I would feel better about this story if it came from a reporter instead of from posters at Daily Kos and Talk Left, but given that Delaware Dem of Daily Kos has done just about everything but spit in Clinton's face over the last month and Big Tent Democrat (the poster formerly known as Armando) has done just about everything but take a bullet from her are in agreement on the story, I tend to lend it some credence.

Here's the short and dirty: Senator Clinton has conceded that both Florida and Michigan were in violation of DNC rules when they moved their primaries up, and that they were properly sanctioned as a result.

"But Brian," you ask. "Was there even a debate about that?"

Yes, apparently there was. It seems the whole time this argument has been going on, it's been based on the theory that because Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina moved their primaries up to maintain their positions in the pecking order established by the DNC, they were as much in violation as Florida and Michigan. Don't ask me to explain more than that--the important thing is that the Clinton campaign has apparently abandoned that argument.

Which leaves them what? According to Delaware Dem, it leaves them this, as provided by Clinton's general counsel.

...[the RBC] "has broad powers to fully reinstate the Florida and Michigan delegations. Rule 20(C)(7) allows the RBC to forgive violations when a state party and other relevant Democratic party leaders and elected officials have taken provable, positive steps and acted in good faith to bring the state into compliance with the DNC’s Delegate Selection Rules."
In other words, if the R&B Committee wants to be nice, they can forgive the two states and pretend nothing happened. I don't know what the Clinton campaign or the Florida delegation plans to point to as evidence that they've "taken provable, positive steps and acted in good faith to bring the state into compliance with the DNC’s Delegate Selection Rules;" Michigan has come up with a plan that many Clinton supporters have a problem with, since it gives her fewer delegates than she "won" in that election, but I don't think Florida's done jack to bring the state into compliance.

But in the end, it seems the Clinton campaign has acknowledged that it doesn't really have a positive argument to ask the R&B Committee to overturn the earlier ruling, other than to say "we need Florida and Michigan in November, so please ignore their earlier conduct." And I hope, as I've said before, that the Committee decides to split the difference on Florida--cut the delegates in half and seat them as is. I'll breathe easier if this actually goes down the way it sounds on Saturday, and if Clinton stops making noises about going to the convention with it.

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