Superdelegates Didn't Seem So Super to Democratic Women Early On
The elite group that today forms Hillary Clinton's firewall was initially derided as “a powerful voting bloc of white men.”
Delegates hold signs and U.S. flags while listening to President Barack Obama speak during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sept. 6, 2012.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The “super” in superdelegate wasn't meant as a compliment.
Democratic Party dissidents who came up with the term in 1981 were worried that the fix was in. A year earlier, the party's convention had descended into a floor fight. Senator Ted Kennedy tried to peel delegates away from President Jimmy Carter for the party's nomination. Carter won that battle but got trounced by Ronald Reagan in the general election.