Clinton strategists weigh 'nuclear option' to take out Obama at convention RAW STORY

Published: Sunday May 4, 2008



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Print This Email This Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign claims to have a secret weapon up their sleeve. According to a report Sunday, Clinton's campaign could force the Democratic National Committee to seat Florida and Michigan, thereby potentially giving her the votes she needs to secure the Democratic nomination. The climate, however, doesn't appear to be ripe. Campaign strategists tell Thomas Edsall of the Huffington Post that "any attempt to deploy it would require a sharp (and by no means inevitable) shift in the political climate within Democratic circles by the end of this month." This "nuclear option" -- the same term applied to a Republican effort in the Senate to destroy the chamber's filibuster -- would likely cause chaos among the party, particularly among activists. Because Clinton has 50 percent of the party's Rules and Bylaws committee committed to her campaign, Edsall says, her backers could try to quickly pass a motion that would seat Florida's 210 and Michigan's 156 delegates. This would give Clinton some 55 more delegates than Obama. At present, Clinton likely can't catch up in sheer delegates without those two states. Trouble is, the Democratic party sidelined the states because they broke Democratic National Committee rules, holding their primaries ahead of their scheduled slots. Clinton also violated a promise not to campaign in Florida, giving her a potentially unfair edge. "Using the Rules and Bylaws Committee to force the seating of two pro-Hillary delegations would provoke a massive outcry from Obama forces," Edsall writes. "First... Clinton would have to win Indiana and lose North Carolina by a very small margin. Second... she would have to rapidly gain traction, not only within the media, where she has experienced some success, but within the broad activist ranks of the Democratic Party." Given these conditions, Clinton strategists claim she could overcome "stumbling blocks," including persuading her loyalists on the Rules Committee to back her without jeopardizing their future political careers. If the Rules Committee backed Clinton, Obama could appeal to the Credentials Committee. While the committee has yet to be formed, "the pattern of Clinton and Obama victories so far clearly suggests that Obama delegates on that committee will outnumber Clinton delegates," Edsall notes, "though Obama will not, however, have a majority, according to most estimates, and the balance of power will be held by delegates appointed by DNC chair Howard Dean." Clinton hedges on convention question In a discussion with women in North Carolina Saturday, however, Clinton seemed to duck her previous assertion that she'd take her fight all the way to the convention floor if Florida and Michigan's delegates were not counted. When asked if she would contest the nomination all the way to the convention, according to ABC, she said, Well, I plan on going through the next contests - West Virginia, Kentucky and others. "This may indicate a possible shift in thinking about how the rest of this campaign will play out, depending on what happens in the North Carolina and Indiana primaries on Tuesday," ABC notes.