Short diary. I haven't seen it diaried yet but I think it can be very important.
Apparently, in a surprise move, the DNC has stated that they are willing to seat MI and FLA delegates on procedural committess. Of course, a committee like the Credentials Committee can end up being quite substantive, particularly with the way things may be shaping up.
According to Politico, this has taken both campaigns by surprise.
More after the flip...
From the Politico article by David Kuhn:
But the mere presence of Florida and Michigan on the credentials committee raises the prospect of vote-trading or last-minute maneuvering, creating potential confusion for a convention already shadowed by procedural controversies.
Senior advisers to the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as several party rules experts with experience from prior presidential campaigns, expressed surprise when informed of the DNC’s stance.
According to Ben Smith, this could very well inure to HRC's benefit by being:
something that could, in theory, give Hillary a boost in procedural battles.
Smith
The article also gives the sense that things are not quite organized at the DNC. As seen below, there is the sense that this may further roil up murky waters than clear them. I, of course, have no idea what is going on behind the scenes but it is a bit disquieting to read:
It’s possible that the DNC’s interpretation of the rules will be moot if a compromise is struck to seat the delegations. Chairman Howard Dean and members of Florida’s congressional delegation met privately Wednesday and issued a joint statement saying, "We are all committed to doing everything we can to ensure that a Florida delegation is seated in Denver."
But the decision to seat the two states on the Credentials Committee, prior to any compromise, further clouds an already Byzantine process for determining whether or not delegations from Florida and Michigan will be seated at the convention.
I don't want to start hyperventilating but this strikes me, at the moment, as being a strange unilateral decision by the DNC. Hopefully it won't come to be an important maneuver...perhaps they are hoping that things will be over by the time of the convention. The article also points out that a compromise on the delegates could change the situation. Still, I could see this becoming VERY important and wanted to make sure that the KOS community has seen this. I have not yet seen it reported here.