Free Republic

ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on Friday that it would be "harmful" to Democrats if superdelegates were to give the party's presidential nomination to a candidate who is trailing in the delegates awarded in primaries and caucuses. "If the votes of the superdelegates overturn what's happened in the elections," said Pelosi, "it would be harmful to the Democratic Party." Although Pelosi offered her assessment without directly referencing Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., her comments lend considerable support to the Illinois Democrat. Obama leads Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in pledged delegates: 1,396 to...

Clinton’s superdelegates rejecting pleas to switch By Alexander Bolton Posted: 02/26/08 08:08 PM [ET] House Democrats supporting Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) are rejecting Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (Calif.) plea that lawmakers not overrule voters should they be in a position to decide who will be the Democratic presidential nominee. Acrimony gathering inside the party has spurred some Democrats to begin discussing reforming the nominating process and perhaps getting rid of superdelegates altogether. Many Clinton backers representing districts that voted for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) say they are not likely to change their mind should the contest come down to the...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- who may be the most super delegate of all as chair of the Democratic national convention in Denver -- gave an interview with Bloomberg TV's Al Hunt in which she laid down the law for super delegates: Don't veto the people's choice. "I think there is a concern when the public speaks and there is a counter-decision made to that," she said, adding quickly, "I don't think that will happen." She said the governors, lawmakers, DNC members and others picked as super delegates are chosen through a grassroots process and are accountable to the party's...

After me, the deluge" (après moi, le déluge) -- popularly attributed to Louis XV Look for Chris Matthews to start calling her "Louie." The Hardball host was as roiled as Robespierre today at Hillary Clinton's threat to take the Dem party down in a convention credentials fight over the seating of the Florida and Michigan delegates. In the course of an interview with Greta Van Susteren of Fox News yesterday, Clinton made clear her intention to take things to a floor fight if necessary, and went so far as to pre-emptively undermine Barack Obama's legitimacy as a candidate if he...

At a time when momentum and political pundits seem to favor Barack Obama winning the Democratic presidential nomination, other indicators suggest the LGBT community's support is still largely behind Hillary Clinton, except in Texas. And Texas is one of three large primary states remaining that pundits say Clinton must win in order to stay even with Obama in the contest to secure enough delegates to win the nomination. The latest poll in Texas, conducted by CNN February 15-17 among 529 likely primary voters, found Clinton just two points ahead of Obama. A poll just a few days earlier, by the...

LITTLE ROCK - Don Beavers of North Little Rock has been asked a lot of questions lately by curious friends and acquaintances. "They ask me, 'How are you a superdelegate?' and 'What is a superdelegate?' They just don't know about the process," Beavers said. He and the nearly 800 other so-called super delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention are receiving unprecedented attention this year. Beavers has been a superdelegate since 2000, but he said he has never seen so much interest in what he prefers to call "automatic" delegates. "Those active in the party were aware of them, but...

A prolonged race may inspire voter hoopla but could floor the party's chances once a nominee is finally selected.What if the coronation that is the 2008 Democratic National Convention turns cutthroat? Could a presidential primary race so energizing that it has brought record numbers of voters to the polls and will result in the nomination of a historic candidate end in disillusionment, anger and feelings of betrayal? Top Democrats are beginning to resign themselves to the chance the party won't know who will win the presidential nomination until after delegates take the floor of the Pepsi Center in August. That...

Presidential candidates may seek our votes, but they really want our delegates. And, they covet our superdelegates. Delegates and superdelegates are appointed party representatives who cast votes at each party's convention to select the nominees for president. For Democrats, there are 2,025 delegates; Republicans have 1,191 delegates. Most delegates are beholden by party rules to pledge their support to a certain candidate based on the popular vote, but some superdelegates are free to vote for whomever they choose - making them prized in an election year where both parties' contests have been so close. Super Tuesday victories so far have...

-- snip --The elected delegates, though virtually unknown, are at least selected by the voters and pledged to the candidate those voters chose. Most of the super delegates aren't chosen by the general populace, and they are not bound by the votes in their respective states. If they end up making the difference in the nomination -- especially if the winner came into the convention in second place -- there is a strong possibility of disenchanting a good portion of the party's base, potentially costing the party the election...

Super delegates will determine the next nominee of the Democrats, and a happy ending for the Party looks unlikely. Mathematically, the Democratic Party is nearly locked in to Barack Obama entering the convention with a significant delegate lead. Taking the nomination away from him via the super delegate mechanism would alienate the Party's African-American base and potentially turn off a swath of the younger generation enthusiasts for Obama's multi-cultural charisma. Yet there are signs that the Obama bubble may be bursting, his support peaking, while serious press scrutiny is beginning to fire buyer's remorse in certain quarters. The potentially seriously...

The Tyranny of Super-Delegates Barack Obama's stirring victory in Iowa was also a good night for our democracy. The turnout broke records and young people – who were mobilized and organized – participated in unprecedented numbers. And now that Iowans have spoken – the first citizens in the nation to do so – here's the Democratic delegate count for the top three candidates (2,025 delegates are needed to secure the nomination): Clinton – 169 Obama – 66 Edwards – 47 "Huh?" you say. "vanden Heuvel, you made a MAJOR typo." In fact, those numbers are correct: the third-place finishing Sen....

When President Barack Obama was reelected in 2012, a Saudi tycoon and his business associate sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to the U.S. to help pay for the inaugural celebration and get a picture with the president, according to court documents and an analysis of campaign finance records by The Associated Press. U.S. election law prohibits foreign nationals from making those sorts of political contributions. But the donations Sheikh Mohammed Al Rahbani tried to send to Obama's inaugural committee were funneled through a seasoned straw donor, the records and the AP analysis show. That intermediary, Imaad Zuberi, agreed this...

...During NATO's 2008 summit in Bucharest, Romania, the issue was discussed and, after opposition from France and Germany, a decision was made to offer neither Ukraine nor Georgia a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) — essentially a path for Ukraine to receive membership — at that moment. Vague promises of NATO membership in the future were made, but the United States later appeared to drop its support for NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia. Russia's brief war with Georgia in August 2008 helped underscore the decision's importance, but NATO and Ukraine held further talks in December. Again, however, no specific...

The overwhelming majority of California voters are concerned about illegal immigration – and nearly half say the state should declare an emergency along its border with Mexico, a new poll reveals. The survey by Field Poll found that 49 percent of registered voters are "extremely” concerned about illegal immigration, and another 32 percent say they are "somewhat” concerned. The poll also found that 44 percent of voters think that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should declare a border emergency. Among Republicans, 62 percent favor the move, while 35 percent of Democrats and 35 percent of Latino voters support the declaration. Arizona and...

New probe into another failed 2008 presidential bid -- of New Mexico governor BILL RICHARDSON has a decidedly JOHN EDWARDS flavor du jour. He allegedly ponied up campaign funds to silence a woman’s affair claims.

George Clooney has signed on for another special guest appearance as the Barack Obama re-election campaign takes its summer fundraising tour across the Atlantic in pursuit of Euro-cash. The Obama campaign posted an invitation on its website Friday revealing that the presidential pal-in-chief will appear at a pair of Americans Abroad for Obama events Aug. 27 in Geneva, Switzerland. Clooney, who usually spends summers at his villa on Italy’s Lake Como, made a similar appearance across the Swiss border on behalf of then-candidate Obama during the run-up to the 2008 general election. Charles Adams, co-president of the campaign’s European outreach...

This seems particularly unhinged. The media is constantly buzzing about how President Trump is unstable, but McCain’s behavior seems a bit…unusual. Presidential hopeful Senator Amy Klobuchar told a crowd on the campaign trail that the late John McCain muttered the names of dictators as he watched Donald Trump’s inauguration. “John McCain kept reciting to me names of dictators during that speech,” the Minnesota senator said, “because he knew more than any of what we were facing as a nation, he understood it.” She continued: “He knew because he knew this man more than any of us did.” Or it was...

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: (L-R) Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) (L) takes a selfie with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) (R) on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. In today's inauguration ceremony Donald J. Trump becomes the 45th president of the United States. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (FILE PHOTO by Getty) Sen. John McCain's hatred for President Donald Trump reportedly ran so deep that even during Trump's inauguration in January — which was supposed to be a joyous event given that it...

The late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) listed off the names of dictators while watching President Trump's inauguration, according to Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). HuffPost reported that during a campaign event in Iowa, the 2020 Democratic presidential contender told the crowd of more than 200 about sitting next to McCain and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during Trump's inaugural address. “I sat on that stage between Bernie and John McCain, and John McCain kept reciting to me names of dictators during that speech because he knew more than any of us what we were facing as a nation,” she said. “He understood...

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) appeared on Fox News’ “Hannity” this week to discuss the origins of the Steele dossier. He said it should really be called the “Simpson” dossier. Although Christopher Steele likely contributed “stories” to the dossier, and his years of experience in British intelligence lent credence to the document, Nunes believes that Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson may actually have written the majority of it. In his book “Spygate,” journalist Dan Bongino makes the same case. He points out the striking similarities between articles Simpson and his wife, Mary Jacoby wrote for the Wall Street Journal in 2007...