{"id":9491,"date":"2018-08-25T12:22:33","date_gmt":"2018-08-25T19:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=9491"},"modified":"2018-08-25T12:22:33","modified_gmt":"2018-08-25T19:22:33","slug":"give-democracy-a-chance-ahead-of-dnc-vote-progressives-unite-to-demand-party-end-supremacy-of-superdelegates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2018\/08\/25\/give-democracy-a-chance-ahead-of-dnc-vote-progressives-unite-to-demand-party-end-supremacy-of-superdelegates\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Give Democracy a Chance&#8217;: Ahead of DNC Vote, Progressives Unite to Demand Party End Supremacy of Superdelegates"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"field-wrapper-attribution\" class=\"field-wrapper content-container clearfix inline-fields\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-article-date field--type-datestamp field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\"><span class=\"pb-timestamp\"><span class=\"date-display-single\">August 24, 2018\u00a0<\/span><\/span>by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Common Dreams<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-subtitle field--type-text-long field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div>\n<h4>&#8220;If the DNC rejects this, it basically rejects the will of the convention.&#8221;<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"field-wrapper-authors\" class=\"field-wrapper content-container clearfix inline-fields\">\n<div class=\"grouping-prefix\">by\u00a0<span class=\"pb-byline\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/julia-conley-staff-writer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Julia Conley, staff writer<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"shr_canvas2\" class=\"shareaholic-canvas shareaholic-ui shareaholic-resolved-canvas ng-scope\" data-app-id=\"6840204\" data-app-id-name=\"headline_above_content\" data-app=\"share_buttons\" data-title=\"'Give Democracy a Chance': Ahead of DNC Vote, Progressives Unite to Demand Party End Supremacy of Superdelegates\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2018\/08\/24\/give-democracy-chance-ahead-dnc-vote-progressives-unite-demand-party-end-supremacy\" data-summary=\"\">\n<div class=\"ng-scope shareaholic-share_buttons\" translate=\"no\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-container shareaholic-ui shr-no-print shareaholic-flat shareaholic- shareaholic-block shareaholic-horizontal  shareaholic-mini\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-wrapper shareaholic-ui\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-animation-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-heading shareaholic-custom\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"ng-binding ng-scope\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-button-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-article-img field--type-image field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"caption-processed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/cd_large\/public\/headlines\/gettyimages-10218106961.jpg?itok=ckN3REO_\" alt=\"\" width=\"955\" height=\"500\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-main-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<p><em>Protesters have gathered at the Democratic National Committee&#8217;s annual summer meeting to protest the use of superdelegates, which Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) supporters say unfairly swung the 2016 election in favor of Hillary Clinton. (Photo: Scott Olson\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div>\n<p>With protesters rallying outside the Democratic National Committee&#8217;s (DNC) annual meeting in Chicago this week, carrying signs demanding that the Democratic Party &#8220;live up to its name,&#8221; progressive groups in favor of limiting the outsized power of superdelegates urged the committee to embrace a plan aimed at honoring the will of voters.<\/p>\n<p>Opponents of the proposal\u2014including 2016 superdelegates hoping to hang on to their disproportionate ability to select a presidential nominee\u2014pledged to lobby aggressively in favor of keeping the superdelegate system as it is.<\/p>\n<p>But supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) argued that doing so would not only be unjust to voters in favor of a more progressive Democratic platform, but also imperil the party.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If the DNC rejects this,&#8221; when it votes on Saturday, Mark Longabaugh, a senior adviser to Sanders&#8217;s 2016 presidential campaign,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2018\/08\/23\/democrats-superdelegates-overhaul-tensions-794977\">told<\/a>\u00a0<em>Politico,<\/em>\u00a0&#8220;it basically rejects the will of the convention.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In the 2016 election, most superdelegates threw their support behind Hillary Clinton, with many going against the majority of their constituents who had voted for Sanders in the primary.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\":vo.co\" class=\"tL8wMe EMoHub\" dir=\"ltr\">The resulting outrage among the party&#8217;s progressive wing led to the formation of the Unity Reform Commission and its proposal to strip superdelegates of their outsize influence. Earlier this year, the plan won the support of the DNC&#8217;s Rules and Bylaws Committee and a scheduled vote on Saturday by the entire body of party delegates will see it either adopted or defeated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"tL8wMe EMoHub\" dir=\"ltr\">As\u00a0<em>The Real News<\/em>\u00a0reported from the Chicago inside and outside the delegate meeting on Friday:<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TZi01-IskFQ\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span id=\":vx.co\" class=\"tL8wMe EMoHub\" dir=\"ltr\">As a coalition of proponents, including RootsAction.org and Progressive Democrats of America, wrote to DNC members in an letter ahead of the vote, &#8220;All we are saying is give democracy a chance.&#8221; The groups explained:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>[The proposal] would prevent superdelegates from casting a vote on the first ballot at the 2020 Democratic National Convention\u2014unless one of the candidates has already secured enough democratically elected &#8220;pledged&#8221; delegates in primaries and caucuses to win the nomination outright.<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday, passage of this proposal from the DNC&#8217;s Rules and Bylaws Committee would give a big lift to Democratic Party outreach and enthusiasm nationwide\u2014indicating that the party is opening toward grassroots democracy.<\/p>\n<p>More broadly, grassroots activists are urging increased democratic participation and financial transparency to strengthen the party and help it win more elections.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Fearing the plan&#8217;s popularity, opponents have claimed that a change to the party&#8217;s nominating system should require a two-thirds vote instead of a simple majority\u2014an argument Jeff Cohen of RootsAction.org rejected.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got so much wrongheaded and uninformed backlash,&#8221; Cohen told\u00a0<em>Politico.<\/em>\u00a0&#8220;The stupidity would be, a couple of months before the election, picking a fight with the [Democratic] base.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of Saturday&#8217;s vote on the issue, Our Revolution circulated a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/go.ourrevolution.com\/page\/s\/renew-your-support-for-the-unity-reform-commission-proposals\">petition<\/a>\u00a0calling on proponents of a fair voting system to add their name to the list of supporters of a number of democracy-strengthening initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve made huge strides in the Rules and Bylaws Committee by passing a resolution from Chair [Tom] Perez that all superdelegates stand down from voting on the nomination of the presidential candidate on the first ballot at the 2020 convention,&#8221;<a href=\"https:\/\/go.ourrevolution.com\/page\/s\/renew-your-support-for-the-unity-reform-commission-proposals\">reads\u00a0<\/a>the petition. &#8220;Now, we need your support as we continue to advocate for democratizing primaries and caucuses with same-day party registration and increasing transparency and oversight in DNC spending.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"field-wrapper-copyright-cond\" class=\"field-wrapper content-container clearfix\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-copyright field--type-text field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\"><em>This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>August 24, 2018\u00a0by Common Dreams &#8220;If the DNC rejects this, it basically rejects the will of the convention.&#8221; by\u00a0Julia Conley, staff writer Protesters have gathered at the Democratic National Committee&#8217;s annual summer meeting to protest the use of superdelegates, which Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) supporters say unfairly swung the 2016&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2018\/08\/25\/give-democracy-a-chance-ahead-of-dnc-vote-progressives-unite-to-demand-party-end-supremacy-of-superdelegates\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9491"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9491"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9492,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9491\/revisions\/9492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}