A few weeks back I worried that DNC chair Dean might not keep his promise to not seat the delegates from Michigan and Florida. It never occurred to me that the Clinton campaign themselves might try to weasel out of the agreement.
Ezra is right. If this race goes to the convention and these delegates make the difference, it will tear the party apart. Obama supporters will rightly claim that Clinton broke the rules to win the nomination, leading to charges that she stole the election.
I fully recognize that politics is often a dirty sport, but this is ridiculous. This is a dispute among allies, not enemies. After this is over, the party - and by that I mean the entire party - will need to come together to win in the Fall. But by behaving this way, Clinton will make that impossible. I wouldn't support her, and on that I know I wouldn't be alone.
UPDATE: Obama camp hits back - its yet another example of how Hillary will "do or say anything to win an election."
That sounds good now, but I'm not sure it would win the day at the convention. Should such a day be necessary, of course.
UPDATE II: Josh Marshall has an even-handed take on precisely why this is all so wrong. Want a shorter version? Matt Y:
There was a time and a place to stand up for the Michigan and Florida primaries, but she didn't do it. Instead, she signed a pledge agreeing not to "campaign or participate" in them and the DNC, without her dissenting, said they would get no delegates. She could have decided to do something different, but she didn't and that's the way it is.
Matt's got the line Obama's people should adopt. If she believed so strongly in this, she could have fought this when it mattered. She didn't. And that's predictable. Hillary always comes around to the right position too late. She was wrong about the war when it mattered. What good is your experience if your judgement is always wrong when it matters most?
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