Bob,
I don't think the Republican Party has super delegates. The Democratic Party
began using them after McGovern became a candidate because the party
insiders were so uncomfortable about him. He was too far to the left for
them, and then Nixon won that election. It seems to me that the person with
the most primary votes should get the nomination. But I think that the real
problem is that the whole party structure, in its present form, is
undemocratic. We need to do a whole reset. No more electoral college.
Honest, proportional representation. No more two senators per state,
regardless of population. A change in how supreme court judges are chosen
and how long they serve. A change of funding of elections. Automatic voter
registration at birth or citizenship. Could any of that happen?
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Bob Hachey (Redacted
sender "bhachey" for DMARC)
Sent: Friday, February 28, 2020 1:26 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: DNC Superdelegate Promoting Brokered
Convention Is a Significant GOP Donor, Health Care Lobbyist
Hi Miriam,
This super delegate mess makes a mockery of democracy.
I get that if one candidate does not get the majority that some kind of
brokered convention might be necessary. Perhaps they should use something
like instant runoff voting at the convention unless one candidate gets the
required majority to win nomination the traditional way.
Does the republican party use super delegates? This whole insider mess helps
feed corruption, prevents most of WE THE PEOPLE from having proper access to
our elected officials and is part of the reason that Trump was elected in
2016. The Republicans picked Trump partly out of disgust with the rest of
the candidates who they believed to be out of touch with average aMericans.
Some of the support for Bernie comes from this same kind of disgust on the
democrat side.
More proof here that both parties ought to be broken up and made to start
from scratch.
Bob Hachey
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, February 28, 2020 12:34 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] DNC Superdelegate Promoting Brokered Convention
Is a Significant GOP Donor, Health Care Lobbyist
DNC Superdelegate Promoting Brokered Convention Is a Significant GOP Donor,
Health Care Lobbyist By Lee Fang, The Intercept
28 February 20
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 noted that he understood how his GOP donations could open him up for
criticism but stressed that he also gives to Democrats. Federal Election
Commission records show Owen has donated to Democrats in previous years, but
has not donated to his own party's congressional candidates this cycle. Owen
has not given to any presidential candidates this cycle.
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 push was ultimately defeated. Sanders's supporters won a key concession
from the DNC, changing the rules to only allow superdelegate participation
in the nominating process on the second ballot.
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.
Bloomberg, notably, has discussed efforts to poach delegates from other more
moderate candidates to bring together an anti-Sanders coalition. In January,
his campaign hired Alexandra Rooker, a superdelegate from California, as an
adviser. Michael Nutter, the former Philadelphia mayor and DNC
superdelegate, is a co-chair of the Bloomberg campaign. FEC disclosures show
Nutter has been paid at least $45,000 by the Bloomberg campaign.
Owen told the Times he has been in contact with multiple campaigns. Owen
floated the name of Michelle Obama as a potential running mate to bring the
party together. Other superdelegates, according to the Times, are floating
moderate lawmakers such as Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., or Sen. Chris Coons,
D-Del., as potential unity candidates to lead the ticket. Sen. Sherrod
Brown, D-Ohio, a popular progressive lawmaker, has also been floated as a
unity candidate.
