AN OPEN LETTER TO WOMEN SUPER DELEGATES FROM AN INDEPENDENT GROUP OF DEMOCRATIC WOMEN
We are an ad hoc coalition of politically active women. We have supported the Democratic Party with our time and our money. We write to you in your capacities as fellow women and Super Delegates to ask you to endorse Senator Clinton for President because she is the most qualified and electable candidate and the candidate most capable of defeating Senator McCain in the general election.
According to the Rules of the Democratic National Committee, it is the responsibility of the Super Delegates to use their independent judgment to do what is best for the party and most likely to ensure victory for the Democrats in November. As a Super Delegate, your judgment is crucial in cases like the present where the leading candidates have equal support from the electorate.
Senator Clinton is a proven deal closer and a fighter; she will fight for all Americans when she is in the White House. In her two elections as United States Senator, she has proven she is a unifier who puts together winning coalitions of Democrats, Independents and Republicans. During the Democratic primaries, Senator Clinton has consistently won the electorally rich states such as New Jersey, New York, California, Texas and Florida and the swing states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Arkansas. In every election since 1980, it has been the working class and increasingly the Hispanic voters who have been most likely to vote GOP, and these groups have, in primary after primary, shown a remarkably strong support for Senator Clinton. Also, as you may know, the decrease in the margin of women voting for the Democratic presidential ticket may have been the single most important factor in the outcome of the 2004 presidential election.
At this point, neither Senator Obama nor Senator Clinton can win sufficient pledged delegates to secure the nomination. This means the Super Delegates have the power and obligation to decide who will be the best, most electable candidate for our party. Senator Obama and his supporters must recognize that he did not win the major (swing) states and that his victory in states that are highly unlikely to vote Democratic in the fall make Senator Clinton the stronger and therefore our strongest candidate in the general election.
Senator Clinton has the talent and experience to be an outstanding president. At this critical time in our nation’s history, we have an unprecedented opportunity to elect the first woman President of the United States, particularly as she is the best candidate. As Democrats, we know the importance of loyalty. As women, we know the importance of solidarity. By exercising these values in choosing Senator Clinton as the nominee of the 2008 Democratic Party, you will guarantee that our party establishes new standards for supporting qualified women, such as yourselves, and continues to attract the voters and candidates it needs to win in the future.
