10 PA Superdelegates Voting for Clinton, many others undecided

[JPZenger]

Will Rena Baumgartner of Kunkletown PA pick the next President of the US?

I'm an Obama supporter and was disappointed that so many PA. Superdelegates have already agreed to support Clinton - 2 months before PA has voted. I believe many were lined up last year, when it looked like Clinton was the likely winner. Nutter may have been partially swayed by the fact that Obama supported Rep. Fattah, an opponent of Nutter's in the Mayor's race. I have no problem with elected officials being superdelegates, but I am not comfortable with Dem. National Committee officials having the potential deciding vote. I have only heard of 2 of the 14 DNC officials who are superdelegates in PA.

For Clinton: (10) including
Gov. Rendell
Rep. Kanjorksi
T.J. Rooney (Party Chair)
Evelyn Richardson (DNC member)
Rep. Sestak)
Rep. Schwartz
Rena Baumgartner (DNC member)
Jean Milko (DNC member)
plus 2 others

For Obama: (2)
Rep. Fattah
Rep. Patrick Murphy

Other Superdelegates, some of whom have promised to wait until after the PA. election
Sen. Casey
Rep. Doyle
Rep. Carney (who specifically said he does not intend to endorse anyone)
Former Pburgh Mayor Massloff
Rep. Holden
Rep. Brady
Rep. Murtha
Plus Others

PA superdelegates are: Rendell, the two state party leaders, 11 Democratic members of Congress, Sen. Casey, and 12 Democratic National Committee members, plus 3 persons to be named by the party's state committee. The DNC members and chairpersons are: Rena Baumgartner, Anna Burger, Carol Ann Campbell, Ronald Donatucci, William M. George, Marcel Groen, Leon Lynch, Sophie Masloff, Gerald McEntee, Jean Milko, Ian Murray, Evelyn Richardson, T.J. Rooney, Ruth Rudy.
---
http://www.postgazette.com/pg/08041/856368-176.stm

Excerpts of the article:

"They are in addition to the 158 delegates to be chosen based on the April 22 balloting. Of those 103 will be awarded based on the voting in congressional districts, while another 55 will be determined by the statewide vote. Thirty-five of those are at-large delegates and another 20 spots are reserved for party and elected officials who, in contrast to the superdelegates, will be pledged to vote for their candidate at least through the first ballot in Denver.

The Democrats' proportional rules make it difficult to accumulate big margins of delegates... Those rules help to explain why Pennsylvania can expect to be a player in the Democratic nomination fight, but, at the same time, they make it unlikely that the results in the state would be decisive.
"...

"The Obama campaign would seem to agree that Mrs. Clinton holds the upper hand in the state, according to a Bloomberg News report last week on an internal document prepared by the campaign and mistakenly included in a public email. The state-by-state spreadsheet projected a 52 percent to 47 percent win for Mrs. Clinton in Pennsylvania, one that would result in an 83-75 division of the state's pledged delegates. Projecting the overall delegate distribution, the spreadsheet sees a virtual tie among pledged delegates going into the convention, a result that suggests the controversial scenario whereby unallocated superdelegates would determine the party's nominee."

National superdelegate list:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x496761

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P.S. - Rendell has said he could change his mind if Obama had a large lead of elected delegates in the end.

----
The Democratic State Committee members are elected by the voters for each county (although few people pay attention to that part of the ballot). Those members then apparently select PA.'s representatives to the Democratic National Committee, who then become superdelegates.

[livetohike]

1. Good old Rendell - looking to see who's coattails he can

ride in on.

Thanks for the post, too. :hi:

[Yael]

2. "Rendell has said he could change his mind "

This is good news!

I wasn't aware of this. I thought he was a Clinton die-hard to the end.

[liberalnurse]

7. He will only do that if and when

he developers Alzheimers.O8)

[JPZenger]

3. Link to Brilliant Satirical Piece on Superdelegates

http://www.236.com/blog/w/sean_carman/democratic_primaries_threatend_4285.php

Excerpt:

"The way this is supposed to work," the aide explained, "is that the early primary results and the super-delegates give the establishment candidate a commanding lead, so that the challenger gracefully bows out, and everyone rallies behind our girl, er, I mean, the candidate." Instead, he explained, the results are being increasingly determined by the results of the popular vote in each state.

In fact, party leaders are now contemplating a "nightmare scenario" -- a convention at which the national delegates, selected on the basis of the popular vote in their respective districts, select the nominee by casting the votes assigned to them in the primaries. In an even more dire scenario spelled out by some in the Democratic party, this process could involve delegates assigned to other candidates, and those left unassigned by the primary process, voting on the basis of speeches given by the candidates at the convention, or their considered judgments of the candidates' policy positions and ability to lead the country.

And all of this could be played out on national television, broadcasting the democratic selection of the Democratic candidate to the millions of people who will vote in the general election in the fall. "Just imagine," one party operative said, "an entire nation watching in rapt attention as the candidates explain to the country why they deserve the nomination, and locally elected delegates from all walks of American life select a nominee on the basis of the popular vote and their judgments of who will make the best candidate."

[JPZenger]

4. Hoeffel also for Clinton

Mont. Co. Commissioner Joe Hoeffel also has endorsed Clinton.

Hillary is counting on Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas, as well as Michigan and Florida, and superdelegates in order to win. I haven't found any recent polls in PA, but polls taken a couple months ago showed Hillary ahead in PA by a wide margin. That could certainly have changed.

[JPZenger]

5. Other DNC Superdelegates

Here's a few more bits of information about the DNC Superdelegates in PA who are not members of Congress:

Donatucci is Phila Register of Wills
George is President of the PA. AFL-CIO
Groen is an attorney and chair of the Montgomery Co. Dem Committee
Milko is Jury Commissioner of Allegheny Co.
Murray is a former Erie City Councilman who is working as a public defender in Erie County

Detailed tabulation of Superdelegates nationally:
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegate-list.html

[JPZenger]

6. Lobbying firm run by Hillary PA Superdelegate

T.J. Rooney is a superdelegate pledged to Hillary. He was chosen as PA. Party Chairman, but does not hold any elected public office. He is the Managing Director in a political lobbying firm, Tri State Strategies PA. Here is a description on their website:

"The cornerstone of Tri State Strategies' success is the relationships with key decision and policy makers in Washington D.C., Harrisburg, Pa., and Trenton, N.J. We have years of hands-on experience in working with legislators and cabinet officials to develop strategies that serve their constituents as well as our clients."

http://www.tristatestrategies.com/

They list as their specialities: obtaining gambling licenses and representing the insurance industry.

Does that sound like it may open up opportunities for conflicts of interest?

Then remember that Obama has refused to accept any campaign contributions from lobbyists. Hillary has received 3 times as much money from lobbyists as any of the many persons who were Republican candidates.

[JPZenger]

8. Updated List - 11 for Clinton so far

http://blogs.mcall.com/penn_ave/2008/02/pennsylvanias-1.html

CLINTON SUPPORTERS:
Gov. Ed Rendell
U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, 13th
U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, 7th
U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, 11th
Rena Baumgartner (DNC)
Sophie Masloff (DNC)
Gerald McEntee (DNC)
Marcel Groen (DNC)
Jean Milko (DNC)
T.J. Rooney (DNC)
Evelyn Richardson (DNC)

OBAMA SUPPORTERS:
U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, 2nd
U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, 8th

UNDECLARED
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey
U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, 1st
U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, 4th
U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, 10th
U.S. Rep. John Murtha, 12th
U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, 14th
U.S. Rep. Tim Holden, 17th

UNKNOWN
Anna Burger (DNC)
Carol Ann Campbell (DNC) (former Phila City Council member)
Ronald Donatucci (DNC)
William George (DNC)
Leon Lynch (DNC)
Ian Murray (DNC)
Ruth Rudy (DNC)

Three other superdelegates -- called unpledged add-on delegates -- will be selected at the Democratic state committee meeting in June."

[Yael]

9. Another update. Ruth Rudy and Ian Murray are pledged Clinton

Rudy: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a98zx2hUj5a0&refer=home

Murray: http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/NEWS02/802130378/-1/NEWS

[JPZenger]

12. Murray is leaving door open to Obama

Thanks for the above links. In it, superdelegate Murray of Erie leaves to door open to switching to Obama based upon elected delegate counts. Here's the quote from the above article:

"I am committed to Hillary Clinton," Murray said. "If she doesn't get it, then I'm 100 percent for Barack Obama. They're equally strong candidates."
If no one gets 2,025 delegates, Murray said he thinks the candidate who wins the majority of the popular vote among the states and who has the most elected pledged delegates should get the nomination."

[demodonkey]

10. He was a State Rep. Until Last Year When He Left Office and Started His Paid Lobbying Firm

:eyes:

[JPZenger]

11. Burger transferred to DC

PA has one less superdelegate. Anna Burger has moved to DC, so she is now part of DC's delegation. She works for the Service Employee's Union, who have endorsed Obama.


The above information would now show a 13 to 2 vote for Hillary among PA superdelegates. They should be urged to wait to commit and then to vote for whichever candidate has the most elected delegates. That would be the Democratic and the democratic way.

[JPZenger]

13. Masloff & Other Hillary Superdelegates Shifting Their Votes

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/02/14/some-black-superdelegates-reassess-clinton-support/

Feb. 14, 2008

Excerpts:

"Christine Samuels, until this week a Clinton superdelegate from New Jersey, said during the day she is now supporting Obama.

Two other superdelegates, Sophie Masloff of Pennsylvania and Nancy Larson of Minnesota, are uncommitted, having dropped their earlier endorsements of Clinton. On Wednesday, David Wilhelm, a longtime ally of the Clintons who had been neutral in the presidential race, endorsed Obama."

[Yael]

14. Anna Burger is out -- we are down to 187

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004184473_aponthe2008trail15.html

[LynneSin]

15. Why is Carney not endorsing anyone?

I'm thinking he knows he's up for a tough re-election. His win in the conservative PA10 was a fluke thanks to Don Sherwood's daliances with a mistress (and alleged abuse). I know Carney came across as a conservative democrat, which for PA10 is about the only way a democrat would win. I'm guessing Carney realizes that any endorsement might hurt him in his re-election for this difficult seat.

[JPZenger]

17. Probably waiting to see how his district goes

Carney is probably waiting to see how his district votes, and will follow their lead.

[Yael]

16. Carol Ann Campbell endorsed Obama

http://www.centredaily.com/news/breaking_news/story/412285.html

I updated SourceWatch: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pennsylvania_2008_presidential_primary_and_superdelegates