Superdelegates keep the Democratic Party from being a democracy
Mar 14, 2016, 5:15 AM
Isn’t America a great nation? It’s a country where people can vote for their leaders and really have their voice heard in every election.
What’s that? The Electoral College can interfere with that whole process?
Well, at least we get our say who runs in each party! We can pick the candidates we want to square off for the nation’s highest office!
You must not have heard of superdelegates.
The Democratic Party, much like the Republicans, relies on a series of nationwide primaries, caucuses, conventions and other events to select the most popular candidate to receive the nomination.
But the Democrats also have a system of superdelegates who can throw their support behind any candidate, at any time, for any reason, without having to answer to anyone.
Sounds kind of messed up, huh?
Take, for example, the Vermont primary. Bernie Sanders easily won the popular vote in his own state, but at least three of the state’s superdelegates cast their vote in support of Sanders’ rival, Hillary Clinton.
When you add Clinton’s superdelegates into what she’s won in primaries, she has a sizable lead over Sanders.
I guess when you think about it, the Democratic Party, named after our country’s system of democracy, really isn’t so democratic after all.