House Democrats supporting Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) are rejecting Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (Calif.) plea that lawmakers not overrule voters should they be in a position to decide who will be the Democratic presidential nominee.

Acrimony gathering inside the party has spurred some Democrats to begin discussing reforming the nominating process and perhaps getting rid of superdelegates altogether.

Those lawmakers say they should be able to vote however they want, even if it means giving the nod to the candidate who wins fewer delegates from more than 50 election contests conducted prior to the nominating convention. One member said the only way he wouldn’t vote for Clinton is if he died.

“I am a delegate, I’m a supporter of Hillary, I’m supporting who I’m supporting,” said Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.), even though 62 percent of the Democratic voters in her district backed Obama.  

Such devotion worries some party officials who say record turnout and excitement over Democratic candidates could fizzle if voters feel their voices do not count.

Democrats supporting Obama, who has a lead among pledged delegates, agree with Pelosi that superdelegates should follow the “decision of the American people” and line up behind whichever candidate has amassed the most pledged delegates by convention time.

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), who endorsed Obama in July, said “when there is so much public participation and excitement, our rules should preserve their voices.”

Pelosi told reporters before the Presidents Day recess: “I don’t think it was ever intended that superdelegates would overturn the verdict.”    

Following Pelosi’s advice would likely favor Obama, as he has nearly 150 more pledged delegates than Clinton. Unless Clinton wins next week’s contests in Texas and Ohio resoundingly, Obama would be expected to carry a delegate lead into Denver, host of the summer’s convention.  

“This is a new phenomenon,” Johnson said of the extraordinary voter turnout in Democratic primaries and caucuses around the country. “They want their votes to be heard.”

But almost every Clinton supporter interviewed by The Hill voiced a different view.

“Superdelegates are separate and apart and have minds of their own,” said Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.), comparing them to pledged delegates. “I don’t see them as one and the same, so I think they should vote their conscience and if they think one candidate is better than the other they have just as much right [as a regular citizen] to cast their vote.”  

Obama gained one more delegate than Clinton from the Nevada caucus.

While some lawmakers may compare themselves to an ordinary voter, in reality their ballot is many times more powerful.