Delegates are humans
Seems like I shouldn't have to say this, but I think I do.
Delegates are not machines. Delegates are real, live people. They are your neighbors and coworkers. They are thinking organisms, that have the capacity to make decisions.
This is why when the News media reports on "committed delegates", "Super delegates" and "uncommitted delegates", they are actually doing you a disservice. They are failing to report on the fact that these are all PEOPLE, and people can make CHOICES.
Problem is, most Delegates are hopeful political climbers. They use the delegate role as a first step into the world of politics. It's good on their political resume. The reasons it's good on the resume are dubious, sorted and in many cases scummy, because, most delegates choose to simply OBEY, over using their human options of thinking, acting ethically and acting responsibly.
Three types of delegates - two are scummy
I was a Delegate candidate in 2012. That is how I learned the process. It's also how I learned how corrupt it is, and how it's abused by the two-party system. Let's start with some distinctions and definitions:
- Uncommitted Delegate - This is a person sent to the National convention of each party, without a committment to vote for a certain candidate. This means that theoretically, they can watch the entire primary process, and then make their decision based on what they see. Or, they could collect the voting profile of their region, and vote to best represent those folks. Or they can simply do as they wish. These people are wildcards in the process.
- Committed Delegate - These people go to the convention already knowing who they must vote for to represent their area. Intuitively, you would think this is the better form of delegate, because these delegates are mandated to vote as their constituents voted. However, you would be wrong. They are in fact duty bound to vote for a particular candidate: but not for the reasons you think. More on this below.
- Super Delegate - "In American politics, a "superdelegate" is a delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for whom they want to vote. According to Democratic Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz, superdelegates are in place to protect party leaders from running against grassroots activists. [1] These Democratic Partysuperdelegates include distinguished party leaders, and elected officials, including all Democratic members of the House and Senate and sitting Democratic governors." (Full Wikipedia definition here) Read: career scumbags.
These definitions are EXPECIALLY IMPORTANT, because two of the three types of delegates are COMPLETELY CORRUPT SCUMBAGS and scumbags in training.
How to be a scumbag delegate
To be fair, not all delegates are scumbags. There are ways to navigate the delegate system, legally, honorably, ethically and morally: unfortunately, most do not take that option.
To do it the "right way" you use the process as intended. In PA (where I was a delegate candidate) You start by hitting the street and collecting 350 signatures from your community. In that process, the candidate is supposed to get a good idea of the desires of the community, theoretically, so that they can use their vote to represent those folks at the party convention, as delegates.
After a candidate collects signatures, those signatures get reviewed, accepted or denied by party officials and if successful, your name is placed on a primary ballot. At that point you need to be elected (like any other candidate) and then you are a delegate to the convention for your party.
That's a pretty good system. It allows every opportunity for representative government.
Unfortunately, the above situation only happens in rural areas, and with the delegates with the least amount of pull in the elections.
In more populated areas delegates are APPOINTED. They are appointed by Judges and other influential party leaders as a little political "atta-boy" to folks that look like they will tow the line for the party. You get a call and the powerful person says, "I hear you are interested in being a delegate. Looks like you've been a good scumbag-hack, so I'll throw you this bone, because I think there is a good chance you'll continue to be a greedy, scumbag, sell-out and do what I tell you to do. And by the way, if you cross me, and don't vote for the person I tell you to vote for: your political career is over. OK? Sound good? Think you can handle that task?" And that 's how it goes. One generation of sell-out, corrupt politicians hands the torch to the next generation of sell-out, corrupt politician wannabes. This is their first test of "controllability".
No sense even talking about Superdelegates. They are already completely connected, bought and paid for politicians. Completely corrupt, predictable, and controllable. They will do as they are told - and everyone is already confident that they have no soul, conscience, ethics or values. Good lap dogs.
So what to do about these scumbags?
Well, they contol the system and render your vote irrelevant, so you can't vote them out. They will laugh at your silly ass. So what's left?
This is where being "human" comes in.
You can find out who the delegate are for your area. You can talk to these folks. You can put pressure on these folks. Let them know that you will be looking into how they vote, and if they don't take your input into consideration: there will be ramifications.
- Tell these scumbags in training that if they put their own political careers before their responsibility to represent their areas accurately: you will make their life living hell.
- Tell them, you are on to them.
- Tell them, they can disobey.
- Tell them selling out is no longer in fashion, and if they really want to get ahead in future politics, they better get ahead of the curve, and start acting in a manor that is worthy of the Representative Republic they claim to be serving at their convention.
Time to work this system, as our Founders intended - not at the scumbags have bastardized the process.