Superdelegate ‘primary’ proposal reviews mixed

Choose, or Lose in November

NASHVILLE — Tennessee Democrats like it, but there is skepticism in some quarters elsewhere over Gov. Phil Bredesen’s proposal to have a “primary” of Democratic “superdelegates” to resolve the party’s presidential nomination in early June.

“I love it,” said Democratic National Committeeman Bill Owen of Knoxville on Wednesday. “I think it’s an innovative approach to the solving of some of our problems and concerns.”

But superdelegate Donna Brazile, who ran Democrat Al Gore of Tennessee’s unsuccessful 2000 presidential campaign, said she has reservations about the governor’s proposal, outlined in an op-ed piece that ran in Wednesday’s editions of The New York Times.

“There’s no guiding principles. There’s nothing in the rules that says superdelegates shall ... cough and chew gum,” Ms. Brazile said. “So what Mr. Bredesen is saying is we should have another process. But there’s no rules.”

Gov. Bredesen, a superdelegate who has not said who he supports, wrote in the column that “it’s entirely possible ... we will still lack a clear nominee” when primary contests between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama finish on June 3.

He said the party could face a “long summer of brutal and unnecessary warfare.” By the time the Democratic National Convention decided the issue in August, he wrote, there might be a nominee “of a party that is emotionally exhausted and divided with only two months to go before Election Day.”

His proposed solution is a two-day “caucus” or primary of the 795 superdelegates to meet in early June. Superdelegates are delegates to the Democratic National Convention who are seated based on their status as current or former elected officeholders or party officials.

U.S. Sen. Obama, D-Ill., leads U.S. Sen. Clinton, D-N.Y., 1,404 to 1,249 among delegates whose votes have been determined by state primaries or caucuses, according to The Associated Press. But neither is expected to be able to get the 2,024 delegates required to win the nomination.

Sen. Clinton leads among superdelegates who have announced a choice, 250-213, the AP reported.

Gov. Bredesen told Tennessee reporters that “to me the commonsense approach is if the thing lies in the hands of the superdelegates, fine, get them on record. ... We need something to rally around.

“Calling people together is a way to cause that to happen,” he said.

On Wednesday he contacted Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean about his proposal. DNC spokesman Damien LaVera said the party has no comment on the plan.

Gov. Bredesen said he also contacted the Clinton campaign, planned to contact the Obama campaign and wants to talk to Mr. Gore, who has not publicly committed to either candidate.

Tennessee’s other Democratic National committeeman, Will Cheek, of Nashville, said he is “fully supportive” of the governor’s proposal. “It’s time to resolve this,” he said.

Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Gray Sasser, a superdelegate, issued a news release stating the governor is “offering a common-sense solution to a problem that otherwise may not be resolved soon.”

Peter Fenn, a Washington-based Democratic strategist, said he thinks Gov. Bredesen “is right in his basic point, which is there’d be nothing served by two months of hand-wringing and cajoling and playing this out in a way that’s inherently divisive.”

But he said his perception is “we’re not going to get to the point where we’re actually going to call a meeting.”

Vanderbilt University political science professor Bruce Oppenheimer said he expects more plans to be floated publicly or privately by party leaders, senior officials, Democratic officeholders and others.

He said they “recognize they don’t want to use the convention to have a reality-TV ... who’s-going-to-win sort of scenario.”