The DNC’s dirty little secret is that party officials, ex-Presidents, governors, congressmen, even retired congressmen, get to cast SUPER votes. There are 796 superdelegate votes, and by the DNC's system, each of their votes is worth 3500 times the value of your vote.
Why did the DNC develop this system? To silence the anti-war youth vote. Does this sound familiar? In the 60s, corrupt party boss, Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago, needed a system to put pro-Vietnam war candidate Hubert Humphrey into office. The only system available to him at the time was tear gas and police in riot gear. Now, we have a superdelegate system that would allow Daley and his cronies to cast ballots that would outweigh the youth vote.
Because of these superdelegates, Hillary's 50 vote loss is actually converted into a 15 delegate lead. Her own husband's vote single handedly reverses Obama's win in Iowa.
This is the way the party protects itself from change. What will happen if voters elect Barack, but the party chooses Hillary? Perhaps a democratic, grassroots backlash. The other problem is that the party can’t wait until August to sort this out. The RNC has circled its wagons and may beat the DNC to the middle, claiming the median voter’s heart and the election. Party head, Howard Dean, better figure this out quickly.
The solution is to hold your elected leaders accountable for the undemocratic choice. In my state of Georgia, for example, where Obama won by a landslide, 5/8 superdelegates have pledged their support to Clinton! Their names are: Rep. David Scott (GA), Rep. John Lewis (GA), Michael Thurmond (GA), Carole Dabbs (GA), Lonnie Plott (GA), and we will vote these undemocratic bums out of office. For a list of undemocratic party insiders in your area, click here.
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