Clinton: Superdelegates Trump Popular Vote

Boston Globe's Political Intelligence:

Hillary Clinton will take the Democratic nomination even if she does not win the popular vote, but persuades enough superdelegates to vote for her at the convention, her campaign advisers say.

The New York senator, who lost three primaries Tuesday night, now lags slightly behind her rival, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, in the delegate count. She is even further behind in "pledged'' delegates, those assigned by virtue of primaries and caucuses.

But Clinton will not concede the race to Obama if he wins a greater number of pledged delegates by the end of the primary season, and will count on the 796 elected officials and party bigwigs to put her over the top, if necessary, said Clinton's communications director, Howard Wolfson.

Read the whole story: Boston Globe's Political Intelligence

Comments

[Alienhairdo]

05:07 AM on 02/16/2008

If the Superdelegates ignore the will of the popular vote, I will protest by voting for McCain or Nader. The Dems are gonna lose this election. The Dems will steal defeat from the mouth of victory. (I have never voted republican in my life, but I will to protest.)

[scrzbill]

11:51 AM on 02/15/2008

What do we expect? If you were running for president you would say the same thing. She has spent most of her life on this goal and like anyone with a goal you will do most anything to get it. The problem is not with her but with the system. Much like when Gore won the election with votes but lost the machine. If your angry about this then be angry that the dems in the senate are giving the telecoms immunity. That is something to be angry about.

[Ozarks]

10:57 AM on 02/15/2008

If Super delegates decide this race in favor of Hillary, the looming convention debacle will be greater than in the 1968 convention where these super delegates were born. Good bye Democratic party if that happens. History should teach the Democratic party a lesson and if it is too dumb to remember what happened after the 1968 convention then maybe the Democratic will end up where it belongs , with the Titanic.

[kellygrrrl]

06:20 PM on 02/15/2008

Hillary being handed the nom by DC Insiders against the will of the voters would be akin to Bush being handed the presidency by the Supreme Court against the will of the people.

The outcome will be as disastrous as the current Administration.

[indyny]

10:26 AM on 02/15/2008

Hey Hillary supporters -

So why not just get rid of the primaries altogether and let the superdelegates decide on the nominee?

Why let the "people" of the "people's" party interfere with the superdelegates' superior judgement?

All rational explanations considered...

[BeyondKen]

12:12 PM on 02/15/2008

Barack apparently agrees with you, indyny.

Google "Obama knows ballot" to see:

-By David Jackson, Chicago Tribune, April 3, 2007:

Obama launched his first campaign for the Illinois Senate saying he wanted to empower disenfranchised citizens.

A close examination of Obama's first campaign clouds the image he has cultivated throughout his political career: The man now running for president on a message of giving a voice to the voiceless first entered public office not by leveling the playing field, but by clearing it.

[AxelDC]

09:03 AM on 02/15/2008

The lady's got no class.

[AnotherTry]

07:59 AM on 02/15/2008

Everyone here is so lucky to have the Clintons to blame for all your problems. But let's be real. If people here who claim to be so upset with Hillary's war vote actually got up off their asses and tried to stop this war from happening, it wouldn't have happened. But you sat there and watched and now you act like it was Hillary's vote that started the war.

Clinton haters are so transparent. They can't take responsibility for their own actions so they look to others to blame.

[kzooblue]

09:31 AM on 02/15/2008

What are you talking about?
We were out in the street for months in bitter winter weather before the bush administration started their war.
Reality Check: the bush administration didn't care about demonstrations, even when they involved millions of people around the world.

[mainmonkey]

10:41 AM on 02/15/2008

Hillary is to blame, just like every other Senator and congressman who voted for the war.

I IDID do what I could to try and stop the war. I froze my butt off in February to say NO to this STUPID VIOLENT CRAZY WAR for OIL!

I knew this war was dumb, and so did Obama, why didn't Hillary?

The constitution gives war making powers to the congress. If our representatives make POOR CHOICES and show POOR JUDGEMENT, then it is our responsibility to hold them ACCOUNTABLE. Otherwise we have only ourselves to BLAME when there are more DUMB Wars.

Wanna talk about responsibility, how about Hillary taking responsibility for a DUMB VOTE for a DUMB WAR?!!!

Now we have Iraqi refugees pimping their 5 year old daughters (for REAL) in Syria because they have nowhere else to turn for money.

Thanks HIllary!

[Canukistani]

07:59 AM on 02/15/2008

When you look at this statement and put it together with the Clinton position on counting states she had already agreed not to count it seems like the message is 'We will win the nomination in any way that we can convince people to put up with.'

It sounds less and less like wanting to serve and more and more like wanting to win to me.

[apcalc]

09:30 AM on 02/15/2008

Please - like Barack wouldn't try to get all the delegates he could?

Are you that naieve?

[Canukistani]

10:23 AM on 02/15/2008

We have yet to see whether he'd use any means fair or foul. Maybe so or maybe no, but we've certainly seen that the Clintons aren't concerned with the means, haven't we?

[AnotherTry]

07:53 AM on 02/15/2008

Obama is only thinking about you. That's why you have only this one chance to vote for him. He cares so much about America that if he doesn't win this year, he will never run again.

What a guy.

[AnotherTry]

07:45 AM on 02/15/2008

Niether can win without superdelegates. It is not possible.

So we praise Obama if he wins and damn hillary if she wins.

Sounds like Obama is just more politics as usual. If he were really a candidate for change, he would leave the party and run as an Independent.

[ilcapo]

05:39 AM on 02/15/2008

If Obama by the end of the primary season beats Clinton with pledged delegates,popular vote and more states which is looking very likely right now,there s no way HillBill will be able to muscle their way to the nomination with the help from superdelegates...the superdelegates aren t so stupid as to go against the will of the people for the simple reason that it will fracture the party,if it looks like they stole the nomination from Barack,Clinton will get crushed in the general because the GOP will not vote for McCain as much as they ll be voting against her and Obama supporters and fair minded democrats will sit it out in disgust...the Clintons can bitch and moan all they want but superdelegates won t commit political suicide...in the unlikely chance that they are stupid enough to unfairly hand her the nomination,as a life long democrat,I ll vote for McCain.....OBAMA 08

[ilcapo]

05:55 AM on 02/15/2008

The best way to avoid all this is for TX and OH democrats to come through and defeat Shillary,come on,we re counting on ya,Texas owes us big time(Dumya)!OBAMA 08

[apcalc]

09:33 AM on 02/15/2008

Texas, Ohio, and PA will nevervote for Obama

Get that through your head

oh and Shrillary is a sexist term - pig

[apcalc]

09:32 AM on 02/15/2008

Can't believe any Democrat would use the terms Hillbill or Billary...........

and don't threaten to vote for McCain - I will do the same if Obama wins

and the Republican party will have succeeded in splitting the Democrats

good luck

[TurnThePageGA]

07:49 PM on 02/15/2008

He says if the election is stolen he and let me a lot Democrats will sit it out, vote for McCain, or skip the top of the ticket and vote down the ticket. Sitting it out is the worst option because other Democrats would be hurt. From were this Obama supporter sits if Hillary can close the "Pledged" delegate to say a 10 to 15 differential I will vote for her cause that is pretty close to a tie. If however Obama is up by 50 delegates and the superdelegates overturn the vote then she ain't gonna win the election. Independents will be repulsed and vote in huge numbers for McCain. African-Americans, The one constituency that the Democrats have been able to pretty much take for granted, will sit the election out. Young voters that have been brought into the process will be disallusioned and we will have blown the opportunity to realign the country toward the Democratic Party would be lost.

[queerbodhi]

03:50 AM on 02/15/2008

None of this should be a surprise, especially after Mrs. Clinton's insistance on taking Michigan and Florida votes, even though she pledged not to.

[BardEric]

03:17 PM on 02/15/2008

She never made any such pledge.. While MI is a different matter, ALL the candidates were on the ballot in FL, and HRC won the popular vote there fair and square. If Barack had taken FL he would be every bit as insistant on getting his due. We wont go too much into MI, but be aware that BHO removed his name from the ballot of his own chosing.An argument can be made that he isnt entitled to any of the MI vote, and the voters he disenfranchised.

[PrdAmerican]

03:34 AM on 02/15/2008

Damn. makes me wonder what kind of dirt they have on those guys and gals...nice...bribery to get the nomination.

[IkeChicago]

02:17 AM on 02/15/2008

It's time for people to stop being surprised at whatever the Clintons do, they lack any decency standards. When was the last time America chose to elevate a man who abused his family, time after, time after time.

I thought an impeached President was a disgraced President, not so with the Clintons. Richard Nixon understood this and went away, even shedding his Secret Service protection for private protection. Richard Nixon understood that he was disgraced and sought to spare America, Bill Clinton wears impeachment like a badge of honor and again seeks to impose himself upon the American public.

Let the call go out to all, that impeachment is not a pathway to promote your wife to the presidency, please Bill Clinton step up and do the right and decent thing, join the dishonored Richard Nixon in sparing American public your arrogance and lack of any decency standards. Go Away.

[apcalc]

09:34 AM on 02/15/2008

your post is crap

are you a republican

[messy]

09:38 AM on 02/15/2008

He was aquitted. Exonerated. Being exonerated in no disgrace.

Henry Hyde said that impeaching Clinton was to get back at the Democrats for impeaching Nixon. As if cocksucking was as bad as shredding the constitution.

BTW I support Obama.

[GhostOfSchlesinger]

01:53 AM on 02/15/2008

MoveOn.org HAS AN ONLINE PETITION:

"The Democratic Party must be democratic. The superdelegates should let the voters decide between Clinton and Obama, then support the people's choice."

Goto:

http://pol.moveon.org/superdelegates/?rc=homepage

AND SIGN THE PETITION RIGHT AWAY.

I HAVE FORWARDED THEIR EMAIL TO MY WHOLE LIST.

LET'S MAKE THIS A POLITICAL HURRICANE FOR THE CLINTON'S!

[messy]

09:41 AM on 02/15/2008

Exactly WHY would the undeclared superdelegates vote for Hillary on the first ballot if Barry didn't get enough votes to win but was well ahead anyway?

The Clintons have already blown their legacy, vis'a'vis the party, and the supers don't owe them anything anymore.

[drblack]

12:50 AM on 02/15/2008

This is extremely arrogant and nasty.
It shows that Hillary Clinton is more interested in her own power then in the will of the American people.

[newpotusplease]

01:26 AM on 02/15/2008

it wasn't just wolfson in on this either -Lanny Davis was floating this on the air over the past two days as well-- something was happening with the outreach to superdelegates that clued them in on this - that the clinton's were going to put them in this untenable position and the superdelegates are now revolting against it by going for Obama or back to undecided. the clintons were being nasty and arrogant and it looks like they are getting smacked down for it.

[AnotherTry]

07:39 AM on 02/15/2008

Superdelegates are people too.