They can’t help themselves, can they?

Rumors have begun flying out of Washington, D.C. that Democratic insiders are scrambling for a plan to replace the ailing Hillary Clinton at the top of their ticket after her repeated health scares.

And once again, it leaves voters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on the outside looking in.

This is no conspiracy theory, either. It’s been confirmed by top party insiders – we’re prepared to replace Clinton.

“It’s something you would be a fool not to prepare for,” former Democratic National Committee chairman Dan Fowler confessed to Politico on Monday.

He’s hardly alone.

Longtime D.C. insider Cokie Roberts said on NPR that “skittish Democrats” are “very nervously beginning to whisper about her stepping aside and finding another candidate.”

Yes, there’s a move afoot to replace the Democratic nominee… and the establishment moves could lead to a party civil war.

Because despite the fact that Sanders nearly beat Clinton in the primaries… despite the fact that he won more than 12 million votes… and despite the fact that the party has struggled to hold onto his loyal supporters… the early word is Sanders is not even being considered as the new nominee.

Instead, party bosses are turning to the gaffe-prone vice president, Joe Biden.

“If Hillary Clinton withdraws, every indication now committee will vote to replace with Biden,” David Shuster, who has worked for both MSNBC and Al Jazeera, reported on Twitter, adding that the Sanders team is now “scrambling.”

Of course they are.

Sanders has certainly earned the right to be the party’s next-in-line by any definition of fairness and democracy. The news is bound to infuriate and further alienate supporters of the Vermont senator, who previously staged mass walkouts and protests at the Democratic National Convention after being cheated by party insiders.

But as the leaked emails earlier this summer revealed, the Democratic Party is not exactly a fan of democracy – because they’ve worked to undermine Sanders every step of the way.

Now, if the reports are accurate, they could be about to screw Sanders and his 12 million voters all over again – because the party rules don’t require giving the nomination to the next-in-line.

Instead, party bosses will meet in secret to hammer out a backroom deal.

And despite the strong call for change this election among Democrats and Republicans alike, those bosses are plotting to hand the nomination to Biden, a Washington insider since 1973 who clearly wants his shot at the one prize that has eluded him.

Biden even admitted recently that he “regrets every day” his decision not to run in the primaries.

Every time Clinton had a new set of legal troubles… every time she stumbled, sometimes literally… he’s no doubt wished he could turn back the clock and run for the nomination.

Now, Biden can simply seize that nomination without getting a single vote.

On Monday night, Biden seemed to be teasing his possible new role as party nominee. He announced at a fundraiser in South Carolina that he could beat Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

He meant at jogging, as he challenged the Republican nominee to a physical contest.

But odds are, he may have had something else in mind, too.

–The Horn editorial team