Clinton Superdelegates In Washington Wavering

Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

With the anxiety level among Democrats ratcheting up daily at the prospect of a bloody presidential nomination struggle, some Washington state superdelegates are sticking by Hillary Clinton, the currently trailing candidate, while tiptoeing through the political minefield.

But their commitment to her is not unbounded.

A worse fate than a Clinton loss to rival Barack Obama, they suggest, would be a fractured national convention in August, with bitter floor fights over rules for seating delegates -- a spectacle that could enhance Republican chances for victory in November.

Read the whole story: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Comments

[LightningJoe]

Hillary will never give up. If her last faint hope is a convention floor fight that fractures the party, she'll go for it with gusto. I really don't think she has the capacity to put the party and the country first.

I wish it weren't so, but I think she's the victim of her own hype. She's forbidden any on her campaign to even dream (at night, I mean) that she might not win the nomination and the presidency, and she sets the pace herself, for blind belief.

I just wish she'd take a clue from Obama, and put the country first. He's at least staying out of the fray to the extent he can, because a knife fight always has at least two victims. And this time it would have three, if you include the prospects for a unified Democratic party going into the elections.

----
this is your brain. this is your brain on tv.

[rosal]

Knowing her dirty tactics, they must be terrified of the fake rambo woman. She puts a good act of being "strong". Too bad the lovely video from her "dangerous" trip to Bosnia, blew her cover.

[civitat]

I agree that these superdelegates--as well as all of the others--should be thinking hard about this election. Real people's lives are at stake here. If McCain wins in November, real people continue going without health care and jobs. Real soldiers keep dying in Iraq. Clinton has become increasingly defiant that she won't quit--and she claims that the race is good for the Democratic party. But can she cite a single situation in which a bitter, protracted primary has been good for the Democrats? She's ignoring both history and common sense--and betraying the very people she claims to represent by setting the Democrats up for a loss in November.
Ironically, I agree with Clinton that the superdelegates should vote their consciences: Of course they should. More important, they should begin speaking their consciences now. I'm not sure about the superdelegates, but my conscience tells me: the Democrats lost close elections that they should have won in both 2000 and 2004; no Democrat should count on any easy win this year; the candidate with the most primary votes and delegates is the one that most Democrats favor; the candidate with the higher positivity and trustworthiness ratings among the public as a whole is most likely to win in November. The Republicans are going to savage Hillary Clinton; a large number of voters already say they distrust her--that's only going to get worse, not better.

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

They should be wavering. Those who have backed HRC have made one of the most stupid decisions in their political lives. If they can't see that the future of a strong Democratic party is Obama, then they must be seriously, intellectually, politically, and instinct challenged.

[eshaneua]

Let the record reflect: this nomination has already been sown up by Barack's cousins, George H.W, George W and Dick Cheney. (They'd rather DIE than admit this, but it's true. Everyone including the government-run media KNOWS that Barack Obama is the next POTUS and SOME of us who are consciously AWAKE knows it as well. Wake up, dear ones. The President has already been chosen and NO amount of bickering is going to change that.

[freccia]

WTF?

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

Someone forgot to take their meds, and adjust their tin foil hat.

[newshawk14]

I was a little disappointed to see our two state senators, both of whom I voted for, endorse Hillary.
Our governor, Christine Gregoire, did however endorse Obama, I actually think she might be
presidential timber, though I will concede she is not too warm and fuzzy. Maybe a bit like, Maggie
(Attila the Hen) Thatcher. I do hope that Murray and Cantwell reconsider, as there is no problem
in voting for a woman, it's just that a lot of us, are not convinced Hillary is the right one.

[Meggie]

right on. as long as it's the right woman who at least gets there on her own steam. there are enough of them around, not sure who told this one that she was entitled to the white house again.

[Bademus]

Lady Christine was wise and waited to watch the race. Obama didn't totally have it in the bag by the time WA voted so she didn't necessarily make the safe choice, she made the smart one though. Cantwell, Murray and Ron Sims jumped the gun. I think they just assumed that Clinton would win and the ladies in particular wanted to show their support. Cantwell has taken a step towards the fence and it sounds like she would switch (probably should already since Obama won by about a 30 point spread here). Ron would probably switch too rather than piss off his constituency. I think Murray will stay with Clinton, their buds. Bottom line and what we have heard again and again is it's VERY unlikey that the sups will override the choice of the pleged delegates. And the gradual march of sups to Obama has been quietly going on since super Tues. Meanwhile Hillary has had a net loss with them since then.

[newshawk14]

I'd simply like to thank you for a nice thoughtful post, that enhances a potentially
interesting discussion, rather than an irrational rant like katie1263 below.

[Katie1263]

We have only two choices: Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
After all the heinous video tapes surfaced last week regarding Barack Obama's spiritual mentor of 20 years, THERE IS NO WAY HE CAN WIN THE GENERAL ELECTION.
So I would lay off of Hillay Clinton, unless of course, you just want George Bush to hand over the White House keys to John McCain.

This is the United States Of America. We cannot live in fear of a certain group of people. Barack Obama has mislead the American people. He made us believe he would cross the racial divide and bring us all together. He said he would have "good judgement" from day one. The when the Pastor Disaster hit, his whole platform collapsed. He has no right to win the nomination at this point. He really should step down if he actually cared about the Democratic party.

WE STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO FIX THIS MESS.
Here are some tapes to see if you haven't already. Please pass these on to all the people in your life, so that everyone can make an informed decision.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72B3tUAqpo4

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4443788&page=1

[fiatpax]

If you want to make a truly informed decision, you need to know about Hillary's spirituality, too. Did you know that she's part of The Fellowship, a conservative Christian organization that prefers to stay under the radar and consists mostly of Republicans like Sam Brownback and Tom DeLay?

Read about it here:

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/hillarys-prayer.html

and here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fellowship

[indalay]

Also required to make that "informed" decision:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8464923602139974671

Wright is not running for office. Wright is not Obama. You are making broad and erroneous assumptions from very limited and incomplete bits of information. I'm not saying that every word from Wright's mouth is right or reasonable, but all the evidence I've seen shows that Obama is smart enough to sort it out.

If the worst words you ever shouted in anger were quoted over & over, would that mean what you said in those moments were the essence of who you are? And would the people associated with you - your children or your spouse - be tarnished by your ranting?

Obama is an exceptional presidential candidate, a man of vision, wisdom and integrity.

[happytrails]

Since you are willing to hang Obama because of a 3 sec. screed by his minister, I hope you are willing to go on record as OPPOSING ALL CATHOLICS for public office because of the pedophilia practiced and overlooked by a great many of the priests and hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Shouldn't every decent Catholic have walked out of that church? And shouldn't every decent person have abandoned Falwell for his vile attempt to blame gay people for 9/11? And the list goes on and on and on.

[LAcarlito]

If you want to let those snippets of video about a pastor be your sole reason for deciding against Obama, you have a very flawed decision making process. My guess is you were against Obama before the Wright tape came out.

"Pastor disaster"...please! "We can not live in fear of a certain group of people."...where do you dream up things like this?

Face your own prejudices and problems without making them an issue in the presidential election. Let's keep the decision with Obama/Clinton about issues of substance and not about your personal fears.

[Aleka]

Congratulations! You've been suckered by Fox Noobs and are currently doing their bidding spreading their hatred for them. You DO know that the vids were a smear job, yes?

[JackWOrf]

Why don't the GUTLESS TWITS have an ELECTION in Florida and Michigan. That would be a NOVEL idea , huh? What a collection of ball-less wonders.

You call this stupid fiasco an ELECTION? Whats the CHEAT so afraid of? Is The Cheat afraid that if there is a FREE and FAIR ELECTION in Florida and Michigan that he might lose his pathetic little lead?

Do any of these MORONS in the DNC even KNOW what the PURPOSE of a primary election is??? The PURPOSE of a PRIMARY ELECTION is to determine who the F the DEMOCRATIC VOTERS want!!!

The purpose of a primary election is not to count up a bunch of delegates according to esoteric and idiotic "rules". Mealy-mouthed CHEAT Oblablabla barfs out his cliche about "rules are rules". Except when those "rules" are UNCONSTITUTIONAL, IMMORAL and COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE!!!

How can you POSSIBLY know how the Democratic voters in the 4th and 8th most populous states in the USA feel if you do not include them in the election? How assinine.

And what if Oblablabla had WON in FL and MI on January 29? Can you imagine how all of his little ObaFascists would be jumping up and down, yelling and screaming and calling Howard Dean a filthy stinking RACIST for not including the FL and MI vote?

What a JOKE. If FL isn't included, and Oblablabla STEALS the election, I vote for McCain. F.U. DNC.

[Witkacy]

You ARE a mouth-breathing Republican already. Come on out of the closet, why don't you?

[BitJam]

You should have been more diligent in keeping your rabies shots up to date.

[EvoMan]

The cheat???? Let's see. All the candidates agreed to certain rules, including the lady from New York. The lady from New York lost a bunch of primaries and is pretty much finished. The lady from New York now wants to change the rules. And he's a cheat????? What's that make you?

[ErikW65]

The election happens in November. This is the Democratic Party's nomination process.

[DontvoteforBillary]

Besides the fact that you must be completely stupid, you fail to mention that HILLARY CLINTON ALSO AGREED TO THOSE RULES! You seem to like th all caps approach, so I thought that you might enjoy it. Don't forget that the ONLY TIME SHE WANTED THEM TO COUNT WAS WHEN SHE STARTED LOSING. She doesn't care about MI & FL - she cares about HILLARY CLINTON! Get over yourself. McCain has his own religious baggage - CALLING REV. HAGEE, so just give it up with the Rev. Wright issue. I hope that you have the reading comprehension to understand this.

[emmav70]

"dontvoteforBillary", why bother ?

He is being suffocated by his own ignorance.

There is nothing you can do about it.

[lachgirl]

I think Cantwell, et al, need to start standing up for their constituents: its one thing for superdelegates to vote against the (small) majority of your state, a la Bill Richardson. I think Kennedy and Kerry are on a little bit shakier ground, for sure.

However, not only does Cantwell currently support the overwhelming minority of her state in this regard (Obama won something like 65% of the vote, I believe), but also a candidate who has written off those voters decisions as insignificant in a general election, or unrepresentative.

Well, those of us the NW who have made an informed decision to support Obama don't take kindly to someone asking to represent us, then dismissing our judgement or importance to the nation. Any flipping by Cantwell and her colleagues will be out of recognition for this slight.

[BitJam]

Give Cantwell a break. Although she is backing Clinton for now, she's being very reasonable. She thinks the nomination should be over in June. She's hoping one of the candidates will withraw so the superdelegates don't have to decide it. She thinks the candidate with the most pledged delegates should win. In fact, Cantwell is saying the same things Nancy Pelosi said that caused the Clinton faithful to attack her.

[ADVOCATE4ZPG]

Senator Cantwell is still trying "split the difference" in the same clumsy way she has done in voting FOR Bush's invasive war of Iraq. After that waffle, she looked diffident and stupid, and now if she pivots to Obama, she will merely confirm her intrinsic GUTLESSNESS.....!

[cooltheplanet]

The tactics of HRC fall outside the touchstone of a healthy contest, and are a disgrace to the party. If how HRC runs her campaign is any indication of how she would run the country, imagine what that portends. I also believe she has made herself unelectable by alienating core constituences, as well as the youth vote Obama has brought into play.

That leaves Obama, whose campaign, in my opinion, has had no choice but to fight back in kind. Unfortunately, the embittered fight has tarnished him as well, not to mention the spector of racial fissures raised by the Wright snippets. And you can be sure pitbull Hannity and others like him will continue to comb through Wright's 30 years of sermons for all offensive material they can find; however taken out of context or distorted their representations may be.

Where does that leave the party? I love Klein's take; give it to Gore. Superdelegates withhold their votes, and not put either candidate over the finish line. Obama brings his delegates to Gore, and gets the VP slot. You then have an unbeatable combination, and an incredible team to lead the country. Obama has 8 years to be vetted, and assuage voter's fears that a latent beast is harbored in his dignified demeanor.

That's my take anyway. It would be a sweet irony for Gore, who in my opinion didn't join the fray as he wisely chose to avoid exactly the fracas he suspected would ensue with Clinton.

[Meggie]

I don't think that Obama's side has even touched on the things that could be brought out if they went negative on the Clintons. He's only asked for their tax returns and some other paperwork that Hillary can't find - similar to previous problems with losing paperwork while in the white house.
If Clinton somehow steals this nomination, I will enjoy the Republicans throwing all the dirt from the past 8 years at her, but I won't vote for her.

[TotobiAyokoh23]

After this electoral terrordrome, we need to change the rules guiding our primary nominations. This could be the only positive result after the on-going mess and stinking political diatribes.

[jamrck]

HILLARY THE MOVIE...A MUST SEE!! Who is the REAL Hillary Clinton?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8464923602139974671

[LittleLuella]

How about, whoever gets the most votes wins?

[BitJam]

From the article:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another Clinton superdelegate, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, said this week that she hopes the issue is settled without the intervention of the superdelegates -- a scenario that might require Clinton or Obama to withdraw from the race. But Cantwell told the Vancouver newspaper The Columbian that she wants the nominee determined in June in any case.

The candidate with the most pledged delegates from the primaries and caucuses can make the best case for the nomination, Cantwell said, while also mentioning most states won and highest popular vote total as secondary factors.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday, the Clinton faithful went after Nancy Pelosi for saying almost exactly the same thing. Are the Clintons going to start attacking their own superdelegates next?

[Pammy1151]

Unlike many of you I don't see the party suffering all that much yet. I love seeing Hillary implode day after day. I am willing to wait and see how it goes at least until all the states vote. Anything after that would yes be a disaster to the party. The longer the Clintons go the more stupid they look. Think about it. Everyday Bill does/says something worse than yesterday. The Democratic Party will survive and be much better of in the end because we will be done with the Clintons. They are showing their real true colors. They sad part is they are taking their daughter with them.

[TerenceHartnett]

I agree to some extent---but after 7-8 years of Bush/Chaney---I think a lot of us want to get on with the fight ahead---which is not certain by any means.

[bailey2006]

No, the sad part is, while some of you are enjoying Hillary slowly implode day by day, continuing to drag this thing on for your pure enjoyment is creating a crevice as wide as the Pacific Ocean and could cause such irreparable damage that the Democrats lose the bid for the White House and after that the party will be so fractured that it will never be able to recover.

Do not misunderstand me. I, too, take some pleasure every time Hillary screws up (which is almost daily!). I just don't want it to continue.

[Cathi]

It appears the constituency of Washington needs more elections than just the presidential primaries if superdelegates are willing to support the loser in the Washington presidential primaries, against the folks who voted them into their offices!

[DoAsISay]

Obama won Washington, an undemocratic caucus as Billary would point out to anyone who is listening. How can any superdelegate, whose state is repeatedly called undemocratic and insignificant by Billary, want to support them?

[pbarba1969]

Probably the same reason Bill Richardson, John Kerry, Ted Kennedy and Duval Patrick are all sticking by Senator Obama even though their states went for Hillary...

When those 4 Super Delegates go the way of their state and support Hillary, then we'll talk about Washington...

[IslandGyal]

pbarba1969,
Tsk, tsk, tsk, please stop the slight of hand tricks. The question was " How can any superdelegate, whose state is repeatedly called undemocratic and insignificant by Billary, want to support them?" It was NOT how a super delegate i.e. Kerry, Kennedy or Patrick should vote.

Now, please answer the question asked.

[TerenceHartnett]

Please---Super Delegates should go to the candidate who has the most pledged (earned) delegates--regardless of how their state voted.

[BrooklynLager]

I don't recall Barack Obama calling Massachusettes and New Mexico "insignificant and undemocratic".

[Fabienne]

Obama also won the Washington primary, which was nonbinding.