Superdelegate Primary Proposal Offers Democrats A Way Out

Superdelegate Primary Proposal Offers Democrats A Way Out

Yesterday, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen took a proactive stand on moving the Democratic primary process to a conclusion with a New York Times op-ed that called for a "superdelegate primary," which would force these critical Democratic party free agents to make a binding choice between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and prevent a brokered convention.

Titled "Choose, Or Lose In November," Bredesen's piece very succinctly sums up the current state of play and what's at stake for the Democrats going forward:

We are blessed with two fine candidates, but it's entirely possible that when primary season ends on June 3, we will still lack a clear nominee. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton could each still believe that the nomination could be his or hers at the national convention in Denver in August.

In that situation, we would then face a long summer of brutal and unnecessary warfare. We would face a summer of growing polarization. And we would face a summer of lost opportunities -- lost opportunities to heal the wounds of the primaries, to fill the party's coffers, to offer unified Democratic ideas for America's challenges.

If we do nothing, we'll of course still have a nominee by Labor Day. But if he or she is the nominee of a party that is emotionally exhausted and divided with only two months to go before Election Day, it could be a Pyrrhic victory.

Bredesen's plan calls for a primary in "early June, after the final primaries."

An article posted by Bredesen's home state News Channel 5 takes up some of the pros and cons. Among the issues they address is the June date he proposes for the primary: "Some say why not resolve it now." Now, some say that the use of "some say" is a mark of lazy reporting, but what the heck: I'll do News Channel 5 a solid and be "one" of their "some" that say so:

And the superdelegates must start making commitments: they've all seen both candidates at their best and worst, and their policy positions are known quantities, so there's no compelling reason why they can't render their decision with all deliberate speed. Even if questions remain, why wait until June? The superdelegates can follow the pro-active example of these Ohio superdelegates who are demanding a concrete plan for job retention in return for their decision.

Offering a countering opinion to the idea of getting the superdelegates committed now is Tennessee Democratic Party chair Gray Sasser:

If all the superdelegates decided today, for example, to go with Senator Obama or Senator Clinton that would in some ways disenfranchise people in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Indiana and the those final states that have yet to vote.

Due respect, but in my estimation, this is wrong. The fact is, in many previous cases - such as in 2004, when John Kerry emerged quickly as the presumptive nominee - the later primaries only really serve as an opportunity to rubber-stamp the eventual winner. And the irony of the process is that because the Democrats portion out the delegates, rather than allow the winner to claim the entire slate, the close race that is pushing the process later and later in the calendar has only produced a mathematical conundrum that makes voting an empty exercise - short of something catastrophic, Obama will not reach the winning number and Clinton will not winnow down his lead. The superdelegates are the only voting bloc that could give the late-primary voters a race to decide.

As far as the idea of a superdelegate primary goes, Senator Clinton spoke to Bredesen and said that "she would love to have an opportunity to make her pitch to the delegates and then let them vote," though it should be noted her advisor, Harold Ickes, dismissed the proposal as a "nice thought" that would "never happen." Barack Obama has said, "I thought that actually Gov. Bredesen of Tennessee had an interesting proposal...That would probably be the best way to insure that at lest there's a couple of months before the convention."

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