How Howard Dean Shafted Hillary

On my Pennsylvania blog Thursday afternoon, I put a posting about the last undecided Democrat Superdelegate in America -- Pennsylvania Rep. Tim Holden. Some compare Holden to Prince Hamlet, although I actually see a resemblance to Harpo Marx. In any case, he's a new figure for Hillary Supporters to dislike -- and rightfully so.

Under the Category of People Who Shafted Hillary: HOWARD DEAN

Well said by Jean Avery at Moms4McCain: "Last week, Howard Dean and friends gave delegates to someone who wasn't even on the ballot and took half the delegates from a candidate who was. And, by the way, she was also the first woman with a serious shot at the Presidency. Suddenly millions of American women who hung their hopes on Hillary are the Desirable Voting Bloc. (Sure, Hillary had male supporters, but because many women's motives differed, their response to her rejection may differ too.)"


Last holdout among Democrat "SuperDelegates" confronts Obama warily . . .


The lovely lady above marks the launch of my "Odd Picture of the Day" series. Please send odd picture to me and Ill (1) post them; (2) gtive them a caption. All blogs every day. TalkTop65@aol.com.


Has any political party ever come up with a more undemocratic, elitist concept than SuperDelegates? I'm hearing from Hillary Supporters who are saying it's "payback time." (See my previous column.)

They're not just intoning the words "Just Say NoBama" and "Just Say No Deal (to Obama)." They're also targeting for defeat so-called "SuperDelegates" (not really super but delegates nonetheless) who basically pushed Mrs. Clinton under the bus.

Is there any political concept you've ever heard of that's less "democratic" than the idea of SuperDelegates? They aren't really "party elders." They're party big shots who get their seats at the convention without having to appeal to voters.

Consider my home state of Pennsylvania, where junior Senator Bob Casey, Jr. came out early and often for Obama. Clearly, Casey was carrying out an ancient family grudge (his pro-life father was prevented from speaking at the Bill Clinton convention in 1992).

Of course, there are decent people on both sides of the abortion issue. But Casey, who ran as a staunch pro-lifer endorsed the most pro-abortion candidate ever to run for President. What's wrong with that picture? Did Casey change his mind and support Hillary when his state went massively for Hillary? Of course not. He continued his anti-Clinton vendetta. When he runs for re-election, Hillary Supporters -- who pride themselves on their long memories -- may teach young Casey the era of his ways.

What about the state of Massachusetts, which the Hillary carried by very big numbers? The state's three best-known SuperDelegates were early endorsers of Barack Obama. They include Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry (up for re-election this year) and Gov. Duvall Patrick, a major cheerleader for Obama. What about the state's "popular will," as expressed by the voters. Frankly, these SuperDelegates assume they're unbeatable so they can pursue an approach that says, "The public be damned."

What about influential Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller. He of course endorsed Obama. The fact that Rockefeller's state of WV gave HIllary a huge victory (41 percentage points) didn't seem to register with John D. Rockefeller's grandson. He has a safe seat, so why worry about offending a few hundred thousand people?

And how do we interpret the actions of Rep. Patrick Murphy from Pennsylvania's 8th district? He was one of Obama's earliest supporters (last August) of Barack Obama. Gee, how did Murphy's home county of Bucks register its its views in the April 22 Primary. It went for Hillary Clinton by 70,253 to 41,791. Again, any second thoughts on Obama Rep. Murphy? Surely, I must be jesting.

(See my Pennsylvania column for more on Rep. Patrick Murphy, a true piece-of-work.)

Murphy's opponent is Tom Manion. He's a thoroughly good man, something Murphy assuredly is not. Tom Manion and his wife lost their son, Travis, in Iraq. If you donate to and support Manion, you won't have to take a shower afterwards.

In my own congressional district (PA 4th), Jason Altmire is a Democratic SuperDelegate. He remained (supposedly) undecided, although he following Obama around like a puppy dog. What reason did Altmire have to come out for Hillary? Perhaps the fact that his district went for Hillary by West-Virginia size margins? (My own country, Beaver, west of Pittsburgh) went for Mrs. Clinton by 28,000 to 12,000. Several of those Clinton votes came from members of my own family.

Nevertheless, Altmire remained undecided until Obama "clinched" the nomination. Of course, he wouldn't have clinched anything if enough SuperDelegates like Altmire, Murphy, and Kerry had come out for Sen. Clinton. Somehow the Altmires of the world were okay with Obama and his surrogates portrayed Hillary as a warmonger, a liar, and, of course, a racist. There was glacial silence from Murphy, Kennedy, and others when Samantha Power, Obama's foreign policy advisor, called Hillary "a monster." When Rev. Wright trashed both Hillary and the nation, where oh where were Teddy Kennedy and Jay Rockefeller?

How should Hillary Supporters "handle" someone like Jason Altmire, who's running against a very strong and decent woman (Melissa Hart)? I'll leave that up to the Hillary Supporters.

I've just talked about a handful of people whose districts or states went heavily for Hillary -- but who backed Obama anyway. There are dozens of them across the nation. Some, like Nancy Pelosi, were technically undecided but nevertheless delighted in throwing sand in the gears of the Clinton candidacy.

Vote for the best person -- the best human being.

Don't vote for people who are incarnations of the concept of betrayal. Don't let people like Casey, Murphy, and Altmire spend the rest of their lives making deals in the halls of Congress. Remind them of the old saying, "Sin in haste, reprent at leisure."