we will speak to congresswoman barbara lee. she is pushing for congress to finally debate the u.s. actions in syria and iraq. plus, we will find out if she will be joining the congressional black caucus today in endorsing hillary clinton. then could bernie sanders win the popular vote in the democratic primaries and still lose the nomination? let's look at new hampshire. sanders trounced clinton 60% to 38%, but they split the delegates evenly. and that is what counts. we will look at how unelected superdelegates could sway the democratic nomination in clinton's favor. then the justice department sues the city of ferguson. cooks the systems deserve what every american is guaranteed under the restitution, for us to be free from excessive force, unconstitutional stops and arrests, and from a fine system that was literally breaking their backs. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcomto democcy now!, democrynow.orgthe war d ace repo. i'm y goodma the dertment ojustice ed rguson, msouri toorce an , ovhaul of e beleagred ci's iminal jtice sysm. u.s.ttorney general loretta lynch filed a similar -- civil rights lawsuit following a decision by ferguson's city council on tuesday to challenge several measures in a draft reform agreement that the city had negotiated with federal officials. speaking at a press conference in washington, d.c. loretta , wednesday, lynch said -- "we intend to aggressively prosecute this case, and we intend to prevail." the lawsuit says ferguson is guilty of a pattern or practice of law enforcement actions violating the first, fourth and 14th amendments of the u.s. constitution and federal civil rights laws. we will have more on the story later in the broadcast. the city of cleveland has billed the family of tamir rice $500 for the ambulance ride to the hospital, after the 12-year-old boy was fatally shot by a cleveland police officer in november 2014. this comes less than two months after a grand jury decided not to indict officer timothy loehmann. the claim filed wednesday is "against the estate of tamir rice in the amount of $500, which is past due and owing for emergency medical services rendered as the decedent's last dying expense." in response, rice family attorney subodh chandra said -- "that the city would submit a bill and call itself a creditor after having had its own police officers slay 12-year-old tamir displays a new pinnacle of callousness and insensitivity." this comes as prosecutors begin introducing evidence to a federal grand jury in brooklyn empanelled to examine the death of eric garner, who died after being placed in an illegal chokehold by white police officer daniel pantaleo in july 2014. a staten island grand jury failed to indict officer pantaleo in december 2014, sparking national protests. in oregon, fbi agents have encircled the remaining right-wing militia members occupying the federal wildlife refuge. this comes after nevada rancher cliven bundy was arrested wednesday night at the portland international airport on charges related to his armed showdown with federal authorities in nevada in 2014. his sons, ryan and ammon bundy, helped start the oregon takeover of the while left refuge and are -- wildlife refuge and are also in custody facing charges related to this takeover. meanwhile, the oregon aclu has issued a carefully worded defense of right-wing internet radio show host pete santilli, who is also facing a felony charge related to the wildlife refuge occupation. the aclu says santilli embedded with the militia members as a journalist. mat dos santos the legal director of the aclu of oregon writes -- "we can all agree that we should not hold members of the media or protesters in jail without bail simply because they have shocking or abhorrent views. these are principles that we must stand by, even when we disagree with the message of the speaker." in news from the 2016 presidential race, republican candidates former hewlett packard ceo carly fiorina and new jersey governor chris christie have dropped out of the race following poor performances in the new hampshire primary. meanwhile, pbs is hosting a democratic presidential debate in wisconsin tonight. this comes as clinton is expected to pick up a key endorsement from the political action committee, or pac, of the black congressional caucus today. clinton is also expected to campaign next week with geneva reed-veal, the mother of sandra bland, the 28-year-old african american woman who was found hanged in her jail cell three days after a white texas state trooper arrested her in july for allegedly failing to signal a lane change. meanwhile, michelle alexander has written a seething indictment of hillary clinton, published yesterday by the nation magazine. alexander, who is the author of "the new jim crow," argues clinton does not deserve the black vote, pointing to her role in advocating for the passage of the 1994 crime bill, as well as 1996 welfare reform act. alexander writes -- "it is difficult to overstate the damage that's been done. generations have been lost to the prison system. countless families haven't torn apart or rendered homeless. and a school-to-prison pipeline has been born that shuttles young people from their decrepit, underfunded schools to brand-new high-tech prisons. hillary believes that she can win this game in 2016 because this time she's got us, the black vote, in her back pocket -- her lucky card. michelle alexander goes on to say -- >> she may be surprised to discover that the younger generation no longer wants to play her game." in news from the middle east, tens of thousands of syrians fleeing an assad offensive on e city oaleppo a massed the syri-turkey rder. rkey haslosed th section of the bder, leaving tens of thousands of syrians stranded. already there are 2.5 million syrian refugees living in turkey. the assad offensive on aleppo is backed by russian airstrikes. russia says its airstrikes have hit about 1900 targets in syria, including in aleppo, within the last week alone. on wednesday, turkish prime minister ahmet davutoglu accused the assad government and russian military of carrying out a campaign of "ethnic cleansing" in aleppo. >> we should all except refugees. but these attacks are also intended to bring about ethnic cleansing and serious all people who don't support the syrian regime are driven out of the country. it is a systematic ethnic cleansing. amy: this comes as a new report by the syrian centre for policy research says 11.5% of syria's population has either been killed or injured since the -- since 2011. about 470,000 syrians have been killed in the ongoing conflict nearly 2 million people have , been wounded. over the last five years, syria's life expectancy has dropped from an average of 70 years to only 55 years. speaking tuesday, secretary of state john kerry condemned the assad government and the russian military's use of cluster bombs in syria. the crisis of hunitarian catastrophe unfolding before the eyes of the world, pressures in the region of displaced people, of refugees, the bombs, cluster bombs that are being used that are killing innocent women and children. amy: that was secretary of state john kerry, speaking alongside egyptian foreign minister sameh shoukry at the u.s. department of state on tuesday, condemning russia's use of cluster bombs in syria. yet kerry did not speak out against the use of u.s.-manufactured cluster bombs in another conflict -- the u.s.-backed, saudi-led offensive in yemen. amnesty international says it has new evidence that the u.s.-backed saudi-led coalition dropped cluster bombs during an air attack on sanaa on january 6, which killed a 16-year-old boy and injured at least a half-dozen other civilians. the un's secretary-general ban ki-moon says the january 6 attack may amount to a war crime. meanwhile, two yemeni television journalists have died after a u.s.-backed saudi-led coalition airstrike hit their home in sanaa on tuesday, killing both the journalists and their three children. 30-yr-old sud hujairand her husbd, 37-ye-old munr alhakami both worked for yemen tv. this comes as unicef is warning of massive food shortages in yemen as a result of the ooing confct. unicef spokesman mohammed al saadi said as many as 1.3 million yemini children are suffering from severe and acute malnutrition. >> since the start of the armed clashes on the 26th of march last year, the number of cases of mounted church and has doubled. we're talking about more than 1.3 million children suffering from severe and acute malnutrition, and this is very dangerous and can lead to death and physical and/or mental deformits in children. amy: in geria, 58 people have en killed after attacks by two female suicide bombers at the dikwa refugee camp tuesday rning. the attack is being blamed on the militant group boko haram. the refugee camp is home to more than 50,000 people who have been forced from their homes by the militant group. reports say a third would-be suicide bomber who had traveled with the other two girls decided not to detonate her device after she recognized her parents and siblings at the camp. in britain, thousands of taxi drivers brought downtown london to a standstill during a protest against uber wednesday. thousands of taxi drivers shut down the city's main streets and the area around prime minister david cameron's house for 90 minutes. the taxi unions say they are protesting new government regulations they say favor uber and compromise driver safety. wednesday's protest is the latest in a series of demonstrations against uber. taxi drivers in paris, hong kong, miami and other major cities have all protested the wall street-backed company, saying uber threatens their union rights and livelihood. and him breaking news from mexico, as 50 people have died in a prison riot in monterey this morning. both prisoners and prison guards have died. local reports say a fire broke out inside the prison. meanwhile, journalist pedro sala garcia survived an attack by armed gunman in his home wednesday. sala garcia is a correspondent for "tabasco hoy," a daily newspaper in the southern mexican state of tabasco. the gunman beat sala garcia unconscious during the attack, but they fled after his wife called for help from their neighbors. speaking to local reporters from the hospital, sala garcia said this is the second attack on his life that he's suffered during his journalistic career. in 2007, another journalist from his newspaper, rodolfo rinon, was kidnapped. his body has never been found. the attack wednesday comes only one day after journalist anabel flores salazar was found dead. anabel flores salazar covered crime for the newspaper "el sol de orizaba." she had a baby and a four-year-old son. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. nermeen: welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. today marks the one year anniversary of president obama's decision to seek congressional authorization for war against the islamic state. the request came six months after the u.s. began bombing iraq and syria. speaking on february 11, 2015, obama unveiled the resolution at the white house flanked by vice president joe biden, secretary of state john kerry, and outgoing defense secretary chuck hagel. >> today my administration submitted a draft resolution to congress to authorize the use of force against isil. i want to be very clear about what it does and what it does not do. this resolution reflects our core objective to destroy isil. it supports the conference of strategy that we have been pursuing with our allies and partners. systemic and sustain campaign of airstrikes against isil in iraq and syria support and training for local forces on the ground, including the moderate syrian opposition, preventing isil attacks in the region and beyond, including by foreign terrorist fighters in front of threaten our countries, regional and international support for an inclusive iraqi government that unites the iraqi people and strengthens iraqi forces against isil, humanitarian assistance for the innocent civilians of iraq and syria who are suffering so terribly under isil's rayna for. amy: the resolution imposed a three-year limit on u.s. operations, but did not put any geographic constraints. it also opened the door for ground combat operations in limited circumstances. however, congress has yet to hold the constitutionally-mandated debate and vote on the war against isil. instead, the strikes have been carried out using an outdated authorization passed by congress in 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. in his state of the union address, president obama renewed his call for congressional debate on the authorization for use of military force. >> this congress is serious about winning this war will stop and wants to send a message to our troops and the world, authorize the use of military force against isil. take a vote. [applause] take a vote. nermeen: this comes as a new group worked says 11.5% of syria's population has either been killed or injured since 2011. about 470,000 syrians have been killed in the ongoing conflict. nearly 2 million people have been wounded. amy: now over 20 members of congress have sent a bipartisan letter to house speaker paul ryan calling for a debate and vote on the multi-billion dollar war raging in the middle east. one of the co-signatories, barbara lee wrote -- , "our nation has become increasingly more embroiled in yet another costly and endless war in the middle east. the constitution is clear: congress has a responsibility to debate and vote on matters of war and peace. the american people deserve better than a congress that abdicates this sacred responsibility." in a moment, we will be joined by representative barbara lee, democrat of california. she's the chair of the congressional progressive caucus peace & security task force, and the former chair of the congressional black caucus. i believe she has just run down the hall, put on her microphone. compass member verbally, welcome to -- congressmember barbara lee, welcome to democracy now! it was a year ago today that president obama asked for a debate on war. what has happened since? certainly, the war has expanded. where is the permission? thee were very pleased president asked for an authorization because many of us several years before that even font to try to get new authorization, understanding and seeing what was taking place as it relates to syria, libya, and the entire new front on this war. and it is very important to recognize that we have not had an authorization since the 2001 other reason -- authorization, which i voted against. i said it was a blank check. and it was. and now that authorization is being used to continue with these new wars. i think it is time that congress really do its job. the president has asked us to do our job. we wrote to the speaker several again ago, wrote to them yesterday. we have over 25 members, bipartisan, requesting for an authorization. it is time for the american people to demand that. aaron: could you tell us how this bigger has responded to your repeated requests? date, we have, to not had a response, but i've heard the speakers say he was looking at bringing forward a new authorization. but we have not had a direct response, nor do we know his latest thinking. i would hope this bigger would understand, under his watch he said what we wanted called -- what we called regular order, wanted us to uphold our jobs as responsible members of congress. the constitution requires us to do that. we're hopeful the speaker will live up to his commitment to really do what the american people want. amy: you have written a petition, is that right? >> yes, we have written a petition. people are signing the petition. we're asking people to really sign on. that is the power of the people in america. we want to have the voices of people heard here in the house of representatives and in the senate. representative barbara lee, do you think of military response is the only way to deal with isis? >> let me go back to the petition first. endlesswar.com. i have a resolution that really talks about a conference of strategy to address isis. no one believes that isis is not a dangerous terrorist organization and that they must be dismantled, but the military's first option is not always the best option to really create the reduction of tension and a mitigate against more terrorist attacks and more terror in the region. we do not need boots on the ground. we do not need to have ground troops in the region to conduct -- you know, to be part of a civil war that is taking place. so we have to look at a comprehensive strategy, a political solution, economic and diplomatic solution that would, you know, begin to reduce tensions and bring some semblance of global peace and security. right now, military first -- for me, and for many of us, that is not the way we dismantle and disable isis so that we can have peace in the region and throughout the world. amy: let me ask you about a news headline we just read. secretary of state john kerry just condemned the al-assad government and the russians use of cluster bombs. since 2011, 11% of the syrian population has been killed or maimed. yet he did not talk about use of cluster bombs by the u.s.-backed syrian -- the u.s.-backed saudi bombing of yemen that is taking place now. >> once again, amy, what i am saying, these wars taking place are dangerous. they are creating more death and destruction, and they are creating more of a refugee crisis in the world really new could even happen as a result of the bombing and the civil wars. so it is important, i believe, that we look at this in congress debate it and the diplomatic initiative be increased and doubled. because of this point, we're going to see more refugees, a larger humanitarian crisis, and we're going to really begin to see more havoc that is being wreaked throughout the world. whenever you're talking aut bombg, you he to understand claterale will be dage and humanitarian impacts, and we are seeing this crisis emerge. that is why we need to have a debate in congress and look at alternatives. that doesn't preclude a letter reaction. no one is saying that his office table. we are just saying there is got to be a way, whether it is men oryria or lya or whever it is, itas got tbe a coerence oapproacho begin to dismale, dislesis, and create some cap to peace and peacety -- some path to and security. amy: we want to talk about the democratic presidential race ahead of the votes in south carolina and nevada. on the morning after his victory new hampshire, bernie sanders travel to harlem to meet with reverend out sharpton in new york. sharpton spoke to reporters after the meeting. important it is very that he sends a snal tt on thmorning after a historic victory, the widest margin we are seen in the history of new hampshire, he would come to harlem and have breakfast with me. i think that is why you see ben jealous has are ready endorsed him, senator perkins is here, who -- we are in his district. and i think it is important that these issues be raised. i asked him very bluntly about affirmative action. i have asked him very bluntly about the issues of police brutality and police misconduct. things that i want to hear. he is agreed also to meet with the heads of national civil rights organizations. all of us are meeting with clinton. i have not made an endorsement and will not until after that meeting. probably after that meeting, i will. amy: ta-nehasi coates made headlines yesterday on democracy now! when he announced he will be voting for bernie sanders. >> one can say senator sanders should have more explicit antiracist policy within his racial justice platform, not just more general stuff. for senator a vote sanders and feel he is the best option that we have in the race. but just because that is he you're going to vote for, doesn't mean you have to agree with everything they say. amy: will you be voting for senator sanders? >> i will be voting for senator sanders. i have tried to avoid this question but i will be voting for senator sanders. i try to avoid that because i want to write as a journalist, you know, and separate that from my role as i don't know, a private citizen. that i don't think much is accomplished identity the question. i will vote for senator sanders. my son influenced me. amy: hillary clinton is expected theick up support from congressional black caucus. you join in do that endorsement? >> is a clear distention between the congressional black caucus and the congressional black caucus pac. never republican and the congressional black caucus. -- we have a republican in the congressional black caucus. they are not one of the same. i think what is important is the issues be addressed as reverend al said. i think it is important both candidates interviews questions. i believe that right now, for many of us, the importance of getting people to vote, the importance of getting people to the polls in november to make sure that we do not have a republican in the white house, that is high priority for me. voter registration, get out to vote, and really making sure our young people, especially our energized -- our energized and mobilized and get to the public. we cannot have a republican in the white house. i think we see now what the republican stance were, who they are, all of the candidates, their values. it is essential that we get the vote out in november to win. amy: this distinction you're making a think is lost on most people. if you could explain it further. the dick allen's today are that the congressional black caucus is endorsing hillary clinton. can you expand the difference between the congressional black caucus pac in the congressional like caucus? >> the congressional like caucus like other caucuses, we have caucuses here in the house of representatives which reflect points of views, political philosophy, your approach to our democracy and how we work within the policy framework of the house of representatives. the congressional black caucus pac supports candidates, raises money and helps candidates when elections. there is a clear distinction between that and as i said earlier, we have a republican and th in the congressional black caucus. a makeup who decided to endorse hillary clinton? >> i'm not a member of the cbc political action committee. it is important to discuss that with the pac members. there is a clear distinction. amy: certainly, your endorsement, whoever you endorse, would make a huge difference in south carolina. i mean, the significance of the vote, not only of african-americans, but of african-american women, is the key deciding factor in south carolina. are you leaning in one direction or another? >> i don't think my support really is that important at this point with regard to candidates. we have some phenomenal members -- women members of the congressional black caucus. we have great leaders, mr. clyburn, who represents many constituents. really represents south carolina when you look at his constituency. they are very clear on their political viewpoints and political position. so i don't think it is about one person. people can decide, members of congress can decide who day think the best candidate is at this point. but it is really going to be the people of south africa, the get out the vote effort, -- amy: you mean south carolina. >> excuse me, south carolina. it is going to be which candidate speaks to the aspirations of the people of south carolina. i think we need to let the people speak and let democracy play out the way it should and encourage people to get to the polls, encourage a large turnout . and hopefully, that will be sufficient to determine who the choice is of the people of south carolina. amy: not to belabor the point, but you did make a decision in december 2007, even before the iowa caucus, to endorse barack obama. over hillary clinton. is there a reason you're holding out now? >> i endorsed president obama early because, that point, i believed and i stand by that endorsement, that he was the right person at the right time to really become the president of the united states. veryieve his record is clear, that that was the correct endorsement, and i'm very proud of the work he has done. we decide how we're going to endorse and when we're going to endorse based on what decisions we think are necessary to get us to that point and when we are needed in the campaign. and when we see -- at least myself personally -- when i see my support really will help turnout and help us with the white house. that is what my criteria is. and i think when that day comes, i will endorse, but he won't be until i see that i can really help in terms of making sure we do not have a republican in the white house. nermeen: could you talk a little bit about what issues you would like to see discussed on the campaign trail and what issues would be a litmus test for you in making your decision? >> there is really no litmus test, but i think the issues that are being discussed now that reverend al earlier talked about are extremely important. we have to talk about climate change and environmental injustice. just looat the tgic decisis that we made i flt and thfact that w thounds of childreand falies areealing with alth hards and alingith ng-term alth implicions of bad decions. itould notappen ian afflue white cmunity. enronment issue, d marvel racismclimate ange, th has goto be adessed. addrecthat we he t inco inequaly, but wcan' foet raciainequali and inmenequalit go tother. ere is a n this. have task the ndidates how they seehese isss being dressed terms ojob crtion, tes othe elination overty, tional rategy to reduce poverty. i have legislation to do that. and really lifting people out of middle class.he that is extremely important in terms of opportunity and created jobs. education, workforce training. we have a world now in which technology is driving every decision and every aspects of our lives. tech 20. the cbc's we're looking at how we ensure there is inclusion in the tech sector in terms of the workforce, in terms of entrepreneurial opportunities, business opportunities, so stem education helping young children of color get the best possible education they can so that they will be prepared for this new world of technology. that is extremely important. housing. affordable housing. i have not heard much during the campaign about how we address affordability in terms of the housing crisis that is taking place all over the country. and we need to step up and really look at what some of the economic and racial implications are of gentrification and how we can ensure that everyone, regardless of their income levels, can stay where they want to stay whether it is in urban areas.l finally, let me say, i would hear more about the defense budget. it is obscene. when you're talking about a slush fund that funds these wars off budget, that needs to be dismantled, if you ask me. we need to have a defense budget that is rational. it is over $600 billion now. it is based on, i think, i know a lot of fear as it relates to putin and i think we have to take a pause and look at what is taking place in the world, developed a defense budget that is rational and ensures our national security but not play into the defense contractors and the research and r&d budgets that are really there for contractors who are developing systems for cold war era that does not exist. we need a defense budget that does not include the waste, fraud, and abuse we are seen in the past. i have not heard candidates talk about that. i have legislation that has been bipartisan for many years now, just to have an audit of the pentagon. we still don't know how this money is being spent. there's a lot of waste, fraud, and abuse and i think much of the press is beginning to uncover some of that. i want to hear that being discussed in the campaigns also. mass incarceration. how we're going to make sure we have a criminal justice system that works for everyone -- police misconduct, how our civil rights laws will be strengthened as a relates to criminal justice reform, and voter participation. we have to have, you know, candidates talk about the voting rights act and now we're going to make sure that everyone has the right to vote and not just a franchise as a result of the court decisions. we have legislation, not the candidate support that, that would really revisit the voting rights act and put it back to where it should be where it affords everyone the opportunity to vote regardless of where they live and who they are. nermeen: representative barbara lee, we just have 30 seconds, you talked about the question of the defense budget and one of the concerns you have raised about the u.s. war against isis is how much it has cost. can you tell us how much it has cost? >> we don't know right now how much it has caused, and that is because we have accounts that are not really readily transparent. back and tell you we're talking billions of dollars, which could be invested in creating jobs here at home and creating educatiol oortunitior our yog people but also, understand that i'm not talking about not addressing isis and not having a defense budget that is when help us address all of the threads in the world, which we must do. i am talking about a defense budget that is consistent with what our national security threats are inconsistent with our national security needs, but not over the top and making sure that we get rid of the waste, fraud, and abuse in our defense budget. we are talking about billions of dollars. we need to audit the pentagon and have a defense budget that is rational. amy: we want to thank you for being with us, oakland congressman or barbara lee, democrat of california chair of , the congressional progressive caucus peace & security task force. also the former chair of the congressional black caucus. is ite come back, how that, well, in new hampshire, bernie sanders could trounce hillary clinton -- what was the percentage, 60% to 38%, but they come away with the same number of delegates. good hillary clinton or bernie sanders when the popular vote in the primaries and actually lose ultimately because of delegates? we will find out what this is all about. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. nermeen: with bernie sanders' double-digit victory over hillary clinton in tuesday's new hampshire primary and nearly tying her in last week's iowa caucuses, it would seem that the race for the democratic nomination would be neck-in-neck. but that is not the case. in new hampshire, sanders trounced clinton 60% of 38%, but they split the delegates evenly thanks to unelected superdelegates siding with the former secretary of state. overall, clinton sits far ahead of senator when you factor in superdelegates -- the congressmen, senators, governors, and other elected officials who often represent the democratic party elite. because superdelegates are free to support any candidate independent of election results, they are often wooed by and align with candidates very early in the campaign season. as early as august of last year, months before the first ballot would be cast, the clinton campaign had reported a superdelegate count of more than 400 out of an available 712. at a democratic national committee meeting in september of last year, bernie sanders addressed the issue of swaying clinton superdelegates. people in here are smart people, they are not dumb. they want to see a democrat when the white house. clinton's people have been talking to these folks were very, very long time, so she has a huge advantage over us in that respect. i think after our campaigns -- as people see us do better and better, you will see a lot of superdelegates [indiscernible] say, well, you swayed me, i want our side now. i think you will see that. it is one thing for people to say, well, -- we will see were people will be. amy: the democratic party implemented the superdelegate system in the early 1980's to try to balance the wishes of rank-and-file voters with the party's need to nominate electable candidates. the critics of the superdelegates' role in the nominating process say that it works against insurgent candidates, well, like bernie sanders and only serves to ensure that establishment candidates stay in power. and sanders supporters worry that despite his early success at the polls, the election might be decided in the back room rather than the voting booth. well, for more, we are joined by two guests. david rohde is a professor of political science at duke university. he is the coauthor of a series of books on every national election since 1980. and matt karp is assistant professor of history at princeton university and contributing editor at jacobin mag.com. his most recent article there is "the war on bernie sanders." , welcome to democracy now! , expandr david rohde how the system works. people might before 2030 60% to 38% trouncing in new hampshire clinton camee, but away with the same number of delegates as bernie sanders. how exactly does it work? >> it works in different ways in every state. either the state governments or the state parties decide what framework to work as sometimes delegates are allocated by the showing within each congressional district and sometimes they are allocated proportionately based on statewide totals, sometimes it is commendation of those two things. so it is going to vary from one state to another. nermeen: could you explain why the democratic party came up with a superdelegate system and whether the republican party follows the same system? let me take the second part first. the republicans have some superdelegates, but i believe the number is three per state. so it is not very important. it is for the national party representatives from the state. democrats that the adopted the superdelegate plan was really because of the possibility of insurgent , not for their own sake, but insurgent candidates who might not be successful in general elections. so it does under the party a lot of good to nominate a candidate that reflects the wishes of the party and then you go on and lose the general election. and the poster child for this was george mcgovern, and insurgent candidate and won out against the party establishment and then a gigantic landslide. hunt commission, the commission that was looking at various aspects of the way the party was organized after the 1980 election, thought that having superdelegates -- in the democratic party, they are -- the members of the national committee, a little more than 400 democratic members of u.s. house, the u.s. senate and governor's, and that adds up to 712. the hunt commission thought that having those elected officials play a part in choosing the nominee would be a partial balance that would give more weight to the considerations of electability than might otherwise be placed by the delegates that were elected in primaries and caucuses. amy: professor, explain exactly how it works. i remember when biden was weighing whether he was going to get in come all the talk the clinton campaign was about how many superdelegates she has secured, which was a way to say, you have already lost, so you should not get in. but what does it mean to secure a superdelegate? they can change their mind at any point, right? >> that is exactly the point. the other thing to consider -- i will come back to that point in the second. the other thing to consider is that 700 southlake a large number, but there are about 4800 convention delegates. the superdelegates are about 15% of the total. that is not trivial, but it's not completely determinative of the outcome. and the other part is what you mentioned, these people are not committed in the same sense that delegates elected in the primaries and caucuses are committed. it is perfectly within the rules for superdelegate to say, "today i am poor candidate x," and tomorrow say, "today i am for candidate y." and indeed, that was part of the idea, that these people would be sensitive to the changing tides that would happen during the campaign. nermeen: professor, is it possible for bernie sanders to win the popular vote, win the largest number of regular delegates, and still lose the party nomination? >> oh, surely. it is possible. i don't think it is very likely. as i had this conversation eight years ago when obama and clinton were facing off, talking to people from the media, and the reality is, especially when there are only two candidates, the likelihood this is going to be settled long before the convention happens. we're not going to go down to the wire and have the superdelegates decide the outcome. it is possible it will happen, but it is extremely unlikely i think. i think we will know who the nominee is within six to eight weeks. , he professor matt karp said the democratic party elite has thrown its full weight behind hillary clinton. how is this reflected in superdelegates and do you think -- how do you see this as any different than when barack obama first announced he was running for president and started the primary caucus process? >> i think it is very different. if you zoom out a look at how the sanders campaign compares to previous sort of insurgent democratic campaign's in recent memories, i think there are three ways it diverges. first, sanders is ideologically significantly to the left of clinton and in some ways the mainstream of the elected democratic party, at least. not just one tic, but his rejection of the new democrat approach to business-freely, economics embrace kind of older populism is a distinct break. and something we have not seen from other candidates in this position since probably jesse jackson. amy: who he worked with. >> exactly. second, sanders has won a lot more popular vote then those in the past. three times the number of donors that obama had recorded up to this point. he is done better in early states that obama had done. and the national polls, he is 37% of the vote, which is higher than obama. of course, obama was running against john edwards, two. sanders has done well. the third thing is the total absence of support from the party, which is not at all, herbal to any previous underdog allidate -- which is not at comparable to any previous underdog candidate. an associated press did a survey of superdelegates in november and found eight superdelegates who are committed to sanders and of those could, fully one a for bernie sanders as a senator, a superdelegate. is of his superdelegate himself. obama had over 60 superdelegates at this point in his camp. bill richardson had 25 superdelegates and his camp at this point. those three factors, the candidate who comes ideologically, makes a break with the party ideologically who is done really well from the bottom up turns of winning public support and has virtually zero backings within the party, creases situation i think will put the system to the test in a way the 2008 cap and do not necessarily do. nermeen: one of the things you point out in your piece is the attack on sanders extends far beyond the democratic already and also includes the media and a deep, the general report which tracks the flagship l.a. news programs on nbc, cbs, and abc, reveals this blackout saying minutes2015, of the 261 , abc news devoted to the campaign, trump got 81 minutes while sanders got 20 seconds. >> wow. that is a really striking disparity. i think it is clear that not just in terms of party officials, but in the various actors in what i think political scientist have described as the invisible primary, both in terms ,f media and leaves -- elites big donors, the leadership, not necessarily the basis of the leadership of unions and other democratic party aligned groups, you know, it is not always that invisible when you look at the op-ed pages of the major newspapers where a lot of people have sort of mounted a kind of a consolidated effort, i think, very clearly, from paul krugman to as recline. these are liberals, not necessarily even conservative democrats, who left sort of stood up for clinton as the establishment candidate and sort of tried to push back against sanders insurgency. amy: do you share this view, professor david rohde? >> yes, i think that is a very good characterization of the lay of the landscape. for example, with respect to the media coverage, the media covers what the media thinks the public will be interested in rather than what might be hopeful to the public. amy: clearly -- >> trump dominates because trump is outrageous and a lot of people find him entertaining and other people find him horrifying, but still watch him like an automobile accident. amy: what could happen at the republican convention? >> earlier, bernie sanders did not have that kind of draw for public attention. coveragef we looked at in the next couple of weeks, you would see that bernie sanders gets a lot more coverage than he was getting before because he is more interesting to the public -- at least in the media's mind. amy: what could happen at the republican convention? what could happen with the republicans? a well, again, i think brokered convention is unlikely, but it is certainly a lot more plausible in the republican party where you have five viable candidates left and that the three in the establishment wing sort of and two in the far right wing insurgent wing, if you like, so the battle is still going on the republican party as to who will represent the respective wings of the party and the final contest. it is likely to go on for a it may very well be settled long before the convention. march 1, for example, is going to be super tuesday. 12 events and seven of them in the south. that is going to shake things out a bit. and then march 15, you have five big primary states in the same day come and that is when a make a big difference. amy: we have to leave it there. >> five weeks from now. amy: thank you for being with us, joining us from the south, david rohde, professor of political science at duke university. he is the coauthor of a series of books on every national election since 1980. i want to thank matt karp assistant professor of history , at princeton university and contributing editor at jacobin mag.com. we will link to your piece "the , war on bernie sanders." when we come back, we will go to st. louis, to find out why the theice department has sued city of ferguson. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. nermeen: the department of justice said wednesday that it would sue the city of ferguson, missouri, to force the city to adopt police reforms negotiated with the federal government. this comes a day after the ferguson city council voted to change a proposed consent decree to reform the police and courts. the agreement was negotiated between city officials and the department of justice. but ferguson city officials said it would cost too much to implement. amy: a justice department probe following the august 2014 police shooting of michael brown found police and courts in ferguson routinely engaged in a pattern and practice of discrimination against african americans. the shooting sparked nationwide protests. to find out more about the justice department civil rights lawsuit, we are joined now by jeffrey mittman, the executive director of the american civil liberties union of missouri. welcome to democracy now! explain what this lawsuit is all about. what is it the ferguson city council did this week and how did attorney general loretta lynch respond? >> so what happen is for many months in private, the department of justice negotiated with the ferguson city leaders an agreement whereby they could reform their courts and a police practices. as we know, this is essential given the long history of predatory practices which really preyed on and negatively impacted the african-american community. there's this long period of private negotiation and the result of that was made public. rather than vote to enter into the decree to start making the changes that are necessary at its tuesday night meeting, what the ferguson city council did is they unilaterally added individual provisions which limited what the agreement would to the essentially said department of justice, well, we will work with you if you do these things. it really undermined the agreement. rightly then, the department of justice said, if you're not going to play ball with us, we will go to our other alternative which is to see you federal court. nermeen: jeffrey mittman, is it true that what they said when they rejected the agreement or said further negotiations were necessary, ferguson city officials said it was too expensive to implement? >> you know, here is the thing that is problematic. some of the provisions that are contained in the consent decree cover expenses that would have already been necessary to running the ferguson city police department. so we know there are all sorts of ways you can book the books or make allegations about what is included and what is not. what is important is the consent decree was the result of negotiations between ferguson and the department of justice. for the city council the last minute to say, oh, this would have been to ask this of, they should have worked that out during negotiations. you cannot have an agreement, make it public, then at the last minute, add in provisions that really undercut the agreement of the that is the fault department of justice. the underlying issue, remember, thatere were so many years there were practices by ferguson and the police department that target the african-american community, that will illegal and unconstitutional. that needs to be changed. amy: and those practices were? >> for example, making up essentially fake crimes or fake minces that would then be used to target african-americans, single them out for harassment, it impose fines, use the courts to essentially turn an impoverished community into a pe practices. municipal the department of justice report on these practices is really scathing and really incredibly frightening to lay out how into the 21st century is city was really running unconstitutional, illegal, and as for ministry practices. the department of justice report is for three to. amy: and this is loretta lynch yesterday. forhere is no price constitutional policing. the citizens and the residents of ferguson deserve what every american is guaranteed under the constitution -- the right to be free from excessive force, from unconstitutional stops, arrest, and from a fine system that was literally breaking their backs. amy: jeffrey mittman, what happens now? >> what happens now is the department of justice moved very quickly. they have sued the city of ferguson in federal court. the city has some options. they can engage in a full scare -- full-scale warfare and fight's allegations, which i think we all know are well-founded. they will most likely lose in federal court. we can never be sure, but that seems to be the likely outcome. then be set with attorney's fees for fighting the losing battle. and in the expense of implementing the resulting requirements. alternatively, they can take a long hard look at their prior practices, take a long hard look at this because you'd agreement, and they can agree to do the right thing. amy: we have to leave it there. jeffrey mittman, thank you for being with us executive director , of the american civil liberties union of missouri. democracy now! is hiring a director of finance and operations and a director of development. visit democracynow.org for more information. 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