Post by Logan on Mar 28, 2016 5:01:20 GMT -6
Bernie Sanders backers demand Washington superdelegates feel the Bern
Supporters of Bernie Sanders are demanding Washington’s 17 “superdelegates” fall in line and support Sanders if he wins today’s caucuses.
A petition circulated on MoveOn.org demands those delegates “follow the lead of average Democratic party voters and uphold authentic democracy.” The petition was started by Charlie Best, who works for the King County Labor Council, but said he was acting as a private citizen and not for the organization.
Sanders backers have chafed at the less-than-democratic superdelegate system, in which top elected Democrats and party officials are automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Unlike regular delegates, the superdelegates are unpledged, meaning they are free to back whichever candidate they want, regardless of their state’s caucus or primary results. Those superdelegates nationally have favored Hillary Clinton by a huge margin. That’s true in Washington too, where a majority of the 17 superdelegates have endorsed Clinton. Republicans, by contrast, have no superdelegate system.
“To be able to have these delegates that have no accountability to the Democratic Party members seems to me to be a tad undemocratic,” Best said in an interview. “When the party base speaks, the leadership should follow the lead of the party base.”
Read more: www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/sanders-backers-demand-washington-superdelegates-feel-the-bern/
Supporters of Bernie Sanders are demanding Washington’s 17 “superdelegates” fall in line and support Sanders if he wins today’s caucuses.
A petition circulated on MoveOn.org demands those delegates “follow the lead of average Democratic party voters and uphold authentic democracy.” The petition was started by Charlie Best, who works for the King County Labor Council, but said he was acting as a private citizen and not for the organization.
Sanders backers have chafed at the less-than-democratic superdelegate system, in which top elected Democrats and party officials are automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Unlike regular delegates, the superdelegates are unpledged, meaning they are free to back whichever candidate they want, regardless of their state’s caucus or primary results. Those superdelegates nationally have favored Hillary Clinton by a huge margin. That’s true in Washington too, where a majority of the 17 superdelegates have endorsed Clinton. Republicans, by contrast, have no superdelegate system.
“To be able to have these delegates that have no accountability to the Democratic Party members seems to me to be a tad undemocratic,” Best said in an interview. “When the party base speaks, the leadership should follow the lead of the party base.”
Read more: www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/sanders-backers-demand-washington-superdelegates-feel-the-bern/