A Brokered Convention

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A Brokered Convention

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Mar 11, 2008 @ 2:30 PM A Brokered Convention

raykl

Posts: 566 The Democratic race has reached the point where we are looking at a possible "Brokered Convention".
Unless a disaster happens in Pennsylvania, Clinton is in a strong position to carry this state.
Whether she wins or loses PA, the delegate count will not change that dramatically to alter the fact that neither candidate will probably not have enough delegates to win nomination on the first ballot.

In subsequent ballots, delegates will be allowed to change their allegiance, regardless of how the election in their state dictated. The actual rules for this procedure vary by state. The determination as to how they ultimately vote is all accomplished in the "back rooms" by the power brokers of the party. It is also possible that Clinton or Obama would not end up as the party's final candidate. Al Gore rumblings have already started.

Before the era of presidential primaries, conventions were routinely brokered. Adlai Stevenson (1952-Democrat) and Thomas Dewey (1948 Republican) were the last two candidates selected through a brokered convention.
The most recent chance for a brokered convention would have been in 1968- Kennedy vs. Humphrey.

Surprisingly, FDR was the last brokered candidate to win the Presidency. This is an important point, since it shows a divided party and a divided party is a weak party. Something which McCain should seize upon and keep preaching to the voters. Also, unless Clinton and Obama end up on the ticket together, the one pushed aside could alienate their followers enough to swing their vote to McCain.

What seemed like an easy process to replace the moron and the Republican party in power, has become precarious at best.

Remember: we do not live in a DEMOCRACY, but a REPUBLIC. Politicians are not required to listen to the people. We only hope they listen to us when we elect them.

Mar 11, 2008 @ 3:18 PM A Brokered Convention

Gallows_Humor

Posts: 13,662 good thread...and great post...

but I disagree with this...and wish that people would not accept it as fact..as some politicians seem to think it is true...

Politicians are not required to listen to the people. We only hope they listen to us when we elect them.

Mar 11, 2008 @ 5:26 PM A Brokered Convention

eastham

Posts: 7,913 The British parliamentarian, Edmund Burke once said: "Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion."

Conversely, Thomas Paine felt there was no role for individual preference, but that a legislature should always adhere to the consent of the people.

The role of an elected representative in the US is somewhere between the views of Burke and that of Thomas Paine.

Mar 11, 2008 @ 5:29 PM A Brokered Convention

Mischief484

Posts: 679 Frankly, the race for the Democrats' nominee is shaping up to be the Chicago Machine vs. the Clintonistas. Just as I'd hoped it would be.

Let's see how the sausage is made.

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