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| Superdelegates Feel the Luv |
| 2008-05-03 |
| Pressure is mounting on the 67 Democratic superdelegates from the District, Maryland and Virginia to choose between Obama and Clinton in the most heated presidential nomination fight in a generation. With neither Clinton nor Obama likely to win enough pledged delegates to secure the nomination, the 793 superdelegates nationwide will have the final say on who will face Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive GOP nominee. "This is the most stressful thing I've been through in my whole life," said Virginia Del. Jennifer L. McClellan (D-Richmond), a superdelegate who endorsed Clinton last year but is now wavering. "It was never supposed to be like this." Early last month, the leaders of 40 county and city Democratic committees in Virginia upped the ante by strongly urging the state's superdelegates to "act now" in throwing their support behind Obama, who the party officials said is more likely than Clinton to win the state in the fall. "It is not like it was even close in this state," said Fairfax County Democratic Committee Chairman Scott A. Surovell, one of the organizers of the effort. The petition drive in Virginia offended several superdelegates committed to Clinton, who said they are supposed to base their decision on who would be a stronger nominee against McCain. "There is something to be said about taking a look at what happened in Pennsylvania and why Barack Obama couldn't close the deal," said Susan Swecker, a Democratic National Committee member from Richmond who supports Clinton. Swecker said, however, that she is surprised that the public is so engaged. Last week, the owner of a landfill chased her down when she was dropping off recyclables to ask her to vote for Obama. Rep. Rick Boucher (D), an Obama supporter, is also getting heat from Clinton supporters in his district in rural southwestern Virginia, where Obama failed to get 15 percent of the vote in several counties. Boucher said that if superdelegates "were simply expected to cast their vote in accordance with the primary results, in the state they represent or the district they represent, there would really be no need for superdelegates." The pressure being put on African American superdelegates who support Clinton, such as McClellan and Spruill, appears to be having an effect. Raymond H. Boone, editor and publisher of the Richmond Free Press, the city's African American newspaper, said McClellan and Spruill "are opening the door to trouble" in their next election if they do not support Obama. "I think there is going to be heavy retaliation against both of them," said Boone, whose newspaper endorsed Obama. In the District, Thomas (Ward 5) switched from Clinton to Obama after he was inundated with e-mails and phone calls from constituents who said he should cast his vote in Denver for the candidate who won the D.C. primary. "I knew it was a hot topic, but I didn't know how hot it would be," he said, adding that the attention interfered with his business as a council member. "I have murders in my ward. . . . I wanted to get all of the speculation out of it." Mame Reiley, a Virginia superdelegate who supports Clinton, said Obama supporters should not be too aggressive in trying to woo superdelegates. "Obama is going to need every single one of these Hillary people if he is to have a chance to win the general election, and vice versa," said Reiley, former chairman of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #3 So...they have elections and count delegates and then they hand he whole process over to the superdelegates (AKA the Democratic Party Politburo Commissariat) for the final choice. Real democratic! |
| Posted by: WTF 2008-05-03 15:31 |
| #2 African American newspaper, said McClellan and Spruill "are opening the door to trouble" in their next election if they do not support Obama hummm, threats are good... In the District, Thomas (Ward 5) switched from Clinton to Obama after he was inundated with e-mails and phone calls from constituents who said he should cast his vote in Denver for the candidate who won the D.C. primary. squeaky wheel syndrome I'm loving this downward spiral of Clinton and BO. |
| Posted by: Jan 2008-05-03 13:32 |
| #1 You want to be the last undeclared delegate, last undeclared delegate + 1 doesn't get the sewer money. |
| Posted by: George Smiley 2008-05-03 09:13 |