PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
by Charles Kennedy,
Instructor of Political Science, Penn State - York
One of the very first actions the Democratic party should take at their national convention in August in Denver is to deep six the role of superdelegates for all future conventions. It is simply unfathomable that the Democratic party, which prides itself on being the party of Main Street and not Wall Street, would utilize a system of pure elitism that is based on the principle that a special privileged group葉he elected party leaders揺ave more knowledge and more wisdom than the people.
The idea of special elites to pass judgment on the political process exists in many and varied forms throughout history. The U.S. electoral college system, the House of Lords in Great Britain, even the Politboro and the Secretariat in the old Soviet Union, to cite only a few.
Democracy, however, is based on the principle of "one person, one vote." The beauty of democracy, and its wisdom, is that on Election Day the vote of the poorest homeless person equals the vote of the richest investment banker葉he vote of the illiterate equals the vote of the most intelligent philosopher.
Remember, the Republican party does not utilize the concept of superdelegates. The Democrats adopted the idea in 1982. The party leaders had witnessed their presidential candidates, McGovern in '72 and Carter in '80, taken to the proverbial woodshed in the elections by the Republican candidates, Nixon and Reagan. The leaders felt that the previous system and the democratization of the delegate selection rules had produced candidates that didn't appeal to the mainstream American voter. Their solution葉he superdelegates. This would ensure that the leaders, the party professionals, the experienced politicians, would have a strong voice in the selection of future presidential candidates and avoid future landslide election victories by the Republicans.
Another story line that the concept of superdelegates gives these 796 politicos is a free pass to the convention. They don't have to run in the primary election and risk the humiliation of being defeated. These 796 individuals could still be delegates, but they have to run in the election, just like you and me, and Joe Sixpack and Sally Chablis.
This very concept is the antithesis of democracy. It is based on the principle that the wisdom of the leaders, the party professionals, the experience politicians, is greater than the collective wisdom of the people. This is anti-democratic. The whole notion of democracy is based on the principle: trust the judgment and wisdom of the people.
I would propose that the superdelegates profess no greater wisdom than the people. It is the party leaders who wanted to move the Pennsylvania primary election to February, so the Pennsylvania voters would be more influential in the selection of the presidential candidates. Need I say more!
It is also the party leaders and party professionals in Florida and Michigan, whose wisdom (?) caused them to defy the rules of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and move their primaries earlier than February 5, ostensibly so their voters could be more influential on the national scene.
The DNC responded by denying these states the opportunity to have their delegates seated at the national convention. I have no sympathy for these states葉hey knew the rules of the game. They have to bear the consequences of their judgment. They can't come whining now because their judgment and decision-making was poor.
While we're on the subject of democracy, can there be anything more anti-democratic than the proposal by two eastern democratic governors to raise $30 million from private donations to have a re-do of the Florida and Michigan primaries. Get serious! Do we really want to say "This election brought to you by Bear-Stearns" or "This election brought to you by Exxon?" What is next葉he sale of advertising space on the ballots? Money currently plays too powerful a role in our election system without the potentially corrupting idea of private companies actually sponsoring the elections!
The concept of superdelegates was a terrible idea at the wrong time and in the wrong country. It still is! It is time for the Democratic party to return power to the people. Make the 2008 convention The Last Hurrah for the superdelegates and say "hasta la vista."
(Charles L. Kennedy is a senior instructor of political science at Penn State York and is currently a democrat.)
