A Stitch in Haste

To review: For almost eight years, the whiner-based community within the Democratic Party has never passed up an opportunity to remind us that “Al Gore won the (tabulated) popular vote.”

This is, of course, utterly irrelevant, since the candidates did not wage a popular contest but rather an electoral one. Had they faced a popular election, they would have campaigned differently, turnout would have been different, etc. The popular vote carries exactly zero probative value in a past presidential election. But some liberal malcontents don’t care about that and continue to grouse about 2000 to this day.

These same people, among others, also lament Bush v. Gore*, but for all the wrong reasons (there are right reasons, but they are unconnected to this post). They conveniently forget that it was Al Gore who filed the first lawsuit, and that, had no lawsuit ever been filed, Bush still would have won (the Florida Legislature would simply have certified Bush’s delegates to the House, and even if there had been a showdown in the House over the Florida electors, it was controlled by the Republicans anyway). There was simply no extra-judicial way that Gore could have prevailed.

Armed with that, consider an all-too-likely hypothetical: Neither Clinton nor Obama earn enough “regular” delegates to win the Democratic nomination, leaving the decision up to the so-called “superdelegates.”

Assume that Candidate X has an undisputed but narrow straight-delegate lead over Candidate Y. Remember what such a lead reflects: the ordinary popular votes of ordinary Democrats (muddied of course by caucuses and open primaries — point conceded). Ought not the “Gore won” contingent within the Democratic Party demand, flat-out demand, that the superdelegates simply ratify the “will of the people” outcome as determined by the straight-delegate count? What would be the basis for sanctioning any other behavior?

(”I already pledged to the other Candidate…” is not an acceptable answer. The pledges by superdelegates are non-binding.)

Again, anyone who is not part of the “Gore won” cabal can come up with plenty of reasonable (if not entirely noble) answers: “What’s best for the Party.” “What’s best for my own re-election chances.” “My candidate bought me off.” And so on. But if you believe that elections should be about, well, elections rather than party machinations, and that popular votes should trump all else, then it seems clear that you must, to be intellectually consistent, paint yourself into a corner and demand that the superdelegates defer.

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Meanwhile, there are rumblings that the Vast Clinton Wing Conspiracy is preparing to demand that delegations from Michigan and Florida (both of which ignored party rules and held their primaries early) be seated at the convention. The delegates would be chosen either:

(a) as already (sorta kinda) voted (remember, Clinton was the only candidate whose name appeared on the ballots in those states and who in Florida broke the candidates’ unanimous pledge not to campaign in stripped states), or

(b) via new primaries or caucuses.

Party leaders are not amused; Donna Brazile reportedly threatened to quit the party over it (but later recanted).

Recall also that it was Clinton loyalists who sued the Nevada Democratic Party (seeking, incidentally, to disenfranchise Democratic voters in that state).

Charming.

So, would Clinton dare to sue Obama or her own party over Florida or Michigan? Duh!

Which means lawsuits, countersuits, appeals, perhaps right back up to the Supreme Court. From “Bush v. Gore” to “Clinton v. Obama,” with the Democratic nomination being decided, figuratively and perhaps even literally, by Antonin Scalia.

Charming.

Remember back in the goood ol’ days when the most discussed polls were over how happy Democrats were with their gaggle of candidates while the Republicans were decidedly unhappy with their selection?

How astonishing it would be if the one-big-happy-family Democratic Party were to implode because they could go from eight to three to two, but not from two to one.

But of course, with that we now come full circle and assume — hope? — that the superdelegates will prevent such a doomsday scenario.

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An alternative superdelegate thesis, meanwhile, from QuizLaw.

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*531 U.S. 98 (2000)

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