Democratic primaries. Oh gosh. This month's Public Forum Debate resolution is Resolved: That the U.S. system of presidential primaries is contrary to democratic values. We debated it at state, it was... interesting, to say the least.
Almost every debate came down to superdelegates, meaning that the affirmative almost always won, but the winning side really has nothing to do with this blog. Right now, all I care about are the superdelegates.
In case you don't know, superdelegates are part of the democratic system of primaries. They are previously elected democratic politicians or members of the democratic national party. In this year's primaries there are over 700 of them. Now, what's the problem with them?
In most primaries they have little to no effect. The candidate who receives the nomination wins by a big enough margin and is also the candidate who received the majority of the popular vote. This is not the case, however, when looking at the extremely close race being fought between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hilary Clinton currently. Many sources are suggested that the nomination will come solely down to the superdelegates. Again, what's the problem with that?
When examining democracy, most people would agree that everyone deserves one vote, and only one vote. The superdelegates, however, get 2 votes, independent of how the primaries in their district turned out. Is this right? Should superdelegates be forced to vote with the majority?
I think that yes, superdelegates should vote with the majority, but seeing as they are high-up officials within the democratic party and the goal of the primary is for the democratic party to choose the best nominee, maybe they do know more than everyone else and we should leave the decision up to them. Really though? Why are they even there? Unless they have to vote with their district or state, which just makes them more pledged delegates, or to have the power to sway the nomination from the recipient of the popular vote, why do they matter?
Hm... The seemingly useless delicacies of politics.
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