The superdelegate system was incorporated for the purpose of shielding establishment candidates like Clinton from candidates like Sanders, who are propelled by grassroots uprisings. There are 712 Democratic insiders--representatives and senators in Congress, governors, party officials, and members of the DNC--who are superdelegates. These superdelegates are expected to ensure a certain outcome, and in fact, since the early days of the primary race, media has shown that 520 superdelegates have pledged support to Clinton and incorporated that into delegate counts shown on television. This has driven a majority of voters to conclude Clinton is the inevitable nominee, which is what the Party desires.
In These Times recently reported on transcripts from discussions by the Hunt Commission, which lasted seven months from August 1981 to February 1982. The members of the commission were troubled by what happened with George McGovern and President Jimmy Carter. They sought to restore the "elites' superior judgment." New York Representative Geraldine Ferraro maintained, "No one is better able to represent [the people] at the convention than a member of Congress."
The DNC chairwoman previously said on CNN, "[Superdelegates] exist really to make sure that party leaders and elected officials don't have to be in a position where they are running against grassroots activists."
The system of superdelegates is a fail-safe to protect the Democratic Party establishment from populism--any groundswell of people within and outside the party, who may want to bring about radical change.
No wonder there is excessive focus on how Sanders will help Democrats unify the party. This is what the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee want the public to be concerned about, so citizens overlook the extent of their collusion.
But the story is not that Sanders supporters are unruly because Sanders has whipped them into a frenzy over "allegations" of a rigged primary process. It is not that they lack education about the process. Sanders supporters understand very well how the process works and what kind of candidate is supposed to make it to the end. Real and actual evidence of a rigged primary is what fuels such discontent.
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