Marc,
You are undoubtedly prone to hyperbole. I have noticed that you can’t make it through a post without mocking Barack and his supporters. But it is hard to lose and I understand that you are a citizen of the hater nation. My sympathy extends to you.
That said, I appreciate that even you understand the deeply troubling possibility that super-delegates may try to steal this one for the Clintons. If HRC is handed the victory by super-delegates tied to her through old loyalties it will be just the same as W. being handed the presidency by his daddy’s Supreme Court appointees.
Enough already will climbing into the Oval office on the backs of daddies and husbands. How about winning by standing on the shoulders of an empowered, excited electorate?
Let me scare you just a little more about the dangers of a brokered nominee. Not only will John McCain beat Hillary Clinton like she stole something (like the nomination!); the Republicans will also sweep back into the House, the Senate and the state houses. Super-delegates choosing Hillary would mean a wave of disappointment and disaffection powerful enough to keep millions of Democrats home from the polls in November. If they stay home, the Party loses the White House, the Congress and the state houses, and some governors. With the 2010 census around the corner this means that we will lose the ability to control redrawing district lines for the next decade.
No exaggeration here. Super delegates have the power to destroy the Democratic Party.
Melissa
Melissa Harris-Lacewell is Associate Professor of Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University.
