HOME     ABOUT     ADVERTISE     DONATE     MEDIA     SUBSCRIBE     tips@bigheadDC.com
BIG HEADLINE NEWS, featuring AP reports

HOT HEADLINERS
Thursday March 27th, 2008 7:50 AM by BHDC Staff  
Filed under: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama
obama-flier.jpg

Ann Althouse, the conservative law professor and legal blogger, has published photos of mailings sent by the Texas Obama campaign to her son. Althouse’s son is a Texas Democratic pledged delegate to the Hillary Clinton campaign and the mailings encourage delegates to “support Barack Obama at the county convention.” The letter is shown here via Chris Cohen’s Flickr Photrostream.

“It’s a tad hypocritical for Obama to encourage delegates to change sides, since he is the one who is trying to make a big principle out of binding the superdelegates at the national convention to the will of the voter,” writes Althouse.

On March 15, seven Iowa delegates pledged to John Edwardsswitched” to Obama.

................................................................................................................................................................................................




 

E-mail this post:





e-mail this
facebook
del.icio.us
stumble

  1. 38 Comments to 'Obama Camp Tries to Sway Hillary’s Pledged Delegates'


  1. 1. Keith said:


    C’mon, this looks like they got a name off of a Democratic mailing list and are just sending out notices to everyone on the list. This message isn’t personalized. It’s a POSTCARD! If they were trying to influence someone don’t you think they’d send an actual letter by first class mail? Why is BHDC trying to make something from nothing like this? Shameful.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 8:13 am | Quote

  1. 2. Ann Althouse said:


    Keith, if you read the postcard, you can see that it says “Support Barack Obama at your county convention!” As I say in my post, the list of county convention delegates is on line, with the names of the candidates they were supposedly representing from the caucuses. Texans who caucused probably thought they were getting represented at the next level and the Obama campaign is addressing these delegates as if they had free choice. I specifically say that I don’t think the campaign is doing anything wrong, but it is doing something that contravenes its larger argument that delegates are locked into the will of the voters.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 8:42 am | Quote

  1. 3. Sally said:


    I, too received a postcard from the Obama campaign, to switch my vote at the county convention. I am committed to Hillary and from San Antonio.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 9:03 am | Quote

  1. 4. xbjllb said:


    They send one of the pieces of trash to me I’m suing them for unsolicited junk mail.

    AFTER I document it and send it back postage due.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 9:14 am | Quote

  1. 5. xbjllb said:


    Love the lying return address… “Obama for America”.

    NO. Obama for Obama, Karl Rove, and John McCain.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 9:17 am | Quote

  1. 6. seth said:


    Obama’s Pastors letter to the NY times yesterday:
    Jodi Kantor
    The New York Times
    9 West 43rd Street
    New York,
    New York 10036-3959

    Dear Jodi:

    Thank you for engaging in one of the biggest misrepresentations of the truth I have ever seen in sixty-five years. You sat and shared with me
    for two hours. You told me you were doing a “Spiritual Biography” of Senator Barack Obama. For two hours, I shared with you how I thought he was the most principled individual in public service that I have ever
    met.

    For two hours, I talked with you about how idealistic he was. For two hours I shared with you what a genuine human being he was. I told you how
    incredible he was as a man who was an African American in public service, and as a man who refused to announce his candidacy for President until
    Carol Moseley Braun indicated one way or the other whether or not she was going to run.

    I told you what a dreamer he was. I told you how idealistic he was. We talked about how refreshing it would be for someone who knew about Islam
    to be in the Oval Office. Your own question to me was, “Didn’t I think it would be incredible to have somebody in the Oval Office who not only knew about Muslims, but had living and breathing Muslims in his own family?”
    I told you how important it would be to have a man who not only knew the difference between Shiites and Sunnis prior to 9/11/01 in the Oval Office, but also how important it would be to have a man who knew what
    Sufism was; a man who understood that there were different branches of Judaism; a man who knew the difference between Hasidic Jews, Orthodox
    Jews, Conservative Jews and Reformed Jews; and a man who was a devout Christian, but who did not prejudge others because they believed something other than what he believed.

    I talked about how rare it was to meet a man whose Christianity was not just “in word only.” I talked about Barack being a person who lived his faith and did not argue his faith. I talked about Barack as a person who
    did not draw doctrinal lines in the sand nor consign other people to hell if they did not believe what he believed.

    Out of a two-hour conversation with you about Barack’s spiritual journey and my protesting to you that I had not shaped him nor formed him, that
    I had not mentored him or made him the man he was, even though I would love to take that credit, you did not print any of that. When I told you,
    using one of your own Jewish stories from the Hebrew Bible as to how God asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?,” that Barack was like that when I met him. Barack had it “in his hand.” Barack had in his grasp a uniqueness in terms of his spiritual development that one is hard put to find in the 21st century, and you did not print that.

    As I was just starting to say a moment ago, Jodi, out of two hours of conversation I spent approximately five to seven minutes on Barack’s taking advice from one of his trusted campaign people and deeming it
    unwise to make me the media spotlight on the day of his announcing his candidacy for the Presidency and what do you print? You and your editor proceeded to present to the general public a snippet, a printed “sound byte” and a titillating and tantalizing article about his disinviting me to the Invocation on the day of his announcing his candidacy.

    I have never been exposed to that kind of duplicitous behavior before, and I want to write you publicly to let you know that I do not approve of it and will not be party to any further smearing of the name, the
    reputation, the integrity or the character of perhaps this nation’s first (and maybe even only) honest candidate offering himself for public service as the person to occupy the Oval Office.

    Your editor is a sensationalist. For you to even mention that makes me doubt your credibility, and I am looking forward to see how you are going to butcher what else I had to say concerning Senator Obama’s “Spiritual
    Biography.” Our Conference Minister, the Reverend Jane Fisler Hoffman, a white woman who belongs to a Black church that Hannity of “Hannity and
    Colmes” is trying to trash, set the record straight for you in terms of who I am and in terms of who we are as the church to which Barack has belonged for over twenty years.

    The president of our denomination, the Reverend John Thomas, has offered to try to help you clarify in your confused head what Trinity Church is even though you spent the entire weekend with us setting me up to
    interview me for what turned out to be a smear of the Senator; and yet The New York Times continues to roll on making the truth what it wants
    to be the truth. I do not remember reading in your article that Barack had apologized for listening to that bad information and bad advice. Did I miss it? Or did your editor cut it out? Either way, you do not have to
    worry about hearing anything else from me for you to edit or “spin” because you are more interested in journalism than in truth.

    Forgive me for having a momentary lapse. I forgot that The New York Times was leading the bandwagon in trumpeting why it is we should have gone
    into an illegal war. The New York Times became George Bush and the Republican Party’s national “blog.” The New York Times played a role in
    the outing of Valerie Plame. I do not know why I thought The New York Times had actually repented and was going to exhibit a different kind of
    behavior.

    Maybe it was my faith in the Jewish Holy Day of Roshashana. Maybe it was my being caught up in the euphoria of the Season of Lent; but whatever
    it is or was, I was sadly mistaken. There is no repentance on the part of The New York Times. There is no integrity when it comes to The Times.
    You should do well with that paper, Jodi. You looked me straight in my face and told me a lie!

    Sincerely and respectfully yours,

    Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. ,
    Senior Pastor
    Trinity United Church of Christ

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 9:35 am | Quote

  1. 7. typical white person said:


    I want to thank BHDC for once again focusing the spotlight on the hypocrites that are the Obama campaign. I am supporting John McCain this year, but it is plain to see that the Obama campaign has been bleeding the Clinton campaign with this technique and many others. I think is is an absolute disgrace that the voters of FL and MI are getting their votes ignored, and may not be seated @ the convention. The Democratic party has turned it self inside out defending the denial of voter to HUGE voters blocks, defending the racist remarks of Obama’s mentor (the ususal mitigating circumstances bull) and the continued flauting of the rules with delegates and super delegates….only Carville seems willing to get tough, and “Brand” this behavior….the party has lost it’s way, is now representing the ideals they should be opposing …and allowing anti-american,anti- jewish,anti- Italian, nasty “whitey” “KKK”,remarks to side across home base like it doesn’t matter. It matters, and if you don’t think this behavior will continue through til November, you are flat out nuts.
    I am an Independent , I will not forget how completely screwed up the Dem’s are….Howard Dean now leads the party of “THE SCREAM”……

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 9:39 am | Quote

  1. 8. typical white person said:


    As a byline; The letter written by the “Rev” , posted above…
    .refering to high Jewish holy days is a farce, and degrading those holidays for those who really honor them. The letter was probabaly written by the team of attorneys on vacation with Obama this easter weekend….WAKE UP PEOPLE! YOU ARE BEING STRING UP BY YOUR CONSCIENCE!

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 9:46 am | Quote

  1. 9. Jeremiah Wright about Barack Obama said:


    “I told you what a dreamer he was. I told you how idealistic he was. We talked about how refreshing it would be for someone who knew about Islam
    to be in the Oval Office. Your own question to me was, “Didn’t I think it would be incredible to have somebody in the Oval Office who not only knew about Muslims, but had living and breathing Muslims in his own family?”

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 9:52 am | Quote

  1. 10. Obama’s Pastor Slurs Italians in Latest Magazine said:


    Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago where Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has been a member for two decades, slurred Italians in a piece published in the most recent issue of Trumpet Newsmagazine.

    Rev. Jeremiah Wright writes of Jesus’ enemies: “(Jesus’) enemies had their opinion about Him,” Wright wrote in a eulogy of the late scholar Asa Hilliard in the November/December 2007 issue. “The Italians for the most part looked down their garlic noses at the Galileans.”

    Wright continued, “From the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth (in a barn in a township that was under the Apartheid Roman government that said his daddy had to be in), up to and including the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ death on a cross, a Roman cross, public lynching Italian style. …

    “He refused to be defined by others and Dr. Asa Hilliard also refused to be defined by others. The government runs everything from the White House to the schoolhouse, from the Capitol to the Klan, white supremacy is clearly in charge, but Asa, like Jesus, refused to be defined by an oppressive government because Asa got his identity from an Omnipotent God.”

    Every issue of the magazine published last year included Wright’s column, “The Message,” in which he covered a range of subjects, including his views on other African-American churches as expressed in his April 2007 commentary “Facing the Rising Sun.”

    “In a world that is controlled by white supremacy, in a country that is on its way to hell in a hand basket because of lying politicians, in a culture that still thinks ‘white is right’ and with young people who do not have a clue as to our story, our history, our legacy or our destiny, we still have African-American Christians who are more concerned about ‘bling bling’ than about freeing our minds,” Wright wrote.

    In a nationally broadcast speech on March 18, Obama distanced himself from Wright by saying he “condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy.” But Obama also said, “I could no more disown him than I could disown the black community.”

    According to his federal income tax return for 2006, Obama gave the Trinity United church that year $22,500 in contributions.

    The Clinton campaign has not commented on the controversy, but in an interview Tuesday with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) said actions speak louder than words.

    “He would not have been my pastor,” Clinton said. “You don’t choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend.

    “You know, I spoke out against Don Imus (a radio talk show host who was fired for making racially insensitive remarks about black female basketball players at Rutgers University), saying that hate speech was unacceptable in any setting, and I believe that,” Clinton said.

    “I just think you have to speak out against that. You certainly have to do that, if not explicitly, then implicitly by getting up and moving,” she added.

    Trumpet Newsmagazine started publication in the 1980s in Chicago and distribution expanded in March 2006 to several other cities, with broader circulation through subscriptions. On the magazine’s masthead, Wright is named as the magazine’s CEO and Wright’s daughter, Jeri Wright, is the publisher.

    Requests for comments from Jeri Wright, the magazine’s marketing staff, and the Obama campaign were not answered by press time.

    The last Trumpet to be published was the November/December edition, a double issue that featured a remembrance of “Pan-Africanist” Hilliard and a profile of Louis Farrakhan, who was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement “Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Trumpeter” award at the magazine’s 25th anniversary gala late last year.

    Farrakhan has called Judaism a “gutter religion” and said Jews are “bloodsuckers,” as reported in The New York Times.

    Trumpet Newsmagazine also included myriad articles and regular features geared toward the black community, ranging from health, parenting, music and the arts, to profiles of successful members of the community and tips on everything from dating to spiritual well-being.

    Many political observers have said that Obama’s speech last week limited the damage of the ongoing Wright controversy, but others say the issue is continuing to hamper his campaign.

    “I don’t think it’s going to go away,” Ralph Reed, a long-time conservative activist and political strategist who now runs Century Strategies based in Duluth, Ga., told Cybercast News Service.

    “Because while Obama’s speech was thoughtful and eloquent, it didn’t address the central issue, and that’s why he would have someone as such a close spiritual advisor with such extreme views,” Reed added.

    “Let me be clear,” Reed added. “I don’t think any candidate should have to answer for the theological views of their pastor, church or denomination. But (Wright’s) were not theological views, but political statements.”

    “I think it’s more likely to be a serious issue in the general election, more than in the primaries,” Reed said.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 10:01 am | Quote

  1. 11. Cathy from PA said:


    Obama and his campaign - DIRTY POLITICS. He will stop at nothing to get in the White House. People beware!!!

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 10:22 am | Quote

  1. 12. Cathy from PA said:


    To: Ann Althouse

    Ann: Does the Clinton campaign know about this?? Did you contact all of the main stream media about this. Obama is such a hypocrit.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 10:24 am | Quote

  1. 13. Laugh Now Cry Later... said:


    This is a generic mailer! I got one and so did other people in TX I know! He is NOT trying to poach delegates like Clinton has SAID PUBLICLY time and time again! (”so-called pledged delegates”, ring a bell?) He doesn’t need to steal her delegates, BUT she does need to steal his. HRC is done! Accept it and prepare to vote McCain or stay home in the fall!

    I like many other people are growing tired of the Rev. Wright issue! If it drowns him in the fall so be it; it will be at your own peril. Question: How many deaths can Rev. Wright’s speeches and/or writings be directly attributed to? ZERO! Now how many American deaths can be attributed to this war that both HRC and McCain helped to authorize? 4001 and counting! Not to mention the unknown number of Iraqi casualties! I don’t give a shit about Rev. Wright, he is not running for office, but Obama, HRC, and McCain are. If the biggest “lapse” in judgment is having a radical and/or racist preacher, so be it. Guilt by association isn’t going to sway my vote. Had Obama written and/or said these things, yes most definitely, but HE did not! I and most people I know care more about the issues of healthcare, immigration, the economy, and ending this illegal war (that is currently back in the shitter). So go ahead in November and cast a vote against your own self-interest. And I hope they reinstate the draft with HRC supporters which vote McCain the first names on the list. Obama’s and HRC’s platform are almost identical, but you would choose to vote for someone ideologically opposite, and is essentially an older version of BUSH! Doesn’t make much sense. I guess this is where the education discrepancy between voters is most apparent. I guess we will all have to suffer before this country realizes what is most important.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 10:53 am | Quote

  1. 14. Cathy from PA said:


    This is a generic mailer! I got one and so did other people in TX I know! He is NOT trying to poach delegates like Clinton has SAID PUBLICLY time and time again! (”so-called pledged delegates”, ring a bell?) He doesn’t need to steal her delegates, BUT she does need to steal his. HRC is done! Accept it and prepare to vote McCain or stay home in the fall!

    I like many other people are growing tired of the Rev. Wright issue! If it drowns him in the fall so be it; it will be at your own peril. Question: How many deaths can Rev. Wright’s speeches and/or writings be directly attributed to? ZERO! Now how many American deaths can be attributed to this war that both HRC and McCain helped to authorize? 4001 and counting! Not to mention the unknown number of Iraqi casualties! I don’t give a shit about Rev. Wright, he is not running for office, but Obama, HRC, and McCain are. If the biggest “lapse” in judgment is having a radical and/or racist preacher, so be it. Guilt by association isn’t going to sway my vote. Had Obama written and/or said these things, yes most definitely, but HE did not! I and most people I know care more about the issues of healthcare, immigration, the economy, and ending this illegal war (that is currently back in the shitter). So go ahead in November and cast a vote against your own self-interest. And I hope they reinstate the draft with HRC supporters which vote McCain the first names on the list. Obama’s and HRC’s platform are almost identical, but you would choose to vote for someone ideologically opposite, and is essentially an older version of BUSH! Doesn’t make much sense. I guess this is where the education discrepancy between voters is most apparent. I guess we will all have to suffer before this country realizes what is most important.

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Obama didn’t have any problem accepting Richardson’s nomination. Obama is a real hypocrit. Whatever suits him best, that is what he is all about.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 10:58 am | Quote

  1. 15. Laugh Now Cry Later... said:


    Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Obama didn’t have any problem accepting Richardson’s nomination. Obama is a real hypocrit. Whatever suits him best, that is what he is all about.
    ____________________________________________________________________

    What does Richardson’s endorsement have to do with ANYTHING?

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 11:09 am | Quote

  1. 16. Molly from MI said:


    Still more dirty politics from Obama, like when he “accidentally” ran ads in Florida, even though his campaign promised he wouldn’t campaign in the state. And now FL and MI are still in limbo. I can’t believe the audacity of Barack.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 11:09 am | Quote

  1. 17. pledged delegate for Hillary hereI am pledged to Hillary said:


    I have been contacted personally by the Obama camp to try to change my vote.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 11:11 am | Quote

  1. 18. Laugh Now Cry Later... said:


    Still more dirty politics from Obama, like when he “accidentally” ran ads in Florida, even though his campaign promised he wouldn’t campaign in the state. And now FL and MI are still in limbo. I can’t believe the audacity of Barack.
    ____________________________________________________________________

    One correction…Not in limbo, over and done with! Clinton has a lot of “audacity” to want to count the votes from the states only after she had no other way to “win” the nomination. By her own pledge and admittance these were nothing more than “beauty” contests! Trying to change the rules in the middle of the contest. Shame on you Hillary Clinton! Speaking of hypocrisy! BTW, before you spew more HRC lies…the FL democratic legislature threw out the revote idea. As for MI, HRC wants to hold a closed primary, but Obama wanted the contest to be open like the original primary. Now HRC is saying Obama is trying to disenfranchise voters…wtf?! More lies like Bosnia! I guess her campaign is truly in its “death throws.”

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 11:20 am | Quote

  1. 19. sunshine said:


    Why isn’t this in the media. When Hillary said that delegates can change their minds at the convention, the media was all over her saying she is trying to steal the election. I am so tired of the bias in the media. Please send this to Hillary Clinton.com. Obama camp is dirty and they never get called on it. Please e-mail this!

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 11:22 am | Quote

  1. 20. Laugh Now Cry Later... said:


    I have been contacted personally by the Obama camp to try to change my vote.

    Two words: Prove it! This generic mailer proves nothing!

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 11:22 am | Quote

  1. 21. CLINTON ON FOX? said:


    Why is Hillary Clinton on Fox News? This is going to be the same place that will try to bury her in the fall. I am a Clinton supporter, but going up there doesn’t make much since.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 11:33 am | Quote

  1. 22. Vitodude said:


    News Update: Obama just took a big dump.

    In an unprecedented move only equaled by his last damage control speech… I mean “The Speech of the Century”, Obama dropped a big turd on the stage floor. He did it with the backdrop of 10 American flags to prove his patriotism.

    MSN, CBS, ABC reports: Response to the turd has been overwhelming!

    Obama supporters are calling it a ‘home run’
    ‘Still steamy’ cried one ObamaBot hungry for change
    ‘Very Presidential’ said another supporter. I almost wept…

    Nancy Pelosi again trying to make up rules as to how the super delegates should vote said the Clintons would be ‘stealing’ the nomination unless it was based on who used the most corn for texture.

    Obama sighted a heart-felt similar story from his youth. I remember the first time I got diarrhea. My grandmother tried to scare me by saying I was melting.

    In what has been characterized as clearly racist statement, Sean Hannity said he didn’t like it too much.

    Bill Richardson was seen at Taco Bell wolfing down bean burritos in order to squeeze out a turd of vice presidential caliber.

    Geraldine Ferraro again attacked - He is just ~lucky~ to have irritable bowel syndrome

    The nerd community was disappointed. They heard about Klingons but then found out the turd was not a clean snap.

    Senator Clinton was joking that the media should put it on a pillow but was shocked when she saw Copper Anderson and Keith Olbermann roll up their suit coats to make it comfortable

    Obama supports were going to move it to Washington among other national treasures but unfortunately Oprah thought it was chocolate ice cream and ate it.

    Clinton 08 - Vitodude

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 11:35 am | Quote


  1. 24. firehouse said:


    Obama runs “accidental” commercials in Florida, the press does not report it, Rev. Wright is a racist and is Obama’s spiritual advisor, the press keeps adoring him, Obama plagiarizes Deval Patrick, the press says “oh no its ok, its his friend” He lied about being in the pews or ever hearing Rev. Wright say anything controversial.. Tony Rezco helps Obama buy a mansion, The press says “its ok, no wrong doing” Obama’s district in Illinois is worse than ever

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 11:41 am | Quote

  1. 25. typical white person said:


    Vitodude–thank you! lol

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 11:49 am | Quote

  1. 26. Give Me a Freakin Break said:


    Add Ann Althouse to the conspiracy theorists.

    The reason for the mailer is to make sure all of HIS delegates show up, and all of his alternates. If a delegate doesn’t show up, they are replaced with an alternate. If no alternate for that candidate shows up, they get replaced with whoever is available.

    That’s how the process works, and both candidates will try to capitalize on it. That is the reason for the mailer.

    So don’t get your panties all in a wad over nothing.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 12:32 pm | Quote

  1. 27. xbjllb said:


    Don’t worry about Edwards delegates that have switched to Obama either; they’ll ALL be switching back as soon as Hillary can announce Edwards as her choice for Veep.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 12:44 pm | Quote

  1. 28. JeannieJo said:


    xbjllb:

    I hope that Edwards gets on the ball, there is a mention of a possible endorsement soon. Would be wonderful news for a change -

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-weigant/edwards-endorsement-of-c_b_91980.html

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 12:54 pm | Quote

  1. 29. Give Me a Freakin Break said:


    Edwards won’t be anyone’s running mate.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 12:57 pm | Quote

  1. 30. Give Me a Freakin Break said:


    Plus, all the states where Edwards had caucus delegates already had their county conventions. In Iowa, they all went for Obama. That means at the state convention, they will be Obama delegates, not Edwards delegates.

    God, this country is full of morons.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 12:58 pm | Quote

  1. 31. Cathy from PA said:


    A must read!

    http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/judicial-watch-obama-intended-to-leave-no-paper-trail-2008-03-26.html

    =============================================================
    Firehouse:

    Here is another one you can add to your list!! It just keeps getting longer and longer, and the MSM does nothing to keep us informed.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 12:59 pm | Quote

  1. 32. JeannieJo said:


    to:

    to - Give Me Freakin Break:

    I might refer you to the following

    www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/political_comme…

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 1:23 pm | Quote

  1. 33. JeannieJo said:


    Sorry that link did not move:

    The Robot RuleWed Mar 26, 3:00 AM ET
    Susan Estrich

    We called it “the robot rule.” I still have an old and slightly rusty pin showing a robot with a red slash through it. “Delegates are not robots” was our rallying cry in seeking to defeat what was then Rule 11(h) of the Delegate Selection Rules, or Rule f(3)(c) of the Convention Rules, which bound delegates to vote at the convention for the candidate to whom they were pledged according to the results of their state’s primary or caucus.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    The year was 1980. The fight was between incumbent Jimmy Carter and Sen. Ted Kennedy. The Carter forces, in what was an excess of paranoia, although understandable given how their year was going (a hostage crisis, double digit inflation, unemployment, etc), supported a rule that would prohibit pledged delegates — the only kind we had back then — from changing their minds at the convention. The Kennedy campaign, which was my team, challenged the provision at the Rules Committee, and the vote on the Rule became the campaign’s reason for continuing until August even though Carter had a solid majority of pledged delegates.

    I can’t remember how many position papers, speeches, memos and letters I wrote about Rule 11(h), but it was a lot. While some states had their own laws binding delegates to vote in accord with the results of their state’s contest, the validity of such laws was open to question, particularly given that the Supreme Court, only months before the 1980 Convention, had ruled in favor of the Democratic Party and against the state law of Wisconsin on the issue of the state’s right to conduct an “open” primary in violation of Party Rules.

    Moreover, ace legal researcher that I was, I couldn’t find a single case of anyone ever having been punished for violating such a state law, and I argued, as did everyone else I wrote speeches for, that delegates should have the same freedom members of the Electoral College did, even if they seldom used it. My favorite hypothetical was the one about an “ax murderer”: What if, sometime between the primary and the convention, it became known that the candidate who had won the primary was in fact an ax murderer? Would the delegates still be bound to support the ax murderer? I used that example so many times that Bob Torricelli, who later became a congressman and a senator but was then the executive director of the Rules Committee, got so frustrated that one day he flat-out said that the president of the United States was not an ax murderer.

    This was as close as we got to success. In a show of loyalty, Carter’s delegates overwhelmingly supported their right not to vote their consciences, choosing to bind themselves instead in a show of support for their candidate. The campaign finally ended with that vote Monday night on the Rule.

    Two years later, the Democrats, acting on a report from a commission chaired by then-North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt, changed the rules. I served on the drafting committee for that commission, and the big issue was not Rule 11(h)/f(3)(c), which everyone was happy to get rid of, but the proposal to add a category of unpledged superdelegates to the convention.

    Undemocratic? For sure. Did it represent a lack of confidence in the will of the people, as represented by voters in the caucuses and primaries? Absolutely. Did we understand this at the time? You bet. I wrote almost as many speeches opposing superdelegates as I had opposing the robot rule.

    But the view in 1982 was that the grassroots types who came out every four years could not be trusted to pick winners. It was as simple as that. Too much democracy, too many liberals controlling the process, and too many defeats in November. Changing the rules was all about the desire to win, the thought being that the grownups, the establishment or the “white boys” (and they were called all those things) would be more in tune with electoral success in November than the wackos who voted in Democratic primaries and caucuses.

    Last weekend, with his endorsement of Barack Obama, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson argued that superdelegates should not deny the will of the people. But he’s denying the will of the people of his home state of New Mexico, as Ted Kennedy is the will of the people of Massachusetts, even though Richardson will be a New Mexico delegate at the convention and Kennedy will be a Massachusetts delegate. In both cases, the elected official will be voting for Obama, while their states overwhelmingly supported Clinton.

    They have every right to do so. Superdelegates are not robots. Neither, for that matter, are delegates anymore. It may not be democratic, but it is certainly consistent with the rules of the Democratic Party, and with the purpose of those rules.

    To find out more about Susan Estrich and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

    COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.

    Previous: The Robot Rule Email Story Printable View RECOMMEND THIS STORY
    Recommend It:

    Average (10 votes)
    » Recommended Stories

    RecentlyTMI
    TMI stands for Too Much Information. That’s how I feel about David Patterson and his sex life. I know more than I want to know, or need to know, about whom he’s slept with and why, and when, and about whom his wife slept with, and who was getting even with whom, and when it stopped.

    The Speech
    It was an eloquent and powerful speech. But Barack Obama’s inspirational oratory left one fundamental question unanswered, at least for this white American — although judging by the reactions I’ve been hearing on local radio, for many others, as well.

    The White Elephant in the Room
    Would Barack Obama be where he is if he weren’t black?

    » Read all the columns

    About the AuthorSusan Estrich is a politician, professor, lawyer and writer. Estrich’s books include “Who Needs Feminism, Sex and Power?”

    Add headlines to your personalized My Yahoo! page
    (About My Yahoo! and RSS)

    Opinion - Susan Estrich
    Add to My Yahoo! Add to RSS» More news feeds

    ——————————————————————————–

    Yahoo! - My Yahoo! - Mail
    Search: All News Yahoo! News Only News Photos Video/Audio Advanced

    Primary Navigation
    Home U.S Business World Entertainment Sports Tech Politics Science Health Travel Most Popular Odd News Opinion

    Copyright © 2007 Yahoo All rights reserved.Copyright/IP Policy |Terms of Service |Help |Feedback
    NOTICE: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our» Privacy Policy

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 1:27 pm | Quote

  1. 34. typical white person said:


    I am a McCain supporter , but I always read Estrich. She very smart, has an original viewpoint, and is not afraid to write it down or say it.
    I think that the racist stuff coming out about Obama has made it difficult for all of us. The polarization of his rev has opened up a flood gate of hurt, that I don’t see having a good component. I think that as this campaign progresses, the acceptability afforded the Obama campaign to “explain and tolerate racism” will haunt our children. We as a society should not lower the bar, to accomodate this behavior. There is NO excuse for this hate filled pathic man,and Obama has NO JUDGMENT consorting with this, let alone talking his children to hear it, and believe it.
    I saw today that HAMAS bulletins where in the church mailers sent to parisheners….WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!! WHERE IS THE TIPPING POINT WHEN WE SAY ENOUGH…..

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 1:54 pm | Quote

  1. 35. Cathy from PA said:


    posted March 27th, 2008 at 3:02 pm | Quote

  1. 36. xbjllb said:


    Why is Hillary Clinton on Fox News? This is going to be the same place that will try to bury her in the fall. I am a Clinton supporter, but going up there doesn’t make much since.

    Uh, no. You know that change Obama keeps talking about? It’s happened already. Rupert’s for Hillary. He woke up that Nazism wasn’t the best route for Amerika to take. Or he just realized which side of the bread the butter will be on.

    Either way, it will take awhile to filter down to the Fox Nazi News troops, but filter down it will. I know it’s extremely difficult after the last eight years to imagine Fox news uniting behind the new first woman President, but stranger things have happened.

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 5:16 pm | Quote

  1. 37. JeannieJo said:


    xbjllb:

    I’m in your corner. You have such a way with words and facts. Keep it up!

    posted March 27th, 2008 at 5:45 pm | Quote


  1. Soma shipped to florida.

    Soma ship to florida. Soma shipped to florida.

    posted November 3rd, 2008 at 6:43 pm | Quote

Post Your Comment:

Quicktags:                





................................................................................................................................................................................................