Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean May Intervene In Dem Primary

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid took his comments about the state of the Democratic primary one step further today, suggesting that he and other prominent Democrats would intervene in the race if primary season concludes without a clear winner:

Reid said he would consider writing a joint letter with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) demanding that superdelegates make their endorsements public.

"The three of us, we may write a joint letter [to superdelegates]," said Reid. "We might do individual letters, we are in contact with each other."...

However, when asked by a reporter if he would be forced to intervene if the undecided superdelegates did not make up their minds, Reid replied "I might have to."

This might explain Harry Reid's primary remarks last month that "things are being done" to end the nomination:

Q: Do you still think the Democratic race can be resolved before the convention?

Reid: Easy.

Q: How is that?

Reid: It will be done.

Q: It just will?

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Reid: Yep.

Q: Magically?

Reid: No, it will be done. I had a conversation with Governor Dean (Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean) today. Things are being done.

Nancy Pelosi has abstained from such comments, though she has repeatedly suggested that superdelegates should not overturn the will of primary voters, a position that sits well with the Obama camp:

"If the votes of the superdelegates overturn what's happened in the elections, it would be harmful to the Democratic party," Pelosi said in an interview taped Friday for broadcast Sunday on ABC's "This Week."...

"It's a delegate race," she said. "The way the system works is that the delegates choose the nominee."

Meanwhile, Howard Dean has decided that superdelegates should not wait for the primaries to conclude; they need to state their endorsements now:

An increasingly firm Howard Dean told CNN again Thursday that he needs superdelegates to say who they're for - and "I need them to say who they're for starting now."

"We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time," the Democratic National Committee Chairman told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "We've got to know who our nominee is."

Comments

[conned]

I am so sick of this election. It seems as it has been going on for years . PLEASE IN & NC, put an end to it. Please just vote for Obama and get it over with.

[speciallady2003]

It would be nice to see those three actually demonstrate leading by example. If they want the super-delegates to declare their preferences, then why don't they?

[Gmoney1]

I think it's time for the superdelegates to make a decision - a religious litmus test - the media is trying to force a presidential candidate to leave his church, disown his religion and a large portion of his community - is anybody out there listening?? it's getting really scary - I think this is stirring up some bad feelings among the races - the superdelegates should be more interested in holding the democratic party together than worrying about their political careers -

[speciallady2003]

Since when do we have every state's vote count in a primary. I would be interested in knowing how often that has happened. I thought once it was clear who the winner was going to be, it was declared

[KELLI2L]

Does anyone else remember back when Obama had no delegates on his side and was insisting that the candidate should be nominated based on popular vote not delegates or super-delegates. He was adament about that.
But now that Hillary might end up with the popular vote - Obama is saying the opposite, that the one with the most delegates and super-delegates should be the winner. He is not an honest and forthright person, he is selfish and self-serving.
Well, I bet most people don't give a damn about the delegates - it is the popular vote they care about.

[jankvkleve]

OK, I'll admit that he flipped if you admit that she flopped.

[sacrossin]

I wouldn't call getting the popular vote a flop but I would call his change in attitude a flip for sure.

[KELLI2L]

When races are close you wait until it's over and it's not over yet, just ask the states who haven't voted the primary yet.
You don't pull a horse from a race before the finish line and the primary finish line has not come yet - what's the bums rush all about? Are they afraid Obama might loose? Too bad, when the primary's are over then it's done.

[KenBenobi]

So now Hillary's a horse, eh?? Wow. How sexist.

[terraprieto]

It is my expectation that Obama will end the primary season June 3 with about a pledged delegate margin of about a hundred votes.

Shortly thereafter, the DNC and Obama's campaign will announce they will recommend that the credentials committee seat the Florida and Michigan delegations selected at their state conventions, giving Clinton a 60 net delegate gain. Obama will continue to lead the total pledged delegate count by about 40 votes.

A few hundred superdelegates will announce their committment to vote for Obama at the convention. Obama will be the presumptive nominee, AND Michigan and Florida will have been counted in the total.

If the situations were reversed, and Clinton was ahead by any number of pledged delegates, she would be the nominee. To do anything else would leave her supporters feeling severely alienated and cheated. The Democrats won't do that to either side. Since Obama will almost certainly be in the lead, he will be the nominee.

I hope that the Democrats can then unite around Obama, our nominee, and win in November.

[zitlight73]

Why don't you two intervene in stopping The Idiot's War and making sure our wounded veterans are provided with the proper medical care which they ware not recieving now and protect and restore the constitutional rights of the American people, remember us the US?. A bunch of monkeys on acid could got more accomplished in congress than you two have.

[Harbinger08]

Obama gets the nomination. Obama beats McCain in November. That's just the way things are pointed. Anything else is a fantasy.

The real question is whether the people will get off their spoiled butts and give his administration the support it needs to effect real change. Change comes from the bottom up, people.

[OnceProudAmerican]

These people are a joke!
All this smoke and fury is BS. The dems were voted in to Clean out the Snakes in the Whitehouse. after the election they take Impeachment off The table.
Meanwhile, Our country slides futher down the Crapper!

[Dmitriy]

She said it:"The way the system works is that the delegates choose the nominee". Let the superdelegates choose the nominee.

[KELLI2L]

I guess the act of the 'people' to vote is just a formality to the Washington Democrats - not our right. Since they want to take away our right and elect the person THEY want. . . . . . How many of U are happy with that!?

[Dmitriy]

To 'elect' our candidate is to achieve 2025. Since that didn't work supernuts will need to jump in.

[Benmyoho]

Reid and Pelosi to intervene in the Primary Process? What a laugh. These two are weaklings, pure and simple. What have they done to get Bush be accountable to the people? Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Would they dare go against the woman more steely than Margaret Thatcher?

[CAPTAINSKIPPY]

Unfortunately, this type of leadership has left Cheney & the Chimp essentially unchallenged, and not impeached. And what magic will be applied on Florida and Michigan, and on their superdelegates? On to the smoke-filled rooms??

[boyboy]

Votenader.org

[DrDemon]

yah... waste your vote!

[KELLI2L]

You bet we will vote for Nader, if the Washington Dems don't stop the assault on their voters.

[bratzilla]

Just ask Hillary if she can mantain a 68% win in all the upcoming primaries if not she needs to get out and quit stabbing the democrats in the back.

[bratzilla]

I would love the Democratic Leaders to show some leadership. Instead they portray the same old stereo type wishy-washy indecisive leadership. She needs to go there was no decisive double digit lead. Stop the blood letting, She needs to be stopped we need a new adminstration that is strong without our own party stabbing us in the back. Hillary is running a Win/Win campaign, she will win even if she loses. STOP this now.

[Pythia]

Since when is an additional 1% a "decisive double digit lead"? The difference between a 9% lead and a 10% win is only 1%. Decidedly LESS than I assumed of her, all too familiar with the state of PA and its voters. Any victory Hillary had in Pennsylvania, will be a 'Pyrrhic' victory, for the Democratic party. Talk about Greek tragedy, Arianna...

[kylie]

It wasn't double digits and it was ten or fifteen percentage points less than she supposedly had early in the Pennsylvania race.

Mainly thanks to Republicans rushing for Hillary--t­emporarily­!

[edelmira]

YES, SOMEONE PLEASE STOP HILLARY WITH HER THREATS OF NUCLEAR WAR!
She is also easily the most annoying person in the country.