Barney Frank: Eliminate superdelegates; Biden for Secretary of Defense

Should the Democrats do away with superdelegates? Barney Frank certainly thinks so.

“We should make a strong recommendation that ex officio delegates should be eliminated,” Fmr. Rep. Frank told Ari Rabin-Havt Thursday. “There’s nothing super about them.”

Ex officio delegates are usually referred to as superdelegates, a nickname that Frank argues has “added to the problem.”

Under the current DNC charter, these unbound delegates, mostly made up of politicians and party loyalists, have the ability to vote to nominate the presidential candidate. Frank believes this year’s convention in Philadelphia will be the last time these individuals will have voting power.

“I think it’s still useful for members of Congress to be welcome at the convention, to be there, to have floor privileges and to talk. But I don’t think anyone who’s not an elected delegate should be able to vote,” Frank said. He added that the extra delegates have never made a difference in the party’s nomination process since its creation in the 1980s.

Frank proposed additional changes to the nomination process, saying that the party should “urge Democrats to work in their states to have primaries instead of caucuses” based on his belief that “caucuses are much less Democratic than primaries.”

Looking forward to a potential Hillary Clinton presidency, Frank supports his home state senator Elizabeth Warren for the number two slot and he has a suggestion for a cabinet position.

“I believe she should make Joe Biden Secretary of Defense,” Frank said. “I think he’s an extraordinarily able guy and I would love to see someone with his understanding of the political process and values be the one that really made sure that our military spending is brought under control and that our military policy was a sensible one.”

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