2008 Woodie Awards
From the life of a superdelegate
Kailyn Heston
Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: Opinion
The year was 1984. Mall bangs were hot, Guns 'N Roses was at the top of the charts, MTV was still fresh and innovative, and most of us weren't born yet. This was also the last time that "superdelegates" were even an issue at the Democratic National Convention. Twenty-four years later and once again, the Democratic nominee for president may come down to this hyper-breed of representatives.
For those of you who don't know - which, up until recently, was probably a lot of us - a superdelegate is not a cape-wearing, damsel-rescuing, X-ray vision-having representative to the Democrats' national nominating convention (not that some of them don't want these powers. I'll put money on the table that Bill Clinton would love him some X-ray vision).
Rather, a superdelegate is a Democratic Party insider (I say "Democratic" because the Republican party does not have superdelegates or anything like them) who gets more than one "vote," if you will, at the National Convention. In total, these 800 delegates make up about 20 percent of all delegates to the National Convention. That is to say, they have more power at the convention than you or I do.
So who gets to be a superdelegate? Well, certainly it's not just anybody off the street, though at times it may appear that way. All ex-Democratic presidents, all Democratic governors (so, Chet Culver) and all Democratic Representatives and Senators get to have the title "superdelegate" (as if their egos weren't big enough already). Further, all state Democratic Party chairs and elected Democratic National Committee members (such as Howard Dean, YAAARRRGG!) are superdelegates. Basically, these people are party bigwigs.
But that's not all. There are some superdelegates who are literally the girl next door. That is to say, statewide college democrats or young democrats - or any other special interest group, such as female Democrat leaders - are superdelegates. So while there may be a lot of star-power behind the superdelegate system, there are also a few average people thrown into the mix, just to spice things up.
For those of you who don't know - which, up until recently, was probably a lot of us - a superdelegate is not a cape-wearing, damsel-rescuing, X-ray vision-having representative to the Democrats' national nominating convention (not that some of them don't want these powers. I'll put money on the table that Bill Clinton would love him some X-ray vision).
Rather, a superdelegate is a Democratic Party insider (I say "Democratic" because the Republican party does not have superdelegates or anything like them) who gets more than one "vote," if you will, at the National Convention. In total, these 800 delegates make up about 20 percent of all delegates to the National Convention. That is to say, they have more power at the convention than you or I do.
So who gets to be a superdelegate? Well, certainly it's not just anybody off the street, though at times it may appear that way. All ex-Democratic presidents, all Democratic governors (so, Chet Culver) and all Democratic Representatives and Senators get to have the title "superdelegate" (as if their egos weren't big enough already). Further, all state Democratic Party chairs and elected Democratic National Committee members (such as Howard Dean, YAAARRRGG!) are superdelegates. Basically, these people are party bigwigs.
But that's not all. There are some superdelegates who are literally the girl next door. That is to say, statewide college democrats or young democrats - or any other special interest group, such as female Democrat leaders - are superdelegates. So while there may be a lot of star-power behind the superdelegate system, there are also a few average people thrown into the mix, just to spice things up.
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