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Deleted member 3812

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,821
Here's a recent article from The Intercept which is completely fucked up that explains how Democratic superdelegates make U.S. Presidential elections unfair:

https://theintercept.com/2020/02/27/dnc-superdelegate-convention-gop-donor/

WILLIAM OWEN, a Tennessee-based Democratic National Committee member backing an effort to use so-called superdelegates to select the party's presidential nominee — potentially subverting the candidate with the most voter support — is a Republican donor and health care lobbyist.

Owen
, who runs a lobbying firm called Asset & Equity Corporations, donated to Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and gave $8,500 to a joint fundraising committee designed to benefit Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in 2019.

"I am a committed Democrat but as a lobbyist, there are times when I need to have access to both sides and the way to get access quite often is to make campaign contributions," said Owen, in a brief interview with The Intercept.

"I'm a registered lobbyist and I represent clients and they have interest in front of Congress and I attend the Senator's Classic, which is a Republican event, each year," he added.

Owen, currently registered as lobbyist for Klox Technologies, a medical product company, was quoted in the New York Times today as one of the party insiders considering an effort to block Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders's path to the nomination at the DNC convention in Milwaukee this July.

A former member of the Tennessee state legislature, Owen is currently an executive member of the Tennessee Democratic Party and DNC, making him one of the 771 unpledged delegates, also known as superdelegates, who could play a hand in selecting the presidential nomination. Owens is a supporter of former Vice President Joe Biden's presidential campaign, and has pushed to use superdelegates to make Biden the nominee.

The Tennessee Democrat worked in 2018 to block a Sanders-backed plan to weaken the role of superdelegates in the nomination process. "If we don't have a vote, then what good are we?" Owen told Politico at the time.

The Intercept previously reported on the potential for party insiders — including corporate lobbyists and lawmakers funded by special interests — to cut a backroom deal to block a more populist candidate from the nomination. Several superdelegates are consultants to health care clients lobbying against Medicare for All. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase each employ lobbyists who simultaneously serve as superdelegates.

Chris Dodd, a former Connecticut senator and one of the superdelegates quoted by the Times today, is a lobbyist with the law firm Arnold & Porter, which represents corporate interests such as the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, Lloyd's of London, and AT&T. Dodd has endorsed Biden for president.

Current polls suggest Sanders will have the most voter and delegate support going into the nomination, but may fall short of the threshold for the nomination on the first ballot.

In recent days, several candidates, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, have embraced the potential for a brokered convention, in which superdelegates could be used to stop Sanders.
 
Oct 25, 2017
6,033
Milwaukee, WI
Yes and no. Had the republicans taken on a similar system, trump never would have won.
But the way in which they are used is my beef. Heck, they only exist because people got pissed Jimmy Carter won.
 

Deleted member 5028

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,724
The fact he's openly saying he's a lobbyist and the person that licks his balls gets the vote is awful.
What a garbage political system.
 

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
59,993
Yes and no. Had the republicans taken on a similar system, trump never would have won.
But the way in which they are used is my beef. Heck, they only exist because people got pissed Jimmy Carter won.
But the GOP system is more democratic objectively speaking. It's sad that the Democrats are behind here.

We can't complain about the EC if we defend superdelegates.
 

gaugebozo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,828
But the GOP system is more democratic objectively speaking. It's sad that the Democrats are behind here.

We can't complain about the EC if we defend superdelegates.
The Republicans are currently canceling primaries and changing them to winner-takes-all so that Trump doesn't actually have competition.
 

efr

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Jun 19, 2019
2,893
Intercept gonna be upset when they discover the lawmakers make laws based on the money they receive in donations and not what's good for the people.

I hope by 2021 they discover that the pharmaceutical industry isn't an honest industry and raises prices for profit instead of helping sick people.
 

Ocean Bones

Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
4,725
The democratic party of the United States, bought and paid for by the GOP and their corporate masters.
 
Oct 26, 2017
17,362
It's a tool of the establishment to maintain control of that status quo, plain and simple. It would have stopped Trump, but may also stop Sanders. Guess it depends on where your priorities lie.

This crossover highlights how it can be used to absolutely corrupt, though.
 

Kirblar

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
30,744
But the GOP system is more democratic objectively speaking. It's sad that the Democrats are behind here.

We can't complain about the EC if we defend superdelegates.
It's not, though. Superdelegates only enter the process if no one gets a first-ballot majority, as a form of grease. (This was an actual good change from the 2016 negotiations.) The proportional parliamentary system the Dems use is far more representative than one that lets a plurality of 35% run over the party.
 
Oct 25, 2017
2,391
Intercept gonna be upset when they discover the lawmakers make laws based on the money they receive in donations and not what's good for the people.

I hope by 2021 they discover that the pharmaceutical industry isn't an honest industry and raises prices for profit instead of helping sick people.
Yep, no one should ever write any articles about how the American political system functions.

Brilliant!
 

haziq

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,652
If a brokered convention actually happens this election, it's basically a sign to stop voting, period.
 

Deleted member 43

Account closed at user request
Banned
Oct 24, 2017
9,271

cDNA

Member
Oct 25, 2017
916
Superdelegates have never changed the results of the primaries, this time they are no voting unless a 2nd round is necessary.
 

Syriel

Banned
Dec 13, 2017
11,088
Parties have always set their own rules.

Not sure how that is undemocratic.

Should the Feds be telling parties who is eligible for the ballot beyond min requirements?
 

Lexad

Member
Nov 4, 2017
3,044
Ironic that the party that is pushing for the state compact to award the popular vote winner their delegates in the general pushes superdelegates in the primary.
 

captmcblack

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,060
This time the rules are the ones Bernie pushed for, where they can't even vote until the second round.

While there may be an argument for no superdelegates at all, I can't ride with it today or for this specific election.
 

captive

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,991
Houston
Gotta take anything from the intercept with a grain of salt. For them anything but Bernie as the dem nominee and it seems they'd rather keep Trump.
 

Brakke

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,798
We can't complain about the EC if we defend superdelegates.

The fact that the EC exists is why superdelegates are an ok idea. If you play it out, it's stupid that the Democratic primary even recognizes delegates from, say, Alabama, since there's no reason for a Dem candidate to bother appealing to Alabama voters in the general. If a party wants to win a general, they should have a mechanism for prioritizing EC victory over expressed (but irrelevant) "democratic" will. The point of organizing into a party in the first place is to coordinate action within the constraints of the game.
 

onyx

Member
Dec 25, 2017
2,523

Been that way from very early one. Almost nothing we deal with today is that new. The wealthy have been the main power in the country since forever. There are moments when the people push back but never enough. Until we get things back to a pre Reagan era I don't think things will really get better. As much as Bernie would have tried if he won he just doesn't have the support needed to get it done. Plus a good portion of the country are fine with the wealthy being in charge and even selling out the country. Not shocking since they honor traitors.
 

GoldenEye 007

Roll Tide, Y'all!
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
13,833
Texas
Superdelegates had no role this primary season. People voted on their own and spoke quite loudly tonight.