Reforming and Improving the Presidential Candidate Selection Process
Primaries closed or open? Caucuses? Superdelegates? The 2008 Democratic nominating process had everything. Is there a better way? Did the Michigan and Florida primaries finally begin to change the system? This panel will discuss the different aspects of the process from timing to structure. We'll cover the always-contentious issue on which states should go first to how the states conduct their primaries and caucuses. And what role, if any, should superdelegates play in 2012?
Joe Sudbay is the deputy editor of AMERICAblog.com. He is also a DC-based political consultant with more than 20 years of experience at both the state and federal level. He managed political operations and legislative efforts for both candidates and issues-based organizations. Joe is a graduate of the University of Maine School of Law. In addition, he has a masters in public administration from Lehigh University and received his bachelor's from the University of New Hampshire.
Democrat Annette Taddeo is a successful small business owner. She is Colombian-born and the daughter of an American war veteran. She overcame adversity, enduring 19 surgeries for a cleft lip. She knows how important it is for everyone to have affordable health insurance.
In Congress, she will work to set our country on a new course and achieve real fiscal responsibility. She will ensure that our economy works for everyone and will work towards energy independence and an end to the Iraq War. Taddeo will deliver on the promise of change and opportunity for all Americans.
Marcy Wheeler blogs as “emptywheel” at FireDogLake.com, and also for the Campaign for America’s Future. She is best known for her book, Anatomy of Deceit, which served as a primer of the CIA Leak case, and her live-blogging of the Scooter Libby trial. She has covered efforts to hold the Bush Administration accountable for its illegal warrantless wiretapping and torture programs. Wheeler has a PhD from the University of Michigan and has spoken on blogging and politics at Amherst College, Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities and Duke Law School. She was recently awarded the 2009 Hillman Prize for Blog Journalism.
Since her election as Missouri Secretary of State in 2004, Robin
Carnahan has quickly become a leading voice for protecting
the integrity of elections and voting rights. Her successful battle
against a strict government-issued photo ID requirement for voting
prevented widespread disenfranchisement in Missouri. Carnahan serves as
Co-Chair of the Elections Committee of the National Association of
Secretaries of State and as Chair of the Democratic Secretaries of
State. She often is called upon to testify on election matters before
US House and Senate Committees and was recognized by the Aspen Institute
as a rising star in American politics.
