The Occasional Observer

There's been a lot of talk lately about whether Dem super delegates should "respect the wishes of the people" and simply cast their vote for whichever candidate garners the highest popular vote. We can apply this same reasoning to the electoral college: should its members automatically vote for whoever wins the popular vote?

To me, the answer is no, otherwise why do they exist? If superdelegates should simply cast an automatic vote aligned with the popular vote, then why have them? Why not just have the popular vote and be done with it? The answer is that just like with electoral voters, they should be free to cast whatever vote they want. The founders put the electoral system in place for a reason, since many of them didn't trust the masses. Likewise, the superdelegates should be allowed to vote for whoever they think makes the strongest Dem nominee, regardless of the popular vote. Otherwise, they serve no purpose, in which case get rid of them.