2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumWow! Super Delegate/ Lobbyist Howard Dean On Twitter: I'll Do What I Think Is Right For The Country'
https://twitter.com/GovHowardDean/status/706219827535462401
UMTerp01
(1,048 posts)I don't like the idea of superdelegates. It just seems to be part of exactly what Bernie is talking about in terms of a rigged system. HOWEVER, why this cycle are people acting like superdelegates are some sort of new phenomena?
AzDar
(14,023 posts)Something is VERY WRONG here...
Nanjeanne
(4,950 posts)djean111
(14,255 posts)about not having to worry about superdelegates, because the superdelegates will switch to whoever wins the vote?
Looks like Debbie DINO really WAS telling us that the superdelegates will protect the DNC from a grassroots candidate. I know that is not how her answer was structured, but IMO that is what she really means.
kristopher
(29,798 posts)They want to create their own to keep the riffraff out.
NowSam
(1,252 posts)That is all.
Nanjeanne
(4,950 posts)AzDar
(14,023 posts)riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)since he's now a corporate tool too. Despite what the Vermont voters want....
Eric J in MN
(35,619 posts)After the convention, there is a focus on winning the general election, and then a focus on the administration, but I hope the SuperDelegate issue isn't brushed aside by the grassroots for 4-8 years.
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)A political revolution in which politicians feel justified in vetoing the will of the people ceases to be simply political.
dana_b
(11,546 posts)sorry, Howard. Didn't mean to get you into such hot water.
Actually, I just wanted him to answer WHY he decided to do that. I'll admit that the last part of my tweet was not too kind. I own that. But he responded anyway and I'll give him credit for that.
I just don't get it - except that he truly believes that he knows better than 73% of the Dem voters in Vt.
Skwmom
(12,685 posts)Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)I'm glad I was never a Deaniac. I would be so disappointed.
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)that Dean was never really a progressive at all(as everybody IN Vermont always knew, of course).
It's all about the payback.
GreenPartyVoter
(72,377 posts)Gwhittey
(1,377 posts)If Sanders gets his way once he is POTUS Dean is out of his lobbiest job.
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)n/t.
nc4bo
(17,651 posts)I get a tingle up my leg just thinking about it and I'm not even a guy!
WOW what a thrill!
Renew Deal
(81,855 posts)If they can't, then they should be abolished.
restorefreedom
(12,655 posts)riversedge
(70,186 posts)restorefreedom
(12,655 posts)stuffmatters
(2,574 posts)dana_b
(11,546 posts)and according to Debbie WS, superdelegates ensure elites dont have to run against grassroots activists. Cause that would just be awful!!
http://www.salon.com/2016/02/13/un_democratic_party_dnc_chair_says_superdelegates_ensure_elites_dont_have_to_run_against_grassroots_activists/
Motown_Johnny
(22,308 posts)Clinton worshipers need to get a grip.
itsrobert
(14,157 posts)What a shame.
riversedge
(70,186 posts)DrDan
(20,411 posts)Arazi
(6,829 posts)Well Gov Dean, 83% of your Vermont people want Bernie
dana_b
(11,546 posts)so if it comes to a point where it looks like Bernie may win due to the pledged delegates, then the SDs can all do what Howard here is doing and upset the entire apple cart. How will that play out for us, their candidate and the party?
reformist2
(9,841 posts)Gwhittey
(1,377 posts)I mean they are appointed by same people who are causing this.
Gwhittey
(1,377 posts)Jan 20 2017 Someone holding a bible says "Mr Trump please repeat after me, I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
dana_b
(11,546 posts)but maybe, just maybe some of the SDs who are firm in their convictions for a certain candidate (either of them!) will realize that that is not a good plan. They should let it all play out and then make their decisions.
AtomicKitten
(46,585 posts)https://theintercept.com/2016/02/17/voters-be-damned/
Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire Democratic primary by more than 22 percentage points and by doing so, earned 15 delegates to Clintons 9. So it came as a shock to many observers when Clinton, despite losing the second biggest rout in state history, walked away with the same number of delegates.
Thats because Clinton had the support of six New Hampshire unpledged delegates better known as superdelegates consisting of prominent elected officials and members of the Democratic National Committee, who have the same power as the delegates chosen by voters. An Associated Press survey found that superdelegates nationally overwhelmingly supported Clinton.
There are 712 superdelegates in all, which is about 15 percent of the total delegates available and 30 percent of the total needed to win the nomination. If the nomination process is close, superdelegates may effectively pick the partys presidential nominee, potentially overriding the will of voters.
The following individuals are unelected, Clinton-supporting superdelegates who simultaneously work in the lobbying industry:
* Jeff Berman, well-known for his delegate-strategy work in the past, is being paid by the Hillary Clinton campaign to organize her delegate-counting effort while himself being a superdelegate. A top lobbyist at Bryan Cave LLP, Berman previously worked as a lobbyist for the private prison company Geo Group and as a lobbyist helping TransCanada build support for the Keystone XL.
* Bill Shaheen is one of the six New Hampshire superdelegates to endorse Clinton. Shaheen is a prolific party fundraiser, and his law firm is registered to lobby local officials in the state. The most recently available lobbying records show that Shaheens firm is registered to lobby on behalf of the American Council of Life Insurers and PainCare Centers, among other clients. PainCare has faced increasing scrutiny as local officials have noted that eight of the 10 most prolific opioid prescribers in New Hampshires Medicaid program worked for PainCare. The flood of prescription painkillers has fueled the heroin epidemic in the region, as four out of five heroin addicts report beginning their drug habit with opioids. Bill is the husband of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.
* Joanne Dowdell, another New Hampshire superdelegate, is the senior vice president for global government affairs at News Corporation, the parent company of Fox News. Federal Election Commission reports show Dowdell has contributed directly to multiple Democrats as well as to the News Corp PAC, a company committee that splits its donations between lawmakers of both parties. The News Corp government affairs division works to lobby public officials and regulators.
* Superdelegates Jill Alper, Minyon Moore, and Maria Cardona are officials at Dewey Square Group, a lobbying firm that is closely affiliated with the Clinton campaign and retained by the Clinton-supporting Super PACs Priorities USA Action and Correct the Record. Alper and Moore are Clinton advisers who have raised over $100,000 for her campaign. Dewey Square Group, as weve reported, was retained by the health insurance industry to undermine health reform efforts in 2009, including proposals to change Medicare Advantage. The firm has previously worked to influence policy on behalf of Enron, Countrywide, Citigroup, Coca-Cola, the U.S. Telecom Association and News Corporation.
* Jennifer Cunningham is the managing director of SKDKnickerbocker, a political consulting firm that provides a variety of services, including advertising and direct lobbying of public officials. In recent years, SKDKnickerbocker helped a coalition of corporate clients lobby the Obama administration on a tax cut for overseas earnings; lobbied for weakened rules governing for-profit colleges; and helped a food industry group undermine Michelle Obamas nutrition guidelines for foods marketed to children. Recent records show that the firm is providing consulting work for Independence USA PAC, the Super PAC backed by billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
Tonio Burgos, a fundraiser for Clinton, is a lobbyist registered to influence New York City officials. Burgos current client list includes Verizon, Pfizer, and American Airlines.
* Emily Giske, also a lobbyist in New York City, is registered to work on behalf of Airbnb, Yum Brands (the parent company of Taco Bell), Pfizer, and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, a trade group for Wall Street firms such as Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, and Bank of America.
Although they make up only a small proportion of the superdelegates, the presence of lobbyists in such a potentially decisive role adds fuel to the critique that the Democratic Party is influenced by monied special interests. In recent months, the DNC quietly repealed rules instituted by Barack Obama that banned lobbyists from donating to the party.
Asked about the role of lobbyists as superdelegates, DNC spokesperson Deshundra Jefferson referred us to a blog post on Medium by Patrice Taylor, the director of party affairs and delegate selection. The post does not explain why professional influence peddlers were designated as superdelegates. As many commenters have noted, the post by Taylor also uses a distorted pie chart that minimizes the share of superdelegates in the total number of party delegates.
Superdelegates were added to the nomination process as a reaction to the chaotic 1980 Democratic convention, in which supporters of Ted Kennedy attempted to challenge President Jimmy Carter. The goal was to give the party elites more control. In 2008, superdelegates flocked to Clinton over Obama, creating a similar controversy over the possibility of subverting the democratic process.
The party has received increasing scrutiny as many activists have decried what appears to be a system designed to benefit establishment candidates, particularly Clinton. MoveOn.org sponsored a petition calling for the DNC not to allow the superdelegates to deny democracy.
Update: After publishing this story, we noticed several other Clinton-supporting superdelegates who work in the lobbying industry.
These include:
* Dick Gephart, Lobbyist for the government of Taiwan and big coal.
* Tom Daschle: Lobbyist for the governments of Taiwan and Japan.
* Chris Dodd: Top lobbyist for MPAA, the movie industry group that backs SOPA, TPP, etc.
* and last but not least Howard Dean, Lobbyist and business partner with Newt Gingrich.
Double
firebrand80
(2,760 posts)AzDar
(14,023 posts)Impedimentus
(898 posts)Howie loves all that MONEY, MONEY, MONEY $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)It will destroy the party, I can assure you that unless/if she wins by the will of the voters, we are not beholding to endorse or vote for a false nominee in the election.
The revolution will find another route to re-instate the will of the people other than a rigged system that only cheats us of our democracy. I will not endorse a coup of an un-elected nominee. I doubt very seriously I am alone, in fact, I know I am not. If she wins via Super-Delegate appointment rather than by winning votes, I will write in the democratically elected nominee as will many others. Dr. Dean needs to rethink his corrupt decision.
In other news, if she wins without stealing it via non-democratic means, I will vote for our Democratic corporate overlord, but she will lose the general anyway, because only less than half of Democrats like her or trust her, and the young will not vote for her, the Independents will not vote for her and she will lose in a landslide because two generations of Republicans hate her with such a burning passion we will see an historic Republican turn out, just to vote against her (for all the wrong reasons, but nevertheless they will.)
Hell 3/4 of the population believe she is a dishonest liar and her favorable numbers are so under water that NO ONE with numbers like that have ever won a GE.
The only way we are not screwed is if Bernie Sanders wins the nomination. I believe he can if the Clintons, the MSM, the Corporate sponsorship she enjoys, and our very own party STOP CHEATING, and yes, they have been cheating all along, in many ways, including election fraud in most of the primary States thus far.
Gwhittey
(1,377 posts)All Dean' tweets he said "Let them eat cake"
hfojvt
(37,573 posts)back in 2008 his DFA was ABC before the Iowa caucus. Then again, Edwards and Obama were considered viable candidates.
Really he is like an elector in the electoral college.
Gwhittey
(1,377 posts)The Dentons Public Policy and Regulation practice which is a big lobby group for health insurance companies. So no surprise here
Oilwellian
(12,647 posts)I'm glad to see so many call him out on this bullshit.
whatchamacallit
(15,558 posts)"Fuck your silly democracy, peasant!"
nazcalito
(3 posts)Dean is just another one of these crooks.