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Super Delegates: The Good, The Bad, and The Confusing. — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at Care2 Election Blog)

There has been a lot of confusion over delegates and super-delegates. And, because of the close race between Obama and Clinton, understanding the role of delegates and super-delegates is going to be more important than in past elections. However, understanding may be the easy part…Getting over the seemingly less than democratic process, may prove to be more difficult.

So, lets take a look at the super-delegates…

The Super-delegates are party leaders and lawmakers, including all Democratic members of Congress and former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, as well as ex-vice president Al Gore.

If no candidate has a lock on the 2,025 delegates needed to secure the nomination before the party’s convention in August, the 796 “super-delegates” would be decisive.

Unlike “pledged” delegates chosen through primaries and caucuses, super-delegates are free to vote for whomever they chose. Many have already promised to back one candidate or another, “and most of the others will at some point before the convention,” said Michael Tanner, a political analyst with the Cato Institute.

Who are the super delegates? The following information is from the 2008 Democratic Convention Watch.

List of super delegates that have already endorsed a candidate.

List of super delegates that have NOT yet endorsed a candidate.

Why did the party adopt the ’super delegate’ system?

Super-delegates were supposed to supply some Establishment stability to the nominating process.

Before 1972, party elders, such as Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Charlie Buckley, the boss of The Bronx who helped John Kennedy clinch the 1960 nomination, wielded inordinate power.

But in early 1970’s, the party’s rules were reformed to open the process to grass-roots activists, women, and ethnic minorities.

Sen. George McGovern, the leading anti-Vietnam war liberal, won the 1972 nomination. McGovern turned out to be a disaster as a presidential candidate, winning only one state and the District of Columbia.

So without reverting to the days of party bosses like Buckley, the Democrats decided to guarantee that elected officials would have a bigger voice in the nomination.

Most people don’t like the idea of our next presidential nominee being decided by super delegates. And, if it comes down to that, I think there is going to be some real trouble in the Democratic party. Personally, as a disenfranchised voter in Florida, I would be furious if super delegates decided the nominee, but Florida delegates did even get counted.

I came across this video clip, that might help you understand the whole ’super-delegate controversy’ a little better. It’s Dan Abrams and others, discussing the delegate situation, and why it could be a disaster waiting to happen.

Here is what other bloggers are saying about this…

Pam from Pam’s Coffee Conversation did a guest post today for The Political Voices of Women.

Guess We’d Better Learn More About Super Delegates

Who Are The Super Delegates, and How Can We Influence Them?