Do you know where your superdelegates are?

Though it is not my impression that you will usually be rewarded for stopping by The Pickle by being asked to do something and then feeling guilty if you don't, I thought I'd start by sharing a letter I wrote to my former Congressman, Barney Frank. Last night, while scrounging for details on the Feb 5 primary here in MA, I discovered that Barney pledged to Hillary in November. Instantly, the potentially historically undemocratic weight of the whole superdelegete rigamarole came down on me like a ton of bricks, and along with it the urge to democratize. And thus, the following communique, and my suggestion that we all send this kind of letter over the coming months, if it does end up looking like the Superdelegates will play Superman to our regular man in the big D Democratic nominating contest.

Dear Congressman Frank:

I recently learned that you have pledged your support in the presidential nominating contest to Hillary Clinton, and that you are an advisor to her campaign. As a once and perhaps future constituent, I wanted to take a moment to urge you to reconsider Barack Obama’s candidacy. Your support for Senator Clinton is meaningful to me – probably more meaningful than any other single endorsement – and it adds to my confidence that she would make an excellent President. But for two reasons, I feel strongly that Senator Obama is the better choice.

First and foremost, though your understanding of what it takes to make things happen in Washington is ten-thousand times richer than mine, I think Senator Obama gives us a far better shot at the kind of transformational change (I cringe to use the word!) that we need. To me, the differences in their stated positions on energy, health care, Iraq, and other issues are essentially insignificant when compared to the question “who can move the ball?” I just don’t think we’re going to show the kind of bold progress that we need – real action on climate change, a firm commitment to health care for all, a serious redefinition of our global leadership – if we can’t at least partially break out of the winning and losing political paradigm. Barack gives us that chance; I don’t think Hillary does.

Second, I haven’t given the general election a lot of consideration so far – I’ve felt all along that either would make a formidable general election candidate, and the tide is on our side – but I’ve begun to weigh it more heavily. We need to win in November, and I am far more optimistic about Senator Obama’s chances against John McCain.

Many times over the three months since I decided that Obama is my man – since I decided to volunteer my time and talk with whomever will talk with me about why I feel so strongly that he is the best choice – I have asked myself if I am sure there is enough meat on the bones. I am as sure as I can be, acknowledging that this choice involves some faith. I suspect he has excellent judgment, and I know he can build the kind of governing coalition that will allow progress. He talks about hope and change, as opposed to carbon credits and health insurance mandates, because that is his comparative advantage. Through him, I understand that hope is not wishing; it is real, concrete, and influential. It is a strategy, I think it is the right one, and he is the right vessel for it.

As it becomes more and more possible that the super-delegates will hold enough votes to swing the nomination, I urge you to be persuaded by Barack’s up-side. If your vote at the convention has real meaning, I fervently hope that you will be with Senator Obama.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Dan Berwick