Do you support the existence of unelected "superdelegates" having a say in who our candidate is?

[2banon]

46. Interesting article, thank you.

As I read this, it seems to allude to the connection.. a sort of 'reaction to the reaction' of
the events of 1968. Followed with events of 1972, followed with events of Carter's defeat, and on and on.

I would argue that it isn't inaccurate to suggest the connection, it just requires a more thorough analysis than I have time to delve into here at this time.

But I DO APPRECIATE you providing this link because I had no idea of the name of the committee the Party Elites formed as a body to enact rules governing the process of selecting their pre-approved candidates in order to prevent "insurgents" (such as McGovern) i.e. Bernie from being allowed a path to the nomination. Thank You!

The "Democratic Party reforms" that Davis refers to were those implemented by a commission led by McGovern and Minnesota Representative Donald Fraser, itself a reaction to the disastrous convention of 1968. The most important provision of these reforms was one that required all delegate selection to be "open" -- selected by voters rather than by party leaders -- which effectively ushered in the era of party primaries.

By 1982, however, the sentiment was essentially that the cure (1972, "validated" by 1980) was worse than the disease (1968).

In 1984, superdelegates proved to be helpful in getting Walter Mondale past the threshold he needed to achieve an outright majority of delegates, thereby avoiding a brokered convention. However, in all probability the superdelegates did not alter the outcome of the election; Mondale had a clear plurality of pledged delegates at the time. There is an outside chance that Gary Hart and Jesse Jackson could have teamed together to defeat him, but it would have required near-perfect coordination, and would arguably have usurped the public will, as Mondale had a substantive lead in the national polls. Thus, initially at least (and notwithstanding Mondale's eventual defeat), superdelegates were regarded as a helpful innovation