Democrats Shouldn’t Worry About Length of Campaign
By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in 2008 Election, Democrats, Super Delegates!!!The Chicago Tribune bemoans the lack of a powerful Democratic party elder who can end the Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton contest. Where are the Clark Cliffords, the Sam Rayburns, the W. Averell Harrimans who advised presidents and stepped in to marshal party disputes? Instead, Democrats have the likes of Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, Howard Dean and, well, Bill Clinton.
The Tribune makes some good points about the democratization of the primary process and how that has helped to end the days of kingmakers. But the article doesn’t mention what I think may be the most important truth: superdelegates are the modern kingmakers, the elder statesmen, the grand poohbahs. It’s just that the power which used to rest with a few party insiders now rests with 793 of them. It’s diffuse power, but it’s still there. A decision will be made without significant chaos. It’ll just take a few more months.
And is that really so bad? I don’t get these breathless concerns that the Democratic primary process might actually extend through the entire primary season. Jeez, we wouldn’t want too much democracy, would we? Obama and Clinton are tough enough to handle this, even if it occasionally gets a little nasty. So what if one or both of them sustain some damage in the process, they’re still taking the focus far off John McCain and keeping the news outlets talking about Democratic themes and Democratic policies. I think a vibrant race is good for the party; you can’t buy this kind of nonstop coverage.
Then, when it’s time for someone to step aside, the superdelegates, with their kingmaker power, will decide who wins, the convention will happen and the party will refit the hatchets with McCain’s name. It’s not pure democracy but it’s a lot more democratic than a Sam Rayburn type telling one of the candidates to step aside. Democrats should stop hoping for a quick, brokered end to this race and start embracing the limelight Obama and Clinton are generating.
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March 14th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
It was a good post, but I don’t believe this is about king makers or the lack therof - it’s all about feeding the opposition. There is nothing wrong with long primaries, it’s very democratic, and if memory strikes me correctlyaside from Kerry the D party never had their nominee before June. However, it becomes a problem when the second place rival for the Democratic nomination is siding with the Republican Presidential nominee to go after the 1st place Democratic Nominee - that’s a real problem and needs immediate attention.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Empower the People. You the People.
Run the Florida & Michigan Elections in full…
BUT-
This is only Fair if we get rid of the SUPERDELEGATE count… all of it… No SuperDelegates ! It’s insulting… and you… the people… should be VERY ANGRY about who these people are and what they are doing … to you !
March 14th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Terrence,
Agreed. It is time for Obama to step aside for the good of the party - accept the VP role and move on. It would be the right thing for him to do before he creates any more problems and divisiveness in the Democratic Party ranks. It would be the statesmanlike thing for him to do.
March 15th, 2008 at 5:29 am
I didn’t say that - you did. Obama’s already won, Clinton has an ego problem that won’t allow her to admit that after the WI primary she was dead but unwilling to admit it. She can’t win………so hanging on for Clinton is really rather pathetic.