Leak: Alaska superdelegate denies duty to represent her state's voters in 2016 elections

Kim Metcalfe is a Democratic Party superdelegate from Alaska, a state whose party members pledged 81.6% of their support to Bernie Sanders.

Superdelegates are members of the Democratic Party establishment who get to vote twice for their party leader: once as an individual in the primaries, and a second time as an unelected representative of the voters from their region at the convention. Most of the superdelegates who’ve openly stated a preference have pledged for Hillary Clinton.

Levi Younger is a recent political science grad who was part of Alaska’s wave of support for Sanders. On Facebook, he approached Metcalfe, who’d said that she wouldn’t support Sanders because his supporters had been rude to her, and asked her to reconsider.

In a frankly embarrassing back-and-forth, Metcalfe patronizes and belittles the Alaskans who cast their vote from Sanders as lacking the experience to know what’s best for them, comparing Younger to Donald Trump:

YOUNGER: While I understand your personal preferences would naturally come first (you are human after all) and conversations with Bernie supporters (not the man himself) would possibly leave a bad taste in your mouth, I believe that the people’s vote should probably have heavier precedent. Unless you were implying that it’s we are in charge of who you vote for, but rather something/someone else. Sanders will only be our nominee if those we’ve chosen to represent us do exactly that.

METCALFE: Again, negative conversations about our candidates do nothing to further Sanders’s cause.

YOUNGER: I’m not sure how negative it is to question your voting discretion in spite of overwhelming support. If critiquing Hillary or your apprehension to accurately vote for those you represent is negative, then I’m not sure you’re the one I’d like representing me.

METCALFE: Because I believe Hillary Clinton would be a better president. End of conversation.

A Bernie Sanders Supporter Confronted a Superdelegate — Then Leaked Their Private Conversation [Tom Cahill/US Uncut]

(via Naked Capitalism)

(Image: Wikipedia scale of justice, FOX 52, CC-BY-SA)