Representative Alan Grayson is known by his Floridian constituents to be an anti-establishment Democrat.
However, he is also known by the Democratic Party as a superdelegate. In political terms that title would usually be associated with being pro-establishment, not anti-establishment. Why? Because superdelegates are appointed by the party.
Regular delegates are chosen by the state they represent, and in most states are required to cast their vote according to how their constituents voted, although that is not always the case.
The job of a superdelegate is to be among the parties’ deciding vote at the national convention in the summer. After the votes from all of the delegates from every state are tallied up, superdelegates are those few people whose primary vote actually matters.
Unlike delegates who are encouraged to vote according to what their constituents want, the superdelegate votes have as much sway, but are not representative of the people. Superdelegates’ votes represent the will of their political party.
That is the rule most superdelegates play by. Grayson, on the other hand, is playing way left of field in uncharted and questionable territory. He has offered up his vote to an online poll.
On February 17, Grayson announced his decision to let the people decide his vote on Facebook saying, “I’m a ‘superdelegate.’ In July, at the Democratic Convention, I will be voting for Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. Unlike ‘some people,’ I will not be making this decision based on who can host the best fundraiser for me. I will not be making this decision based on what my fat-cat donors tell me.”
“If this works, then maybe other ‘superdelegates’ will follow suit, and netroots activism can turn one of the least democratic elements of the UnDemocratic Party into something really special—a decision Of the People, By the People and For the People,” he concluded.
Any and every person in the US can go to graysonprimary.com and vote for either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.
This has the potential to be a very significant step toward truly representative democracy in our country. This could cause the parties to care more about their constituents than about party politics. But it won’t.
This is a circular problem that is going to end in a one time hurrah for the average American person and nothing more.
Grayson is a polarizing figure within the Democratic party elite much like Sanders is, except grumpier and lacking charisma. The most likely response from the Democratic party establishment regarding Grayson’s actions is an eye roll.
TL,DR; Enjoy your second, and more influential primary vote, but don’t think too much of it.
