blech on all of these tactics

I sent only one e-mail to the DNC when I decided to move to Independent.  I told them why.  

Also counterproductive to the Obama campaign in the GE.  Independent voters get turned off by Democrats being intimidated by racial bullying. If the Obama campaign carries even a hint of this, he is finished in the GE.

None of this is to say I don't think the popular vote isn't important - its undoubtedly the single most important indicator of who is most electable, and hence who should be chosen at the convention.  But that's not the same as deliberately and misleadingly trumpeting the claim that the popular vote is morally binding on the party powers that be.  The party knows it isn't, but used that kind of rhetoric to get people fired up.

On one side you have the traditional Democratic bulwarks of the working class, women, Hispanics and senior citizens.  Whatever else you want to say, these folks are most directly affected by Washington's policy actions or inactions, and they want to win.

On the other side you have African-Americans and what are increasingly referred to as the "creative class" progressives.  MoveOn, Daily Kos, these groups are about getting rid of what they see (rightly, IMHO) as outdated, antiquated and ineffective leadership of the Democratic Party.  But it is becoming more and more apparent that this is all about replacing one system of hierarchy with another -- themselves.

At what point will African-American voters, who other than with respect to the Obama campaign are normally aligned with the other bulwark Democratic groups, see that their own long-term interests and those of their alleged allies are not necessarily one and the same?  This alliance of convenience is heading for a cliff -- socially African American voters do not support many creative class initiatives such as gay marriage, as anyone familiar with Maryland politics can tell you.

Given these problems, the continued threats to bolt the party if the AA/CC coalition doesn't get its way are probably hollow, but they are certainly enough in the short run to make the election of John McCain more probable.  At that point, CC activists will then blame the whole mess on Hillary Clinton and seek to wrest control of the party apparatus from the old guard.  This is only possible in the short run with a loss -- a win for Democrats most likely leaves the status quo largely intact, at least for a while.  No gates are crashed, no books are sold, no positions of influence are gained.

There is no such rule and you freaking know it.

Your comment is ridiculous.

The rules says superdelegates can vote for anyone they want, including the person favored by the people, as demonstrated by the popular vote.

They are to exercise Independent Judgment.

Otherwise, the RULES would obviously be that no superdelegate could award their "pledge" until the convention, and then see who has more delegates and all go with that person.

That's obviously not the case.  Kennedy and Kerry went with Obama, although their state is clearly for Hillary.

Therefore, your statement about the RULES is incorrect.

One can't help but note that while this petition comes from a group called "Colors of Change" that in the majority of communities normally subsumed under the phrase "people of color" a majority of voters are actually supporting Clinton.  I refer to Hispanics, Asians and South Asians.

The petition aside, your statement that, "if Hillary Clinton wins the popular vote and the Super Delegates hand the nomination to Barack Obama, the Democratic Party will have acted against the will of the voters," is a bit interesting in that I'm not clear on why that matters?

Hillary's going long and far out of her way to ensure she either wins the nomination or Obama looses the election. You can see it on her face as she speaks about her outlook and that half-clenched-typical-Clinton-half-smile-because-I-am-probably-lying smirk on her face. She talks with all the sincerity in the world, and yet only has 1 thing in mind - power and the White House, and her and Bill continue to grow their legacy.

I do hope before it's all said and done you decide to switch your support from Obama to Clinton.  My top concerns relate to the environment, science, and peace, and I believe she is the brilliant and strong leader we need to tackle these.  But as you keep reminding us all, either one would be a new day for America.

It will either backfire big-time and energize hillary's support or simply increase the number of people that will not vote for obama if he gets the nomination.  You really don't want this card to get played.

Worst case, it will cause the dems to lose the election in November.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: the dems do not deserve my vote if they sacrifice policy and leadership for identity politics and disenfranchisement.