DNC: MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA DELEGATES WILL SEATED ON CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE

[The Politico]

Most of us have learned more than we ever wanted to know about the arcane workings of the Democratic Party nominating process. Now another civics lesson from the Democratic National Committee.

The delegates from Michigan and Florida—who barring some compromise still will not be able to vote for a nominee—will be seated on three key DNC convention committees, including the influential Credentials Committee.

The credentials committee, ironically, will be the body that decides whether the Michigan and Florida pledged delegates (stripped of their voting power due to early primaries in violation of DNC rules) will ultimately be able to vote for their choice of nominee.

If this sounds confusing it is (and I have been a lawyer for 30 years).

Here is the way The Politico blog explains it

While both states were stripped of their delegates to the convention, according to the DNC’s interpretation of party rules, members from those states will be seated on the Credentials Committee. The Credentials Committee, which can meet prior to convention, resolves disputes over whether to seat delegates at the convention.

“The DNC interpretation is that there are 186 members of the Credentials Committee and both states are seated on the standing committees,” said DNC spokeswoman Stacie Paxton.

Under the DNC's interpretation of the rules, Florida members of the credentials committee would not be allowed to vote on the question of whether to seat Florida's delegates to the presidential nominating process.

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.

“Intuitively, I would have thought that if members of the delegation are not seated it strikes me as a little odd that members of the standing committees are seated,” said Harold Ickes, a top Clinton adviser who many view as the preeminent authority on party rules and bylaws.
To further complicate the equation, Hillary Clinton gave a nationally televised press conference today emphasizing that if the contest goes to the August 25 convention—and it will unless Obama or Clinton drops out before then—all “pledged” delegates would be free under the DNC rules to vote for Clinton OR Obama.

Stay tuned, this is getting interesting.