Super Delegates and Billionaire Bullies? What is this all about?

I don't know if you saw this, but moveon.org recently sent me an email saying that 20 big Clinton donors tried to bully Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi for saying that super-delegates should let the voters decide who becomes the Democratic nominee. This kind of insider politics needs to stop. I may not always agree with her decisions, but on this one, I believe Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is dead on.

Everyone who has ever given money or time to a progressive candidate makes up the backbone of the Democratic party. Billionaires should get no more of a voice than those with a lower to middle class income.

So what is this superdelegate thing all about?

According to wikipedia, the term "superdelegate" itself was used originally as a criticism of unpledged delegates. Susan Estrich argued that these delegates, who would be predominantly white and male, would have more power than other delegates because of their greater freedom to vote as they wish.

The Democratic Party has faced accusations that it has been conducting its nominating process in an undemocratic way, because superdelegates are generally chosen without regard to their preferences in the presidential race and are not obligated to support the candidate chosen by the voters. Television commentator Dan Abrams has called it "troubling" that the superdelegates might decide the 2008 race, arguing, "Each of the superdelegates' votes is now equivalent to about 10,000 Democratic voters. There are online petitions calling on the superdelegates to support the candidate who does best in the primaries and caucuses. On the other hand, Geraldine Ferraro, who served on the Hunt Commission, has defended the inclusion of superdelegates as being beneficial to the party; she argues that they should exercise independent judgment in voting for a presidential nominee.

Delegates chosen in primaries and caucuses may not exactly reflect the votes cast, but Democratic party rules require proportional allocation rather than winner-take-all.

Move on suggests we send a strong signal that the small donors will back Democratic leaders with the courage to stand up for Democracy, and oppose the use of superdelegates. Decide for yourself. If you wish, you can sign a petition urging Democrats to support the vote of the people at: http://pol.moveon.org/democracy/?r_by=12391-5769906-z7q4BH&rc=paste

It's all still a bit confusing to me. I see more research is in my future.