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Obama Looking to Diminish Superdelegates
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| Contributor | Scott³ |
| Last Edited | Scott³ Aug 20, 2008 01:28pm |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Wednesday, August 20, 2008 07:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Washington Post.
"Barack Obama's campaign will call next week for the creation of a new commission to revise the rules for selecting a presidential nominee in 2012 with a goal of reducing the power of superdelegates, whose role became a major point of contention during the long battle between Obama and Hillary Clinton.
The commission also will be urged to redraw the calendar for 2012 to avoid starting the primaries and caucuses so early, and also to look specifically at assuring more uniform rules and standards for those caucuses.
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said the campaign will ask the national convention delegates in Denver to approve a resolution approving the establishment of a 35-member Democratic Change Commission. The charter would authorize the DNC chairman appoint the commission soon after the election and ask them to report back by January 2010.
The proposed changes grow out of discussions between Obama's campaign team, officials at the DNC and representatives of Hillary Clinton's former presidential campaign, Plouffe said.
The most important change involves superdelegates -- the elected officials and party leaders who have automatic seats at national conventions and are free to vote for any candidate of their choice.
Their role became hugely controversial during the long nomination battle between Obama and Clinton. Obama supporters feared that the superdelegates could override the results of the primaries and caucuses and potentially hand the nomination to Clinton.
"The number of super delegates has gotten too large in relation to overall delegates," Plouffe said. "We want to give more control back to the voters.... Everyone thinks there ought to be more weight given to the results of the elections."
The commission will be encouraged to consider either reducing the number of superdelegates eligible to attend the national conventions or increasing the number of so-called pledged delegates..." |
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