Why Have Super Delegates?
On The Dallas Morning News Opinion blog, Mike Hashimoto continues to act as Hillary's best friend. Yesterday, he pitched his argument that Barack Obama's lead in pledged delegates didn't reflect the will of the voters because by other measures Clinton was ahead. Clinton counts only "big" states or "blue" states and discounts caucus states. Hashimoto counts Electoral College equivalents. But none of these measures are the scorekeeping rules that Obama and Clinton have been playing by for a year. It's the delegates, stupid.
So, today, Hashimoto admits defeat on that line of argument and tries a new tack to help Hillary. If Clinton can't win on the basis of the pledged delegates awarded in the primaries, maybe she can win by getting super delegates to go against the popular vote ... just because they can. Hashimoto asks, "If you want super-D's to robotically vote exactly as a subset of the popular vote, why have them?"
To rebut Hashimoto's line of reasoning, all that's needed is to examine his premise. In this case, it's that Obama supporters want super delegates to do anything "robotically." On the contrary, Obama supporters want super delegates to carefully examine this year's contest and ratify the voters' choice.
If Obama is indicted by a grand jury or censured by the Senate or collapses in the polls due to a series of embarrassing indiscretions or serious gaffes, the super delegates are there to rescue the party. But none of that is the case. Clinton's arguments about "big" states or "blue" states or momentum are bogus reasons for super delegates to overturn the voters' choice.
Even though the super delegates are not needed to rescue the party this year, their ratification of the voters' choice still serves an important role. Their votes help turn a narrow, perhaps divisive outcome into a clear majority for one candidate. This signals to all that the contest is over, that one candidate has prevailed, that it's time to unify and prepare for the general election. Perhaps that's the outcome that Mike Hashimoto most fears. Perhaps he isn't really Hillary's best friend, after all.
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