MoveOn To Sanders: ‘Undemocratic Superdelegates’ Can’t Overturn Voters

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during the Iowa Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

One of the largest advocacy groups to endorse Bernie Sanders on Wednesday gently nudged the Vermont senator toward the exit, arguing that the Democratic nomination can’t be won on the backs of “undemocratic superdelegates.”

The liberal group MoveOn.org suggested in a statement that Hillary Clinton fairly earned the Democratic nomination after Tuesday’s primaries by clinching a majority of pledged delegates.

“MoveOn members believe, as we have long advocated, that the nomination should go to the winner of the majority of pledged delegates, and that undemocratic superdelegates should not overturn the will of the voters,” MoveOn Political Action’s Executive Director, Ilya Sheyman, said in the statement.

Sanders won MoveOn’s endorsement in January with over 78 percent of the 340,665 votes cast by the group’s members.

In the statement, Sheyman applauded Sanders for revolutionizing “politics as we know it” with his grassroots campaign and insisted that “the policies Bernie has advanced should be included in the Democratic platform.”

Sheyman said that Sanders “has more than earned the right to figure out the next steps for this movement on his own timeline,” but he implied that Clinton’s status as the presumptive nominee after landslide primary wins in New Jersey and California, which secured her lead in both pledged delegates and super-delegates, shut the door on Sander’s hopes for a contested convention. The former secretary of state also leads Sanders in the popular vote.

Sanders renewed his vow to remain in the race until the Democratic National Convention in July after Tuesday’s primaries, and his campaign has said it believes it can persuade some superdelegates to flip their support from Clinton to him.

But even some of the Vermont senator’s most prominent backers have rejected that strategy.

As Sanders’ sole endorser in the Senate, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, said, “We have our nominee.”

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. geez, he didn’t even gain the actual power of the Presidency, just got a whiff of it, and now he refusing to bow out gracefully, his choice I guess

  2. Pretty much the same way Warren nudged him the other day.

  3. You have had your 15 minutes of fame, now it’s time to move on Bernie. You lost, Hillary got more votes, how is that undemocratic?

  4. Sanders risks squandering the capital he’s gained with his run. He can play a role in the Clinton administration and nudge it to the left on certain policies. Or, he can piss away the goodwill and power he’s earned in this utterly futile and hypocritical quest to steal the nomination from Hillary.

    It’s worth saying again… Hillary has supported the party and raised funds for candidates. Sanders has not. That matters, a lot. These superdelegates are not going to flip for Sanders. Why would they, what has he done for them? And what can he offer them that is better than what President Clinton can offer them?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

205 more replies

Participants

Avatar for lestatdelc Avatar for ajm Avatar for silvrfox Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for brooklyndweller Avatar for rollinnolan Avatar for inlabsitrust Avatar for sniffit Avatar for chelsea530 Avatar for frankly_my_dear Avatar for arrendis Avatar for mike817 Avatar for daveyjones64 Avatar for geofu54 Avatar for azjude Avatar for tena Avatar for pmaroneyb Avatar for canyoncountry Avatar for erratum Avatar for spin Avatar for burdyblue Avatar for woland66 Avatar for centralasiaexpat Avatar for peepsrepmd

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: