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Maryland Delegate Will Not Lose Seat (Updated)

UPDATE: Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson, who was initially a pledged Clinton at-large delegate from Maryland, is the first pledged delegate to announce that he will switch his support to Senator Obama.  He is not a Superdelegate, he was not elected at the district level.

The At-Large application form for the Maryland Democratic Party states a filing window between April 1 and April 18, 2008.  Sometime during this period, Mr. Johnson pledged his support for Senator Clinton and filed the form.  The signed pledge states "I hereby file as a male delegate pledged to support the Presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton."

The Maryland State Central Committee voted to choose Mr. Johnson and the other at-large delegates on May 3, 2008.  Sometime in the 10 days following his selection, Mr. Johnson had a change of heart.  Or he filed for a Clinton delegate slot knowing he had Obama leanings prior to making his intentions public on May 13th.  But because a pledge is not a legal contract, there is no consequence for switching.  And while he might be the first to publicly switch, he's not the first to consider doing so.

Today's Washington Post details Mr. Johnson's endorsement, which constitutes his second change of heart in the past four months (he was originally with Obama, then switched to Clinton in February, before switching back to Obama this week).

Youth Delegate Applications

Jane Fleming, of the Young Voter PAC, posts a release about the Obama campaign's review of delegates in California.

On behalf of the Young Voter PAC, we applaud the California Democratic Party, young leaders and the Obama campaign for standing up for the youth vote.

While we understand the political reality that the Obama campaign made earlier this week to cut some potential delegates off of the list in California, we along with the California Party and young leaders voiced our concerns to the campaign in hopes they would change their mind and allow all potential delegates to run as delegates to the National Convention at elections taking place this Sunday in California.

Young people, in particular, are energized this election cycle doubling and tripling their turnout numbers in the primary elections and caucuses.

“Any action to try and squelch young peoples’ enthusiasm and most importantly the drive to not just be voters and volunteers but leaders within the Party should be called out by all youth vote leaders. For too long young people have not felt welcome or seen the Party structure as a place for change,” said Jane Fleming Kleeb, Young Voter PAC Director.

Full text can be found here.

Shortly after Jane posted this letter, an activist from Arizona circulated a letter he received from the Obama campaign regarding his application for an at-large delegate post:

Dear Kevin Bondelli:

Thank you very much for applying to be an Obama At Large Delegate to the Democratic National Convention. When we started this campaign, we knew that our only path to victory was to inspire grassroots activism across our state, and we know you have made that possible. We are thrilled to have so much interest among Arizonans to represent the Obama campaign in Denver.

In compliance with the rules of the DNC, the campaign has opted to limit the list of candidates that have filed to run as an at-large delegate. The campaign understands the desire of all of our supporters to participate in this process, but to fully achieve the DNC's goals of a diverse pool of delegates, and to accommodate the time this selection process will take, we have trimmed the list.  Please know that we value every single Obama supporter and all of the hard work and energy that you have shown in working to make Senator Obama the Democratic nominee.

Our campaign understands and appreciates all of your tireless enthusiasm and commitment to Senator Obama. We thank you for your time and efforts on behalf of our campaign and we look forward to working with you in the upcoming months to elect Senator Barack Obama as President of the United States.

Sincerely,

[Obama staff name omitted]

Democrats Supporting McCain

One of the things that Supers are continually balancing is the idea of supporting a candidate without thwarting the "will of the people."  That "will" can be interpreted in many different ways.  Another thing we balance is how to do our job in a way that keeps our Party unified.

There is a blog post in today's LA Times which states that some Democrats are mulling the notion of supporting John McCain if their Democrat of choice does not win the nomination.  There's definitely some appeal in John McCain.  He's served in time of war, he's though of to be independent-minded, he is experienced.

He is also a Republican and by and large does not subscribe to the ideals and principles of either Democrat running for president.

It is understandable to be disappointed about the notion that your first choice will not have a shot at being president (certainly my first choice, currently not in the race, may not ever be president), it is counter-productive support someone who goes against what you believe in.

If Republicans win the 2008 race for President, Democrats and progressives will lose the courts for a generation.

It's OK to be emotional about a candidate, it's also important to look past the fanfare and celebrity and look into the issues and ideals that you believe in.