One of the Inventors of Superdelegates Explains Why They Were Created: To Stop ‘Outlier Candidates’

[LiberalArkie]

Superdelegates were created as a safeguard against nominees like George McGovern, whom Democratic Party officials saw as ‘too far to the left.’ (Library of Congress)

When it comes to the issue of superdelegates, Elaine Kamarck is a rare triple threat. She was a participant on the 1981-1982 Hunt Commission, which instituted the controversial superdelegate system. She literally wrote the book on the presidential nomination system, Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know About How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates. And she’s a superdelegate herself, joining the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 1997 and voting at three conventions since.

Those are just a few highlights of a long career that began with a job as research director for the Democratic National Committee’s 1977 Winograd Commission; Kamarck also helped found the New Democrat movement that propelled Bill Clinton to office and served in the Clinton White House from 1993-1997.

Following the publication of the June cover story, “The Secret History of Superdelegates,” which examined the transcripts of the Hunt Commission, In These Times spoke with Dr. Kamarck about why superdelegates were created and what she thinks of them today.

The creation of superdelegates seems to have been intended as a corrective to the reforms of the 1969-70 McGovern-Fraser Commission, which took power away from party bosses and provided for the selection of delegates through primaries. Was there a sense that the primary system encouraged nominees who represented the party’s extremes?

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http://inthesetimes.com/article/19141/one-of-the-inventors-of-superdelegates-explains-why-they-were-created-to-st

[LexVegas]

1. Was it Tad that said that?

[LiberalArkie]

2. They really wanted to stop that RFK, McGovern, McCarthy etc from ever happening again.

Yet in 1980, part of the acrimony of the nomination fight was that Kennedy wanted all delegates to be unbound and vote their conscience.

Believe me, people change their mind on these rules questions all the time depending on what their politics are. He was basically arguing in the 1980 convention that all delegates should be superdelegates and that the primaries shouldn’t matter. But that was because they thought they could break loose Carter delegates if they were unbound. It didn’t happen, but that was the strategy. There’s no ideological consistency there. It’s all about power politics.

One of the main goals of the Hunt Commission was to make the Democratic Party a winning party again. But in 1984, Mondale was the overwhelming choice of the superdelegates, and he ended up losing in another landslide. Does that mean the creation of the superdelegates was a failure?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. Maybe they wanted to stop McGovern.

The beloved brother of the martyred president would have ran a very competitive campaign. Nixon was scared shitless of facing Robert Kennedy.

[LiberalArkie]

9. They did not like Teddy running later on. The TPTB had already picked Humphrey but I don't

think he won anything but caucuses. I don't think he won a primary. Sure didn't win a general.

[upaloopa]

3. If we get rid of super delagates (I think that is the direction we are going in) then we must

accept responsibility for the outcome of the general election.

The most talked about change I have heard is to have four regional primaries, all be voting, all open and no super delegates.

[LiberalArkie]

4. That would definitely eliminate all but the wealthiest from competing in the primaries for sure.

[HumanityExperiment]

5. how about DNC chair...

[libdem4life]

7. Dog forbid the Peasants have a say. To hell with Democracy.

Onward Oligarchy.

[Rex]

8. And it costs a billion dollars to run for POTUS...but hey NOT a plutocracy...no no...

[Maedhros]

10. Democrats who support this line of thinking deserve all the political misfortune

that results from it.

[AgerolanAmerican]

11. would that include a presumptive nominee with an FBI indictment recommendation against her?

Asking for all my friends and countrymen

[LiberalArkie]

12. Well, in all fairness HRC has not been indicted and convicted so she has not been found at fault

for anything. And being a fair political organization, if the parties nominee ends up not to be able to run for office, then the race becomes between Trump and Stein.