It’s unfortunate that the Sounder has plunged into partisan politics by publishing Cali Bagby’s San Juan Journal article regarding Congressman Rick Larsen as an editorial. It should instead have appeared as a guest opinion.

In that editorial, she criticized Larsen for ignoring the preferences of his Democratic constituents for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, as expressed in the March caucuses, and instead announcing his support as a superdelegate for Hillary Clinton.

While I am no great fan of Larsen, especially regarding his positions on the coal terminal and Trans Pacific Partnership, I respect his right to support the candidate he prefers – and to change his mind later, too.

In fact, almost all Washington state superdelegates now support Clinton, including Governor Jay Inslee, Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and US Representatives Susan del Bene and Jim McDermott. So does State Senator Kevin Ranker (not a superdelegate), who caucused with Clinton supporters in March. Could they possibly know something that the majority of Washington state Democrats don’t recognize?

Nationally, 16 of 21 Governors support Clinton, as do 39 of 46 US Senators and 167 of 193 Representatives. In fact, the only U.S. Senator supporting Sanders is the Vermont Senator himself. I’m sure the GOP wishes it had instituted a system of superdelegates to help stem the angry tide of conservative chaos now swamping that party. They exist to ensure that long-standing Democratic Party principles and philosophies are upheld by the eventual nominee and that the chosen person can indeed lead the entire Party to victory in November – especially in holding onto the White House and restoring its Senate majority. Knowledgeable Washington, D.C. watchers recognize that, were he nominated, Sanders would have little to no chance of prevailing, and that the Democratic Party would then go down to a crushing, cataclysmic defeat.

Michael Riordan

Eastsound