Pelosi Sticks To Her Guns On Superdelegate Question

Nancy Pelosi doesn't seem to be backing down from her position on super delegates, despite being the target of a threatening letter from big-wig Clinton fundraisers.

Speaking at a press conference Thursday morning to preview the Democratic message ahead of the visit from Gen. David Petraeus, the House Speaker reiterated her belief that "it would do great harm to the Democratic Party if it was perceived that the superdelegates overturn the will of the people."

"That is consistent with a delegate voting his or her conscience," Pelosi added. "I have been against ex-officio voting in the party my whole life. When I was chair of the California Democratic Party, we turned the California party from 90 percent appointed by the elected officials to a 90 percent elected party. That is the democratic way and that is the way of the Democratic Party."

Pelosi's remarks come just a week after 20 top Democratic donors who are supporting Hillary Rodham Clinton criticized her position on the nominating process.

Superdelegates, the donors wrote "must look to not one criterion but to the full panoply of factors that will help them assess who will be the party's strongest nominee in the general election."

The authors of the letter also opaquely threatened to pull the rug from under the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, reminded Pelosi that they "have been strong supporters" of the House Democrats' fundraising apparatus in the past.

"We therefore urge you to clarify your position on superdelegates and reflect in your comments a more open view to the optional independent actions of each of the delegates at the national convention in August," they said.

On Thursday, Pelosi did not seem persuaded.

"I want to remove all doubt in anyone's mind," she said. "Why you would have them I don't know. I think I've been very clear. I think there is enormous price for the Democratic Party to pay for all those who worked hard in these campaigns, I said this when Sen. Clinton is ahead and I said it when Sen. Obama was [ahead]. The will of the people must be respected in this election."

Comments

[SFreeborn]

I wonder at all the shrillness, disinformation & whining. I have been supporting Obama since the day he declared his candidacy. I have never gotten one bit of information from the campaign suggesting any of the things that are alleged by some writers here. So where are they getting this whacko information?

We want the campaign to come to its logical conclusion. We want people to vote. It will be a fine way for the proof to rise to the top and end the whining, incompetence and lying. Whatever the Hill&Billobots claim, their campaign is mired in deceit, infighting, poor management & a failure to recognize the value of leveraging the information age & its tools; or, to hone a message and implement a plan to deliver it clearly: all skills that a leader must demonstrate and Hillary has failed in these.

In other words, Hillary Clinton's campaign is a dinosaur, unprepared & lost in the 21st century. Arrogant at its core, the HRC campaign failed to consider that in a country of over 300 million people there might actually be someone capable of fully taking on both Hillary and Bill and her campaign machine, and further, whipping her like a rented mule on a hardscrabble farm.

Its no wonder that people supporting Obama, or who supported Edwards & Kucinich--or even Hillary supporters who don't like bullies--gave money to the DCCC to send a message that bullies can't win with big bucks anymore. The people are taking back their government.

[GodisHateSpeech]

Republican Agitators and Disinformation Artists

[SFreeborn]

I am a delegage to the Washington State Democratic Convention. Where's the disinformation? Of course, Obama won by nearly 80% in my county. So probably GodisHateSpeech is HRC supporter feeling a bit down about losing.

[GodisHateSpeech]

She is SO HOT!

Her brain makes my pants fit funny.

[johnmthink]

Do you guys even know what "the will of the voters" is?

(i.e., Do you guys even know what you guys are talking about?)

The Pelosi letter writers and Pelosi are both right.

They should follow the will of the voters.

Now, then, let's understand what the so-called "the will of the voters" is.

By the Party rule, superdelegates cannot overturn the will of the voters,

and, the will of the voters clearly and loudly says, "let the superdelegates independently decide!," if we the voters don't give you, a particular candidate, the magic number of 2,024 delegates during the primaries (a candidate needs 2,024 delegate votes to win, as of March 17) -- and, that's what we the voters did so far.

The voters know the Party rule, and that's why the voters collectively gave less than 2,024 delegates to each candidate so far, because they collectively want superdelegates to decide it independently!

Now, that is the will of the voters.

And, we should follow it.

MoveOn.org and OpenLeft.com should stop trying to "buy" the will of the voters by helping Obama outspend Hillary by 3 to 1 in Ohio and outspend even worse in Pennsylvania and the other remaining states(Aren't they being hypocritical?).

Instead, shouldn't MoveOn.org and OpenLeft.com send money to Hillary to make it even, so that nobody can "buy" the will of the voters?

[hubbstan]

Dear johnmthink - i am confused with your post regarding people's will. If people give money to Obama or MoveOn for Obama, it shows the people's will for Obama to be the nominee. And you want MoveOn to pass that money to Hillary against people's will?

[johnmthink]

MoveOn.org and OpenLeft.com should stop trying to "buy" the will of the voters by helping Obama outspend Hillary by 3 to 1 in Ohio and outspend even worse in Pennsylvania and the other remaining states.

Why not let your own words in the quotes argue against yourself?

See the apparent hypocrisy of some Obama supporters like "intuition," who may as well stated,
"It is good to hear her tell it straight to those [Obama] supporters who think they can buy influence, control within the party with their money."(Posted 03:25 PM on 04/03/2008)
"Yes indeed. Here is a woman who deserves respect to stand up to bullies [of Obama's 55-million- dollars-a-month contributo­rs]."(Post­ed 04:05 PM on 04/03/2008)

"We are giving moneys to the candidates we support and [we] would call that as we bought those candidates" and "bought" the will of people, if we paid those candidates on not even close to the even basis.

According to the poll, the poor Democrats have been supporting Hillary and not Obama.

These poor Hillary Democrats, millions and millions of them, cannot even send a $100 contribution to their candidate (many don't even have a credit card and have to take a bus!) like Obama's one million contributors can, and thus, they unfairly became voiceless, and in a practical sense disenfranchised, for
"If people [cannot] give money to [Hillary], it [cannot] show the people's will for [Hillary] to be the nominee."

[johnmthink]

(cont.)
Yes, we "want MoveOn to pass that money to Hillary [pursuant to the voiceless] people's will" of millions and millions of poor Hillary supporters.

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.­"(Proverbs 31:8)

These invisible poor people collectively shout 'in the sound of silence', "we [cannot even give] moneys to the candidates we support!"

For the sake of one voiceless, you can make one $5 contribution to Hillary.

[MichaelTenery]

It is amazing to watch the democrats grow a spine at long last. And damn I am a registered democrat but I'll say it.

We have a friggin torture memo from Yoo allowing the president to authorize torture, a war crime that this country tried and hanged Japanese and German servicemen over. And yet we will not investigate the war crimes of a reckless and out of control "unitary" executive who makes it up as he goes along and allows others to serve time for his misdeeds. Those young service men and women in jail for Abu Garib did not receive justice. They were cast as hicks with sticks by these men in power who authorized their actions. This goes all the way up folks, all the way to George the lesser.

And Nancy Pelosi grows a spine over party rules? My gawd where is her sense of proportion? And I am an Obama supporter.

[HowardRoarke]

Gee, even tho the Democratic Congress can't always stand up and defend our country or Constitution against the Bush gang, people still recognize it is a ton better than:
Republicans
Clintons
The DLC
Rich bastages who think they own the Democratic party through the DLC

[PioneerKing]

ummmmmmm new pardigm - are the fat cats going to rue the day they tossed their weight around and the pesants rebelled?

let them eat cake ...

[nohat]

"We therefore urge you to clarify your position on superdelegates and reflect in your comments...".

In my view, this has got to be one of the most condescending and arrogant statements I have ever read."Reflect on your comments..." Someone needs to take the authors of this letter aside and say, "Who the hell do you think you are?"

As for Pelosi's "The will of the people must be respected in this election," she has boxed herself in now. If Hillary ever gets the lead in the popular vote, I mean; some seem to thnk she can. I am happy that Pelosi has gone back to her original stance, though.

[goodsnservices]

Her stance hasn't changed. It's the media who have claimed that she was hinting at supporting Obama, not Nancy herself. Even though I disagree with that part of your analysis, I agree wholeheartedly with your take on the statements of the Clinton donors.

It's clear why these people support Hillary, since they, too, see nothing wrong with strong-arming people to get their way. It is gratifying to see normal "real" Democrats send in their money to the DCCC to send a clear message to the old guard bullies that their power is now extinct.

[anney]

Superdelegates to Hillary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSkYT6yWKCA

The lyrics:

I know what you're doing yeah yeah, I know why you dialed my number
I know what you're doing yeah yeah, I know why you care

I know what you're doing yeah yeah, I know why you say you love me
I know what you're doing yeah yeah, And I don't think it's fair

I know why you dialed my number, I know why you say you're mine
I know what you're doing, And it's not, gonna work, this time

I know what you're doing yeah yeah, I can never sing in that key
I know what you're doing yeah yeah, And you're the one to blame

I know what you're doing yeah yeah, I know why you can't forgive me
I know why you're singing lost love, The lyrics haven't changed

1-I can recognize the symptoms, You should know I've changed my mind
I know what you're doing, And it's not, gonna work this time

Hey hey hey, said it's not gonna work this time...

I know what you're doing, baby, I know why you call my name
I know why you say you love me, but I can't say the same

Dionne Farris

[ObserverinVancouver]

These rich donors threatening Speaker Pelosi are like dinosaurs floundering around oblivious of their pending extinction.

For years I've been watching U.S. politics and muttering "but that's legalized bribery!". I'm sure most politicians hate being in thrall to the money machines but cannot figure out an escape. Now, Obama's campaign offers a template.

For all the lobbyists, corporate bigwigs or even simple political groupies, this has to be frightening. If politicians can find money without them, what good are they?

Obama '08. Yes you can.

[MrWampler]

The Democrats have been famously eating their own in recent years. So say Clinton scores the White House. What incentive does the Speaker have to play nice, when Hil's campaign is busy pissing her off now?

[KerkorianKnot]

Pelosi, Richardson, Reid, Biden in the backpocket of Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian
http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search_hp.asp?txtName=kerkorian%2C+kirk&NumOfThou=0&txt2008=Y&submit=Go%21

[Titonwan]

What a load of tripe. Try harder. We don't buy it. (probably never will, ever :)

[marignymitch]

"The will of the people must be respected in this election."

That's cool. Keep up the good work. You've proved you can stand up to Democratic black-mailers.

But, Nancy, what about respecting the will of the people in the 2006 election? Why is Bush not impeached? Why is the Iraq war bigger than ever? Why doesn't Congress kick Junior's butt with the FISA/telec­ommunicati­ons bill? When will you stand up to the Republicans?

[V4Vigilance]

I'd have more respect for Nancy if her first act as Speaker hadn't been to take impeachment of Bush and Cheney "off the table". That said, giving the middle finger to Clinton's "big donors" is definitely a step in the right direction.

See, Nancy? Showing a little backbone isn't so hard, is it? Hopefully, this is a trend.

OBAMA 08

[vaughan]

Man, she's speaking with confidence and a democratic clarity that is admirable. Go Pelosi!

[KimberlyKay]

Speaker Pelosi is living up to my every dream of the first woman Speaker of the House of Representatives of these Great States United of America. I could almost hollar "Yippee!" but somebody surely will accuse me of being a child -- I am not, the grey is coming in thick and fast now, but nonetheless, I lived to see the day when a woman controlled the People's House of the United States of America and controlled it with class, dignity and respect! And always with an eye out for the people! Wonderful!