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Whatever
Dean, Pelosi, Reid set Friday deadline for superdelegates' choices, move to force end to Clinton bid
With the final primary concluded barely hours before, top Democratic Party leaders in Washington early this morning ratcheted up the pressure to force all remaining uncommitted superdelegates to make their choice of candidate known by Friday -- and thus end the now hopeless, one-time frontrunning campaign of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.
..."The voters have spoken," they said, adding later, "Democrats must now turn our full attention to the general election. To that end, we are urging all remaining uncommitted super delegates to make their decisions known by Friday of this week, so that our party can stand united."
Translation of that second paragraph: "It's time to tally up who holds which chips so we can determine how big the buyout has to be. The sooner we cut a deal, the better our chances."
All that was old is new again.
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urging versus forcing
All I saw in this statement was "urging." The delegates can't actually be forced to choose now, right? I mean, presumedly the point of the convention is to make that final determination, right?
I know that politically speaking, the parties think the convention is supposed to be no more than a formal coronation, but that's not what the actual rules and processes suggest, right?
__________
I have often said, and oftener think, that this world is a comedy for those who think, and a tragedy for those who feel. -Horace Walpole
Part of the point.
The delegates can't actually be forced to choose now, right?
Part of the point...the reading of earlier material is presumed. You can't even force pledged delegates to vote for their pledged candidate. The party "leaders" want a head count of power alignments in order to determine how to carve up the pie ahead of time. Until the pie has been carved up to the grudging acceptance of the major factions, the threat of disruption/chaos/destruction by the Clinton/DLC camp cannot be removed. Can't move ahead until the deal is struck, and the countdown clock to the convention and general election is ticking loudly.
I mean, presumedly the point of the convention is to make that final determination, right?
Theoretically, but in the real world this will either ALL be settled in advance, or the party will implode at the convention. Clinton's leverage is that she can determine how it plays out. The platform and party structure/spoils division is both too complicated and too ugly to settle in the convention cattle call and floor votes. No one herds cats that well without having it planned in advance from all directions--there's just too much to get settled.