The Three Co-Chairs of the DNC Delegate Credentials Board All Served Under Clinton

If I've learned one thing this primary season, it's that passion is back among the Democrats for their presidential candidates. Anybody who reads the BuzzFlash Mailbag can see that in an instant. That can be a good thing or a bad thing.

It is the most fundamental sign of health in a democracy to see people so energized and willing to voice their opinions. But if it leads to a split party after the nomination, it would mean four more years of Republican rule and that would not be good for our Constitution and our freedom.

With that in mind, we'll throw some more wood on the fire with this follow-up to our alert yesterday on the likely role of the DNC Credentials Committee in deciding what to do about the unsanctioned Michigan and Florida "primaries." (In our view, they weren't primaries because there was no real campaigning in the states -- and in Michigan only Hillary Clinton's name was on the ballot.)

In January, BuzzFlash proposed one possible solution; some people in the DNC are proposing another. The latter plan would include party caucuses in Michigan and Florida in the early summer. That would be a sensible idea, but the Clinton campaign opposes it. One can assume that they are not happy with Obama's strength in caucus states.

But there may be another reason. If the "results" of the non-primary primaries were upheld by DNC Credentials Committee prior to the convention, and the convention delegates accepted the Credentials Committee recommendation to seat the delegates under the current distribution, Hillary Clinton would likely win the nomination. According to the Washington Post, mathematically it is almost impossible for either Clinton or Obama to win based on the pledged delegates in the upcoming contests. So, at this moment, it is likely that the superdelegates will potentially decide the winner. But remember that there are still a small number of delegates pledged to other candidates sitting out there. It is possible that Clinton and Obama will end up so close in the delegate count that neither of them will attain the threshold number of delegates needed to be nominated.

That is why the DNC Credentials Committee could play such a pivotal role in terms of a decision regarding the status of the Michigan and Florida delegations, if the Clinton and Obama camps do not agree to caucuses that would allow for a full campaign in each state.

That leads us to the three co-chairs of the DNC Credentials Committee: Alexis Herman, James Roosevelt, Jr. and Aliseo Roques-Arroyo. All three of them served in the Clinton Administration. Okay, as far as we know they are all reputable, upstanding people, but if you were Hillary Clinton and these three people worked for you and your husband during the 8 presidential years Hillary includes on her "35 years of experience," wouldn't you feel like you might have some influence on the three co-chairs? After all, the decision of the DNC Credentials Committee will be political; this is not a judicial process.

According to the official background statements, in a DNC convention committee .pdf file, here are the Clinton connections:

Alexis Herman

Alexis Herman served as U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1997 to 2001. Her accomplishments as Labor Secretary include negotiating between UPS management and Teamsters Union leaders, ultimately ending the ten-day strike. Her extensive political experience began during the Carter Administration when she served as the Director of the Women's Bureau. In 1980 she left government to become an entrepreneur and labor relations expert. Secretary Herman served as DNC Chief of Staff for Chairman Ron Brown and later was named CEO of the 1992 Democratic National Convention. In 1993, she was appointed assistant to the President and Director of the White House public liaison office. Since 2005, Secretary Herman has served as a Co-Chair of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee and also served as a Co-Chair of the Commission on Presidential Nomination Timing and Scheduling

James Roosevelt, Jr.

Jim Roosevelt is President and CEO of Tufts Health Plan, a Massachusetts based HMO. Prior to joining Tufts Health Plan, Mr. Roosevelt was the Associate Commissioner for Retirement Policy of the Social Security Administration in the Clinton Administration and a partner in Choate, Hall & Stewart, specializing in health care law. Mr. Roosevelt is the chief legal counsel for the Massachusetts Democratic Party. Since 1995, he has served as Co-Chair of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee and has served as a DNC member since 1980.

Eliseo Roques-Arroyo

A native of Puerto Rico, Eliseo Roques-Arroyo served as Executive Assistant to Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Senate Minority Leader Miguel Hernandez-Agosto and to Puerto Rico Delegate to Congress Antonio J. Colorado. A former Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico, Mr. Roques-Arroyo served as a consultant on travel and advance for President Clinton from 1998-2000. He is a graduate of Cornell University and the Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law. He is presently a member of the Democratic National Committee.

(Yes, James Roosevelt, Jr., is the grandson of FDR.)

Politics is politics -- and Hillary Clinton got the luck of the draw in the appointment of the three co-chairs of the Credentials Committee. They were appointed by Howard Dean, we believe, and Dean will be toast as DNC Chairman if Hillary is elected. Although he is neutral, as he should be, in the battle for the nomination, there is no love lost between Dean and the Clinton camp. So, we're no in anyway implying some vast conspiracy here.

It is true that the Credentials Committee itself will consist of many, many people by the time it makes the crucial Michigan/Florida decision, if it comes down to that. Only the core committee has been chosen as of now, so it is impossible to project the political leanings of the committee as a whole. However, there is no doubt that the Clinton camp has the inside advantage when it comes to the three co-chairs.

That's just the reality of the situation.