In this year's race for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, there has been a lot of discussion of so-called "superdelegates." The "superdelegates"--who are delegates to the Democratic National Convention where the Party's nominee for president is formalized--are not chosen by voters through primaries or caucuses as other delegates are, but rather hold their position based on their status as current or former elected officials and party officials. As such, they are free to vote for support whichever candidate they chose.

At the Democratic National Convention this August in Denver, many people following the Democratic presidential campaign have raised the possibility that the nomination will come down to who the "superdelegates" decide to support. Neither Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama have been able to secure enough delegates to win the nomination, and it is possible that they may not be able to before August. That would setup a situation in which the 496 "superdelegates" would become instrumental in shaping the outcome of the nomination process.

Of course, this isn't very democratic, but that is how it is designed to be. The "superdelegate" system was developed to put a "check" on the nomination process in order to guarantee that elites within the Democratic Party would keep control over who is nominated. In addition to elected Democrats, almost half are members of the Democratic National Committee. The Nation recently covered how "superdelegates" can thwart particular candidates:

"According to political scientist Rhodes Cook, superdelegates were created as a "firewall to blunt any party outsider that built up a head of steam in the primaries."

That's what happened in 1984, when Senator Gary Hart launched an insurgent challenge to front-runner Walter Mondale. Hart won sixteen state primaries and caucuses to Mondale's ten, and barely lost the popular vote. Yet Mondale locked up virtually all the party's 700 or so superdelegates even before the primary began. Hart likely would have lost anyway, but the superdelegates sealed his defeat. "

While many people are following who the "superdelegates" are, who they are supporting, and whether or not they will be seated, a bigger issue is being ignored--what does this say about democracy? It is very clearly a system designed to thwart candidates and give the wealthy and powerful Party interests--who already have an incredible influence on the nomination process--another means to assure that their candidates are elected.

This year the Superdelegate Transparency Project is tracking who the "superdelegates" are. From Michigan, the site lists the following:

Representative Bart Stupak
Representative Dale Kildee
Representative Sandy Levin
Representative Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick
Representative John Conyers
Representative John Dingell
Senator Carl Levin
Senator Debbie Stabenow
Governor Jennifer Granholm
Lieutenant Governor John Cherry
DNC Member Christina Montague
DNC Member Mark Brewer
DNC Member Debbie Dingell
DNC Member Elizabeth Bunn
DNC Member Hon. Robert Ficano
DNC Member Joyce Lalonde
DNC Member Jeffrey Radjewski
DNC Member Michael Tardiff
DNC Member Richard Weiner

However, as of right now Michigan's "superdelegates" and its delegates will not be seated at the 2008 convention due to an ongoing dispute within the Democratic Party over the Michigan Democratic Party's decision to move its caucus without regard to the Party's traditional schedule.