Meanwhile: "Bernie Sanders Says Superdelegates Should Follow Voters' Will in Landslide States."
Bernie Sanders said on Sunday that he and Hillary Clinton were heading to a "contested" convention this summer because she will need superdelegates to secure the nomination, a claim that clashes with the accepted definition of a contested convention. He also said that superdelegates who have supported her should switch to him instead.Emphasis mine.
At a news conference in Washington, Mr. Sanders said that the Democratic convention in July would be contested because "it is virtually impossible for Secretary Clinton to reach the majority of convention delegates by June 14 with pledged delegates alone," and that she "will need superdelegates to take her over the top." He added: "In other words, the convention will be a contested convention."
A convention is typically understood as contested when a candidate cannot reach the necessary delegate count using both pledged delegates and superdelegates, typically party officials and state leaders who are not bound to any candidate.
Mr. Sanders urged superdelegates in states that he has won and those who came out in support of Mrs. Clinton before he declared his candidacy to switch their support to him.
...Mr. Sanders expressed frustration that Mrs. Clinton had won superdelegates even in states where he won the primary. In Washington State, where he won almost 73 percent of the vote, Mrs. Clinton has 10 superdelegates while he has none. In Colorado, Mr. Sanders won 59 percent of the vote, but again Mrs. Clinton has 10 superdelegates from that state and he has none. Sanders aides handed out a list showing similar situations in states like New Hampshire, Kansas and Maine where he won more votes but has fewer superdelegates than his rival.
"If I win a state with 70 percent of the vote, you know what? I think I am entitled to those superdelegates," Mr. Sanders said.
So, Sanders believes he is "entitled" to superdelegates' votes, and also doesn't understand what a contested convention actually is. Also: Even if the system worked precisely the way he wants it to work, and he got all those superdelegates to which he feels entitled, guess what? He'd still be losing—because Clinton has had more decisive victories in bigger states with larger numbers of superdelegates.
So, this, too—like all of his other excuses for why he is losing—is bullshit.
Sanders' fundraising has dropped off a cliff, so it's obvious that a significant number of his supporters have resigned themselves to the fact that he's lost. The only people still in denial seem to be the diehard conspiracy spinners and the candidate himself.
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