Nancy Pelosi Drops Election Bombshell: Comes out against Superdelegates.

[AtomicKitten]

Nancy Pelosi Just Dropped Presidential Campaign Bombshell: Comes out Against Superdelegates
http://www.inquisitr.com/2852213/nancy-pelosi-just-dropped-presidential-campaign-bombshell/

Political pundits have been analyzing polls and fretting over voter turnouts in the primaries to try to determine just who will win the Democratic presidential nomination. Or at least some have, even though a significant number simply crowned Hillary Clinton the nominee from the beginning. But regardless of which nominee you’re supporting, something happened today that speaks volumes about which way the tide is turning in the Democratic primary.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D – CA.) has just dropped the biggest bombshell of the campaign, and you may not even have heard about it. Mark my words, when we look back, we’ll see that this was the turning point. The Hill reported today that Pelosi came out against the superdelegate system which is currently of great benefit to Hillary Clinton.

“I’m not a believer in the sway of superdelegates deciding who is going to be the nominee. I think we have a democratic process where people vote on both sides of the aisle … and that that should determine who the nominee is.”

Now, you may be saying, “Hey, that’s not that big of a deal,” but stop for a moment and think about this. No matter how you feel about Pelosi, good or bad, there is no denying that she is one of the best political players on the planet. And she just made a statement that is not Clinton-friendly. That’s a very dangerous thing to do. Just ask Nina Turner or Tulsi Gabbard.

Something big is about to happen in the Clinton campaign, and given how Pelosi is already starting to cover her backside and distance herself, you can bet it’s not going to be good news for Hill and Bill.

And while we’re on the subject of superdelegates, those superdelegate votes — even those who say they are leaning towards Clinton — are still up for grabs until the convention. The media is being completely disingenuous on this point by counting superdelegates in the totals so far in the Democratic primary.

Note that most of these media outlets are owned by big businesses who have a vested interest in keeping a corporate-friendly president in office and have come out and endorsed or financially supported Hillary Clinton. This is a blatant attempt to discourage Bernie supporters and make them think that the gap between Hillary and Bernie is insurmountable. Well, guess again.

The real count, as it stands today, without superdelegates, is 577 delegates for Hillary Clinton and 394 delegates for Bernie Sanders, according to Vox. That’s with 35 states to go, and some of Hillary’s biggest southern states are out of the way. There is a long history of superdelegates changing to the other side when the people vote for a different candidate. Just ask Barack Obama.

So no, those votes aren’t cast and those superdelegates can change their mind at any time. Pay attention, corporate media: you aren’t fooling us. And as Bernie Sanders has said many times, he’s in it for the long haul and he’s not dropping out. Your desperation is showing, and Nancy Pelosi has just confirmed this race ain’t over yet. In fact, I’d guess it’s about to get real. And someone besides the Sanders camp is about to feel the Bern.

Pelosi pans superdelegate system
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/271651-pelosi-pans-superdelegate-system

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday amplified her criticism of the Democrats' presidential primary system, saying the states' pledged delegates — and not the superdelegates — should decide the winner.

"I'm not a believer in the sway of superdelegates deciding who is going to be the nominee," Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol. "I think we have a democratic process where people vote on both sides of the aisle … and that that should determine who the nominee is."

Pelosi made waves by making similar comments amid the 2008 primary contest between then-Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). The move prompted sharp criticism from Clinton supporters because Obama, at the time, enjoyed a lead among pledged delegates and her remarks were viewed as a tacit endorsement of him.

The issue has also been controversial in this year's primary race, where Clinton holds a modest advantage over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in pledged delegates, 595-405, but leads by a commanding margin, 1,052-427, when superdelegates are considered.

Superdelegates are party leaders, including Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who are free to vote for any candidate at the convention, regardless of how their states or districts come down. An overwhelming majority of congressional Democrats have endorsed Clinton, giving the former secretary of State a substantial advantage in the superdelegate race.

The contenders need 2,383 total delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination.

Pelosi has not endorsed a primary candidate but says she will do so before the contest is over. She has not indicated when.

"I have a great deal of respect for the voice of the American people," she said Thursday. "Thirty-five states have not voted yet, and I think that it would be important to hear from them."

The comments arrive as some Republicans, wary of putting the surging Donald Trump at the top of the GOP ballot in November, are floating the idea of staging a brokered convention in an effort to topple the controversial party front-runner.

Pelosi declined to predict how a Trump nomination might affect the Democrats chances at the polls in November — "Let the Republicans nominate who they nominate, and they we'll have that debate then" — but she also warned that the Republicans would face a political tempest if they sought to toy with the primary results.

"If somebody has the majority of the delegates from the votes of the people, I think that you change that to your peril," she said. "Whatever party you are."

[grasswire]

1. GAME CHANGER

Why is this not getting a million recs on DU?

[Garrett78]

15. Superdelegates won't be a factor this year.

All the talk about superdelegates is much ado about nothing this year.

[vdogg]

33. Not really a game changer

Superdelegates just aren't needed. As it stands right now, the person who has the most primary wins and a greater share of the popular vote, also has the most delegates. Why add Super Delegates to the mix? They're not really a factor.

[SCantiGOP]

50. Even if you out it in all caps

It isn't a game changer. It's a fairly generic statement by a Dem Senator who is supporting Clinton.

[Hydra]

2. I'm really not a fan of Pelosi

But she's correctly seen where this is going. If Clinton squeaks a win by using methods that are contrary to even the illusion of Democracy...she's playing with fire, and so is the party itself.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

36. Yeah, I don't think this is as 'anti-Clinton' a statement as some folks would like to think it is.

I think rather that Pelosi has simply seen enough chatter that she realizes the chance is strong that a large number of Sanders supporters won't vote for Clinton in the GE if this happens. She's not dissing Clinton, just working to try and keep the Party from breaking apart.

There's still tricks that can be pulled while technically following this statement. Look at 2008. Overall vote count didn't win Hillary the election, because Obama snagged more regular delegates. So superdelegates could either A) get behind the winner of the total popular vote, B) get behind the winner of the most delegates, C) get behind the winner of the popular vote in their state, or D) get behind the winner of the most delegates in their state, all while still claiming to be doing 'the will of the people'. As each superdelegate could choose any one of those 4 options and still proclaim they were doing the will of the people, they could weasel around and still find a way to elect Clinton while saying they were just following the 'will of the people'.

[Hydra]

38. I'm not reading it as an Anti-Clinton statement either

Clinton is simply currently benefiting from it, and it is being dimly viewed by a lot of people- a sort of electoral college vs popular vote reaction.

I think we're in uncharted waters this year. All of the options you presented are logical, but the establishment in both parties are coming unhinged this year. Full panic mode. I expect to see things completely out of left field as the norm this time.

[nadinbrzezinski]

52. I have heard this myself

from a few local officials.

[MaggieD]

3. Gee how inconvenient that Bernie supporters have dissed her

LOL! But no worries - Clinton won't need the supers to win (and Pelosi knows that).

[Historic NY]

6. +1

[Cassiopeia]

11. Probably not

She'll probably be very busy elsewhere trying to protect her 1% status and freedom instead.

[grasswire]

54. I wonder how she looks in orange. nt

[Lordquinton]

13. Except she is relying heavily on them

They've always been the card pulled to suppress any opposition. Even now, the media is including them in the totals to make it seem like Clinton has a huge lead, when it's actually smaller than it was in '08 when she lost the first time.

If she wins it will be because of dirty tactics like that.

Pelosi is from California, and we get the shaft every election, so this is an issue she really cares about, and speaks volumes to her motivations.

[MaggieD]

14. Why do we keep pretending Sanders will win pledged delegates?

At what point do his supporters have to face reality instead of all this fantasy nonsense?

[roguevalley]

21. when he wins head to head with pugs and she doesn't,

When she is eventually indicted, now that her best States are over, I could go on. Nice to see such 'support'for the process from a hrc person. Some of have yet to vote in case you care and we won't vote for her.

[vdogg]

34. Best states are over?

I wasn't aware MI, PA, FL, OH, CA had voted. I would check the polls before I stated something with such authority.

[tex-wyo-dem]

23. Wow...the snark is certainly heavy

[Lordquinton]

25. When the blue states vote

He does better in liberal states, as opposed to Clinton's victories in the more conservative areas.

And thanks for insulting Sanders supporters, that will go over really well if Clinton manages to not repeat '08.

[Garrett78]

29. Hardly any blue and purple states have held primaries thus far.

So, the sample size is quite small. And the more liberal states that have voted don't have many delegates. Sanders could win 3 of the 4 states this coming weekend and still not come away with more delegates, because those 3 states (2 of which are red states, by the way) have so few delegates.

Many blue and purple, Clinton-friendly states with a high number of delegates have yet to vote. I'm not a Clinton supporter nor do I wish to insult Sanders supporters, but the reality is Clinton is going to end up with *way* more delegates. Superdelegates will not be a factor this year.

[RoccoR5955]

49. Hey, there are still 34 states to vote

and as Yogi Berra said, "It ain't over till it's over!"

[billhicks76]

22. Irrelevant...We Dissed Her Because She Didn't Go After Hillary's Pal Bush

And the Clintons are MEMBERS OF THE BUSH FAMILY...according to the Bushes and the Clinton's embraced it when they said it! Hello...red flag. And you support that I assume. Wow. I wouldn't be proud of that. No worries? If Clinton wins it will be worries for years. Does that bother you? I assume not. Will I vote for her if she is the nominee and another democrat doesn't run as an independent? Yes...I will be forced to and hold my nose as I do and then flush my American Flag down the toilet.

[BreakfastClub]

26. +1 nt

[Change has come]

30. Pelosi knew that in 2008 too.

Please continue to pretend you are having fun!







1

[jillan]

4. Good! Enough with this BS about the superdelegates

[TheFarS1de]

5. Maybe that distant rumble

is now about to turn into an avalanche . It will be interesting to see how this all pans out

[Barack_America]

7. She seems to bring this up at the most inconvenient times for Hillary.

And my experience with Pelosi is that she says exactly what she means and when she means to say it.

[amborin]

8. not a fan of Pelosi, either; right now Bernie has 20% of the real delegates to Hillary's 29%--very c

close;

cynical, but imho Pelosi is just tossing bones to Bernie supporters, knowing this could become 1968, which the DNC does not want

it would be great to read something more into this but think it's just self-preservation

[JDPriestly]

19. I remember 1968. The Democratic Party still has not fully recovered from that.

Time to end the superdelegates. Allow the superdelegates to be voted in among the delegates democratically selected.

[Major Hogwash]

27. I agree. That year was a watershed year for our party.

And we should never allow that type of thing to happen again.

Pelosi seems to be on the right side of this issue, for now.
But, there are strong powers behind the curtain that could change all of that overnight.

Abbie Hoffman was right, they don't want us to belong to their party, we're dirty hippies who only want justice, and to stop the illegal foreign wars.
We're an embarrassment to the party leaders because we refuse to sit down and shut up.

[Eric J in MN]

58. What aspect of 1968 are you referring to? NT

NT

[PufPuf23]

9. Good for Pelosi. Hope her stance regards super-delegates has gravitas.

I was a strong supporter of her for years and lived across the SF bay in Berkeley during her early political career.

I was disappointed that Pelosi did not pursue impeachment of GWB and Cheney.

But I have no doubts that Pelosi is anti-war and a liberal and a progressive and thus much better than most American politicians.

Pelosi has a life time commitment and is an insider to the Democratic Party.

[Cassiopeia]

10. Getting a 404 error on your second link

from The Hill.

This is an interesting development. Nobody want's to make that special Clinton list and Pelosi only makes very calculated "risks" when it comes to statements.

ETA, here's the full link for the second article in the OP

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/271651-pelosi-pans-superdelegate-system

[Uncle Joe]

12. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, AtomicKitten.

[JDPriestly]

17. Thank you, Nancy Pelosi.

[davidpdx]

18. Not to be a downer, but I wouldn't take anything Pelosi says that seriously

The article says she said the same thing in 2008. No one seems to be working toward eliminating the SD and with the current regime running the day to day activities of the DNC, I don't see them being changed even for the next election. I just don't see this as a game changer like some others do.

[LiberalLovinLug]

24. Exactly

It more of ..."see, i'm with the common folk, I just wish there was something we could do about all this this darn it...too late for this round though, maybe next time"

[dchill]

20. Interesting...

Does somebody want to be a king/queenmaker?

[PoliticalMalcontent]

28. I've not been a huge fan Pelosi too often in the past, but props to her where props are due.

I'm glad she understands the importance of letting people choose their candidate in order to keep them engaged.

[The Second Stone]

31. The superdelegates are elected officials who caucus with Democrats

Regular delegates, and I was one for Al Gore in 2000 for California, are rank and file registered party members who attend a caucus organized by the campaign of the candidate on caucus day in the state for which they live.

The supporters of Gore go to one meeting, the supporters of Bradley go to another. They are held at the same time. People nominate potential delegates, and short speeches are made, and then votes are made for more delegates than will be needed. After the primary is held, each campaign knows the number of delegates it will have from each Congressional district, and are apportioned according to a formula. Then they go to the convention.

I had the honor and privilege of being a Gore delegate in 2000 for California. I was the county chair at the time, on the state central committee and the state executive committee.

I would rather have elected officials with full time jobs as politicians with a history of caucusing with the party be the delegates. They are much more experienced, and have given the party a lot more over the years. They could be pledged to follow the primary on the first ballot and released after that. I was not impressed with the far less experienced delegates (which included me) who could have been just anyone who happened to do well at the caucus on that particular day among all locally registered democrats, who could have joined as recently as within the last few months.

So I disagree with Nancy Pelosi on this one.

Lack of super delegates will probably give us Trump for the Republicans on the first ballot for the Republican nomination. I don't want him anywhere near the White House. Nor Cruz.

And I don't particularly want Sen. Sanders, a recently joined member of our party, who has never previously done work for the party, taking over the party. He has not paid his dues and wasn't a Democrat until it suited his personal ambitions last year.

[Paka]

35. They are not all elected,

as Lee Fung so kindly pointed out.

[The Second Stone]

43. Does the exception swallow the rule, or should it be changed

thank you for pointing that out.

[Eric J in MN]

57. It would be fine if the SuperDelegate system were reformed to

...require them to vote with the plurality of regular voters.

The problem with the current system is that SuperDelegates are allowed to vote for whomever they wants, and it's undemocratic to give them that power.

[stonecutter357]

32. It's time to face reality.

[BigBearJohn]

37. Thanks so much for posting this!!

[Merryland]

39. Nancy's progressive California constituents

must be expressing their views on superdelegates.

[ms liberty]

46. Yes, my thought on this

If I lived in Cali I'd get tired of not having any say. I think our system sucks, there really has to be a better way to do this, amirite?

[DefenseLawyer]

40. That's a curious comment at this point.

I'm reading zero into it, other than noting that it's a curious comment, based on the current state of the race.

[Orsino]

42. I hope she realizes what she's asking for.

Superdelegates are weapons of the Establishment to prevent populist revolution.

[Chelsea2032]

44. When?

[corbettkroehler]

45. She Also Panned Bernie's Economic Initiatives

I used to respect her greatly. I even donated $1,000 to the DNC in 2007 in order to have a photo op with her. I'm glad that she's on the right side of the superdelegate issue. However, the dismissive way she decided that the House caucus would not entertain Bernie's economic initiatives left me ice cold.

[Ken Burch]

47. Glad to hear it, but he strongest statement she could make on that

would be to endorse Bernie.

There is no way to effectively oppose superdelegates and support HRC at the same time.

It's what a congressmember from SF should do anyway.

[passiveporcupine]

48. Superdelagates don't take risks

They pretty much go with the presumed leader...until that lead shifts and then they start scrambling to support the new leader. They know which side their bread is buttered on. In other words, they are cowards, or they follow the money and opportunity of being on the side of the winner, and this is not the way our elections should be run.

[noretreatnosurrender]

51. Pelosi is from California

She is probably getting a lot of complaints from her constituents.

[MADem]

53. LOL! So much hate against Pelosi on this board...and then she convolutes!

This is hilarious!

[leanforward]

55. Do the super delegates represent the establishment?

In a sense, the super delegates are the establishment. Bernie is grassroots. Hillary could be considered a representative of the establishment. I will vote for the democratic candidate. I do think that Bernie has a singular type of message, that has not crossed paths with the ideas of the Clinton foundation/campaign donors. Nancy's statement, muddies the role of the super delegates and, to me, equalizes the campaign for delegates.

This is one time in many elections, where I think a populist candidate is needed. The corporations have too much control, be it money or lobbying or influencing the staffs writing the legislation.

Besides, Nancy represents California, which is a winner take all state. How many delegates? California is well represented by Mrs Pelosi. This just might a way for California to influence the rest of the Country with a populist candidate.

I will vote for the democratic candidate. The corporations have too much influence over the people. The corporations are not people. Lets get back to the constitution, we the people.......

[Eric J in MN]

56. She's right. The Super Delegate system is undemocratic.

They were first used in 1984, before the World Wide Web.

If the Super Delegate system didn't exist and the DNC tried to start it now, we could organize online against it.

[blackspade]

59. Interesting read of her comments.

[ibegurpard]

60. She must be hearing some noise

From her constituents. It won't last.