Intrigue at the Democratic National Convention?

From Marc Korman

With over 1500 committed delegates and over 400 super delegates up for grabs, we are still a long way from a contested Democratic Convention. However, the chance does exist that the campaign could go all the way to the Denver convention in August. If that occurs, the Credentials Committee of the Convention could become important. The Credentials Committee is one of three Convention Standing Committees and it resolves questions about the seating of delegates and alternates to the Convention that are not resolved by the Democratic Party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee before June 29, 2008.

The specific rules of the Convention and Credentials Committee are set out in the DNC’s Call for the Democratic National Convention. Delegates to the convention can be challenged and it is the job of the Credentials Committee to resolve those disputes and then submit its report to the full convention. If 20% of the Credentials Committee disagrees with the majority outcome, they can file a minority report which will also be taken up on the convention floor. Which could result in lots of political maneuvering. There are detailed rules for how and when a challenge may be brought and heard.

Of course, none of this has been relevant for a while because the last time there was a significant credentials fight was 1972. At that convention, George McGovern successfully reversed a Credentials Committee decision to strip him of 151 of his California delegates, further strengthening his hold on the nomination. Also in 1972, Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago fought to have himself and other Illinois delegates seated, unsuccessfully.

Prior to 1972, the last credentials fight was 1964. That year, the Mississippi Democratic Party sent an all white delegation to the convention. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party sent its own, integrated delegation and sought Mississippi’s delegate slots. The issue was resolved when the all white Mississippi delegation agreed to support the Johnson/Humphrey ticket, which was controversial for them because Republican nominee Barry Goldwater opposed the Civil Rights Act as the white Mississippi delegates mostly did. The deal also included a prohibition on any future racially discriminating delegations to Democratic Conventions.

This August, we may add some new history to the Credentials Committee. Florida and Michigan have been stripped of there 366 delegates as punishment for not following the DNC’s primary and caucus schedule. Hillary Clinton, who won both states, has already called for these delegates to be seated at the Convention. This would give her a large block of delegates, since she won those states, and could decide the race.

So who is the Credentials Committee? Every standing committee of the Convention has three chairs and its membership includes twenty-five party leaders/elected officials nominated by Howard Dean and 161 other members elected by the state delegations. The three chairs for the 2008 Credentials Committee are Alexis Herman, James Roosevelt Jr., and Eliseo Roques-Arroyo. None of the three donated to any of the presidential campaigns, though Alexis Herman did donate to Clinton’s Senate campaign. All three are also unaffiliated super delegates. More interesting however, is that Alexis Herman was Labor Secretary under President Clinton and Roosevelt was an Associate Commissioner in the Clinton-era Social Security Administration. Of the 25 party leaders and elected officials, three were Clinton super delegates at the time of this writing. The chairs and party leaders/elected officials will not have full control over the outcome of committee decisions, but they will have a lot of influence.

The make-up of the Credentials Committee chairs helps define the problem for Obama going into the convention. Many of those attending have worked for or with the Clintons at one time or another. That does not guarantee they will support Senator Clinton, but it certainly gives the Clinton campaign an edge in wheeling and dealing at the Convention. That edge, both on the Credentials Committee and with the Convention as a whole, could be all Senator Clinton needs if the campaign goes to Denver.