Hillary supporter Rangle: "The people's will is what's going to prevail at the convention..."

[jefferson_dem]

No convention duel, Clinton supporters say
Hillary allies rap her tactic to rely on superdelegates
BY GLENN THRUSH AND JAMES T. MADORE

February 18, 2008

Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel - one of Hillary Clinton's most stalwart African-American defenders - is apparently questioning her reliance on unelected superdelegates to stay competitive with Barack Obama, saying they may not reflect the "will" of Democratic voters.

"It's the people going to govern who selects our next candidate and not superdelegates," Rangel said last night at a dinner for the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators conference in Albany.

"The people's will is what's going to prevail at the convention and not people who decide what the people's will is," he added.

Superdelegates, who are usually high-ranking party officials, are free to choose any candidate, unlike "pledged" delegates apportioned by primaries and caucuses. Obama's approximately 40-delegate lead overall would be much larger were it not for Clinton's 75-delegate edge among the supers.

A danger to the party

Earlier yesterday, Sen. Charles Schumer, another major Clinton supporter, expressed his discomfort with her willingness to battle Obama for delegates on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August. New York's senior senator, speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," called on Clinton and Obama to agree on a winner after the final caucus in Puerto Rico, saying a protracted fight will rip apart the party in a year when they're favored to win the White House.

"I don't think either candidate wants - or can even get away with - forcing their will down the throat of the other," Schumer told host Tim Russert. "At the end of the day, on June 7, for the sake of party unity, Howard Dean and the two candidates will have to get together if neither candidate has 2,025 ... and come up with a strategy. Each candidate will have to have buy into that strategy."

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http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/monday/nation/ny-usdems185582573feb18,0,2206044,print.story

[TexasObserver]

1. Charlie's no fool. His wife has already endorsed Obama. He'll go Obama.

[my3boyz]

2. Now this is shocking! I guess even though many of them

support the Clintons, they don't subscribe to the "win at all costs" mindset. They are political figures but most of them deep down (sometimes really deep down) do care about the best interests of the party. I think it was telling that Rangel's wife endorsed Obama. I think he did not want to go with Barack because of the potential ramifications if she ended up winning. Also, she is the senator from his state. Anyway, I am pleased that he said he will go with the will of the people. I feel that way regardless of who wins. I don't want Obama to win in a way that would paint him as not being a legitimate nominee. I would be furious if Hillary won if she got there against the will of the people. I hope all of them use this mindset when casting their vote regardless of who the people decide as their nominee.

[John Q. Citizen]

3. They aren't going over the cliff just cause Hill tells them to. Hills problem is Obama

really has all the math in his favor at this point after ten straight wins, and unless she can pull out a miracle and win almost every last state by very big margins, Obama is going to be leading in elected delegates.

This is why her camp has been pushing the rule breaking and the super delegate aspect so strongly, because they know their chances to win on elected delegates are slim to none.