The stage stands ready for the start of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. | AP Photo Sanders, Clinton teams create 'unity commission' to examine overhauling superdelegates

PHILADELPHIA — After a day of defeats on amendments to overhaul Democrats' superdelegate system, supporters of Bernie Sanders finally found compromise with Hillary Clinton's team on creating a new "unity commission" to "review the entire nominating process."

In particular, the Sanders and Clinton team agreed on language pushing the panel to look at overhauling the way superdelegates cast their votes.


The compromise amendment, brought at a meeting of the Democratic National Convention Committee's Rules Committee meeting here on the weekend before the Democratic convention, came after a day in which Sanders supporters lost a string of amendments aimed at overhauling or eliminating the superdelegate system.

A major aspect of the new "unity" panel is to look at superdelegates. A section of the amendment says that superdelegates who aren't "members of Congress, Governors and distinguished party leaders" have to instead "cast their vote at the Convention for candidates in proportion to the vote received for each candidate in their state."

That requirement falls in line with Sanders' call for superdelegates to at least align their support with the results of state primaries and caucuses. Sanders' team regard that as one of the biggest aspects of the commission.

"It is,' a top Sanders adviser said when asked if the superdelegate emphasis was a major step toward changing the party.

But others on the Rules committee were a bit more guarded.

"This goes nowhere unless President Clinton wants it to and you can get the votes of the full DNC. Pyrrhic victory for good people led by tools," the Clinton-aligned member said.

"This is a tremendous victory for Sen. Sanders' fight to democratize the Democratic Party and reform the Democratic nominating process," said Jeff Weaver, Sanders' campaign manager. "We were pleased to work with the Clinton campaign to enact this historic commission."

The new commission, introduced by former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, a Clinton supporter, and Sanders' chief of staff Michaeleen Crowell, establishes a panel to examine the Democratic primary process, starting within 60 days of the November presidential election. The commission will be chaired by Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, a top operative at the Democratic National Committee, and with Larry Cohen, who served as an adviser for Sanders, as vice chair. Clinton picks nine members of the 21-member commission while Sanders picks seven. The DNC picks the remaining three.

Language of the amendment came at the end of the day in which the Rules Committee weighed — and ultimately voted down — about a half-dozen amendments meant to get rid of or undercut the power of superdelegates. Every amendment-overhaul proposal was defeated.

The new panel offers two points meant to satiate Sanders supporters: a focus on recommending changes to the Delegate Selection Rules for the 2020 Democratic National Convention; and also to examine ways to expand caucuses and primaries. Sanders in recent months had vowed to push for major changes to the Democratic Party's superdelegate system and also led a charge to expand caucuses and primaries so that Republicans and Independents could vote.

The amendment passed in an overwhelming vote of 158 in support to six nays and one abstention. The crowd in the ballroom erupted into cheers when the final results were called.

The Rules Committee session for Sanders supporters came a day after Wikileaks released a trove of emails from inside the Democratic National Committee that included emails from chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz mocking Sanders, weighing whether to press him about his religion, and calling his campaign manager an "ass." To Sanders supporters, it was the latest sign that the Democratic process was rigged, as they had repeatedly claimed during the primary process. The sentiment was on full display when at another point during the meeting protesters chanted "shame on the DNC, we don't see no unity."

National Democrats tried to smooth over the bitterness. DNC vice chairwoman Donna Brazile had dropped in on the meeting of Sanders-aligned Rules Committee members and apologized for how the emails came out.

"She got applause from all of the Bernie rules committee delegates," said Rules Committee member Anthony Iarrapino, who supports Sanders.

Throughout the meeting, Sanders adviser Mark Longabaugh and Clinton counterpart Charlie Baker went in and out of backroom negotiations to try to hammer out some kind of compromise on superdelegates, and Sanders' moves to open up caucuses and primaries, a big wishlist item.

In the end those negotiations satisfied both parties.

"We strongly support the unity commission," a Clinton aide said.

"It appears we're going to come out here with a great big win on Rules," Longabaugh said.