Hillary Clinton’s Loyalty Problem

It is ironic that the Hillary Clinton campaign is hitting back hard against Governor Bill Richardson for endorsing Barack Obama. Attack dog James Carville has called Richardson a "Judas" and disloyal. Bill Clinton has said that Richardson told him "five times" he would not endorse Obama. The Clinton campaign is up in arms because they perceive Bill Richardson as somehow disloyal.

Yet, on the same day the campaign was making these attacks and the candidate was fielding questions about Bill Richardson, Hillary Clinton had this to say about the Democratic Party’s nominating process:

"There is no such thing as a pledged delegate," Clinton said at a news conference in California, where she has been fundraising.

…

Pledged delegates are a "misnomer. The whole point is for delegates, however they are chosen, to really ask themselves who would be the best president and who would be our best nominee against Senator McCain," Clinton said. "And I think that process goes all the way to the convention."

The Associated Press article goes on to helpfully note:

While the DNC has no rules requiring pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses to vote for the candidate, the people who serve as pledged delegates are selected by the campaigns who won them and loyalty is a key qualification.

Hillary Clinton says that there is no such thing as a "pledged delegate." Perhaps, Mrs. Clinton needs to refer to the Democratic National Committee for a refresher on the rules of her own party – the party whose nominee she seeks to become.

The Democratic National Committee, committed as it is to electing Democrats to public office, has rules and bylaws that govern their nominating process. These rules and processes are published in official documents. For our purposes, the three relevant documents are:

• How to Participate in the 2008 Delegate Selection Process
• Delegate Selection Rules
• 2008 Democratic National Convention – Delegate/Alternate Allocation

The DNC publications, which Hillary Clinton would be well served to read, explain the types of delegates – both pledged delegates and unpledged delegates. According to "How to Participate in the 2008 Delegate Selection Process", they are:

• "District Level" Delegate:  Each district-level delegate pledges support to a presidential candidate of his or her choice (or no specific candidate – which is known as “uncommitted”).
• “Pledged Party Leader and Elected Official” Delegates: Some delegate positions are reserved for Democratic Party leaders and elected officials who pledge support to a presidential candidate (or “uncommitted”).
• “At-Large” Delegates. These are pledged delegates.
• “Unpledged” Delegates. Some individuals in each state will go to the convention known as “unpledged” delegates, because they are not required to officially support any presidential candidate.

The first three types of delegates are pledged delegates. The remaining type, "unpledged" delegates, are commonly referred to as "superdelegates". The first three types – the pledged delegates – are chosen as a result of the votes in primaries and caucuses according to the will of the voters. For example, the "District Level" Delegates are allocated in primaries as follows:

Democratic voters cast their ballot for their presidential preference in the primary election. Based on the results of that election, district-level delegate positions are allocated proportionately to the presidential candidates. For example, if a candidate receives 50% of the vote in that district, he or she will get half of the delegates.

It is quite clear, contrary to Hillary Clinton’s observation, that pledged delegates are part of the DNC’s own lexicon. In addition, not only are pledged delegates fiercely loyal to their candidate, the DNC rules require pledged delegates to provide a "signed pledge of support for the presidential candidate (including uncommitted status) the person favors." So not only are there pledged delegates, there are pledged delegates who pledge in writing their support for the candidate.

We are all familiar with Hillary Clinton’s tenuous relationship with the truth, but we must now also question Hillary Clinton’s understanding of loyalty. When a superdelegate like Bill Richardson, who is not pledged to a candidate, uses his judgment to choose the candidate he wants to endorse, Hillary Clinton and her surrogates suddenly become married to the principle of loyalty. However, when pledged delegates who are chosen by the will of the people are rightfully pledged to the winner of a primary or caucus, Hillary Clinton suddenly loses her grasp on the concept of loyalty.

Hillary Clinton is fond of raising questions about Barack Obama’s "electibility". Behind on votes, behind in delegates, and behind in states won, her own electibility is seriously in question. The Bosnia fibs showed that there are real questions about her credibility. Now her un-democratic position on pledged delegates and her public attack on a prominent superdelegate call into question her own understanding of loyalty.