The election of a Democratic nominee is going to fall to the 'super' delegates, actually automatic delegates. These people are the subject of a great deal of speculation and analysis. All of these people are Democrats and all are politically knowledgeable. In your state the super delegates will be your Federal Congresspeople, Senators and Representatives, and your Governor and your DNC State Party officials, the Chair, opposing sex Vice-chair, and the DNC committee people. There can be some additions, but this gives an idea of what their jobs are.
There is a point of view difference in these delegates, House Representatives have won elections within limited areas of a state, Governors and Senators have won state wide, DNC people have won statewide amongst the limited group of those activists willing to spend time and energy on the Party. In the State of Oregon this amounts to 4 Representatives, 1 Senator, 1 Governor, and 5 DNC folks. Secretary Of State Bill Bradbury is one also, by virtue of being Chair of SoS Committee.
What forms the opinions of Rep Wu in his district is different than what forms Rep DeFazio, they are Democrats but the who elected them is different. Governors and Senators operate under a different metric in an election, it is statewide, a different group than the Representatives. The DNC people are a truly different group, they are elected through a series of levels, Precinct Committee People are elected at that level and they elect the State Central Committee delegates, who in turn elect the State Party officials. This is the least understood grouping.
Being a PCP carries little in the way of rewards and great deal in the way of responsibilities, it isn't a sought after position. This elected official is the bottom of the grass roots movement, the care and activation of a precinct is his responsibility with the power to use only his voice and a vote within the Party mechanism. As one moves up the scale from PCP within the Party the responsibilities increase along with the commitments of time, energy, and money with no particular rewards beyond the satisfaction of contribution. The Chair and to an extent Vice-chairs are the public face of the organized Democratic Party but in the terms of public recognition, relative unknowns and under anything near ordinary circumstances the DNC Committee People are known only to those within the Party mechanism. This group is concerned with the grassroots health and well-being of the Democratic Party, they qualify as the ultimate in amateur political junkies.
It is quite possible for any of the five DPO (OR DNC Party) to take a position differing from any of the others, what will inform their decisions is the base they come from. The DPO rules require neutrality in any contested Democratic primary and while I may know some leanings within the DPO group it would be irresponsible on my part to speculate. I can assure you that the motives are first the health of the Party and second winning in November. These goals are not necessarily congruent, DPO looks at the entire state slate as well as the national slate and those considerations can differ.
The point in this exercise is to point out the difficulties in predicting the actions of super delegates in regard to Presidential nominees. There are already differences within the elected officials, the Governor endorsed Hillary early on and some House Reps have endorsed Obama or Clinton. There are reasons specific to each and those differing reasoning will continue to play out. Guess at your own risk...
4 comments:
Let us all hope this is the end for Wu. I hope Shrader has some muscle and brains..Erickson and Manix? YUK!!! Hooley did it again..no one groomed, another enigma of a dimmo. 2 more reasons for more parties.
I don't understand what this 3rd party or parties would stand for. You keep pitching a bitch about 2 parties, but I never hear what you propose. I don't disagree that the 2 parties have closed together in concrete accomplishments in the past 20 yrs, but this is also a different time, right now.
Obviously as a Democratic activist I don't want to see the Party harmed, I'd also like to see it more "left" than it is. The problem is that it takes voters to move parties and voters haven't moved left in the past 20yrs, they moved right. Democrats were not right enough for the shift and lost. That makes a hard sale for left movement when it is going on. today? well, neither candidate is left enough for me, but they'll have to do since I do want the leftward motion they show versus McCain.
I find NA voters silly, their apparent role is to bitch and not participate. A person who doesn't like the direction of their preferred party and leaves it to its own devices does not actually expect something different.
If your content with same ol. same ol' good for you The Green party was a step but poorly organised..no dimmo stepped up to switch party and give credence to the new party. Wu and Hooley are/were jack asses.. no pun in this, just pain. If you dig progressive i.e Tax grabbers the right is your meat. No way will corporations be held to giving their fair share with dimmos as well as repugs..but if you are content just keep plugging for the same ol's, reminds me of the old Politburo. And than we have the guv..super K..Pardon me I must puke.
KISS you know I am not satisfied with same ole same ole. I get in and dig in the party. I also write this mess. I object every time I get same ole same ole.
NA doesn't do squat except stand outside and throw rocks once the candidates are selected. The best way to have any effect is to get in ahead of the curve.
I am frequently dissatisfied and I don't criticize people for dissatisfaction, I criticize not being a part of a solution to something that dissatisfies. One time a black lady decided she didn't want to sit in the back of a bus, she took action and more people took action and at some point enough action was taken to change it. If those people sat on their couches and said, "this sucks and everybody sucks the same," nothing would have happened.
A few pages ago I wrote to the effect that socialized medicine was the only real route to go, I also said exactly the same thing in my political campaign. Now I may have gone nowhere with that, but people heard and read that somebody running was saying it, that is something. It has been written again and I'll keep saying it and I'll keep saying it to the politicians who let me talk to them. It may be no more than a drip drip of water on a rock, but that has been known to have an effect.
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