?

The cabbage patch?

Once upon a time, today's super-delegates joined the party at the local level, participated in the party's process, and rose in rank to their current party status...

Either by running for office, raising funds for the party's candidates and issues, or by furthering the mission of the party in other ways.

Even if their names were Kennedy, Johnson, Roosevelt, Clinton or Obama.

Yes, Virginia, the very process you're now whining about is the same process that propelled Obama to his current Democratic Party status.

Irony must be on the breakfast menu this morning.



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.