democratic national convention

The Nuns on the Bus came to Providence Saturday night as part of a 13 state tour that ended at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. At each stop, the Nuns held meetings where concerned residents could share their concerns about a range of topics – including tax justice, living wages, family-friendly workplaces, access to democracy, healthcare, citizenship and housing. These meetings were held under the general title of “Mending the Gaps” and the discussion points and concerns from each meeting are to be delivered in Philadelphia.

The Nuns arrived at St. Michael’s Church in South Providence to the music of the Extraordinary Rendition Band and St. Michael’s own drummers.

During the discussions the Nuns learned about the obscene child poverty rates in Rhode Island, the criminality and disconnect of many of our elected leaders and our state’s support for the fossil fuel industry and the environmental racism such support entails. The meeting filled the basement of St. Michael’s.

From Providence the Nuns headed to Hartford, Scranton and Newark before arriving in Philly on July 26. You can follow their progress here.

RI state Representative Aaron Regunberg is going to the Democratic National Convention Rules Committee on Saturday with a mission: eliminate “superdelegates” in future elections.

“As I have spoken with fellow members of the Rules Committee about ending superdelegates,” said Regunberg, who is a DNC Rules Committee member, “I have been blown away by the passionate response. It is clear that this is an issue that committee members, delegates, and rank-and-file Democratic Party voters across the country care deeply about. I look forward to the debate beginning in earnest in Philadelphia this Saturday, and to voting on this important issue.”

According to Wikipedia, a superdelegate “is a delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for whom they want to vote. These Democratic Party superdelegates include distinguished party leaders, and elected officials, including all Democratic members of the House and Senate and sitting Democratic governors. Democratic superdelegates are free to support any candidate for the presidential nomination. This contrasts with convention “pledged” delegates who are selected based on the party primaries and caucuses in each U.S. state, in which voters choose among candidates for the party’s presidential nomination. Because they are free to support anyone they want, superdelegates could potentially swing the results to nominate a presidential candidate who did not receive the majority of votes during the primaries.”

The Rules Committee will meet on Saturday, July 23rd at the Philadelphia Convention Center. If the amendment secures the vote of a majority of the committee it will be sent to the full convention with a recommendation for adoption. If it secures support of just 25 percent of the committee, then a minority report in support of the measure can be offered to the full convention. The amendment already has over 25 percent of the committee signed on as cosponsors.

Fourteen national organizations are supporting the effort, including Center for Popular Democracy, Courage Campaign, Credo, Daily Kos, Demand Progress/Rootstrikers, Democracy for America, MoveOn, National Nurses United, New Democrat Network, The Other 98%, Presente, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Progressive Democrats of America, and Social Security Works.

“If we want a Democratic Party that leaves Philadelphia next week as fired up as possible,” said Regunberg, “I can think of no better move than to get rid of superdelegates and prove that we are, in fact, committed to democracy and diversity and that we value the will of the people over the interests of the well-connected few.

“These values are not reflected in our current superdelegate structure. Right now, unpledged delegates – party insiders who can vote however they please, regardless of the will of their state’s voters – have as much weight in our nominating process as the pledged delegates from the District of Columbia, 4 territories, and 24 states combined!

“That means that in future contests, they could very well overturn the most important political decision our party’s voters get to make. And even when they don’t end up tipping the balance, the mere existence of superdelegates adds to the perception among many voters that the political system is rigged. Why force any nominee to carry that albatross in the future, when the problem can be so easily resolved?”

Tag: democratic national convention

Nuns on the Bus visit RI

Livestream: Democratic National Convention