I just heard something jaw dropping from Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC.
But to understand it, one needs to know a little bit about how the Democrats Iowa Caucus works. At each Caucus site, a candidate must get a minimum of 15% of the caucus goers at the site to support him/her on the first ballot in order to remain “viable” (i.e., get any delegates). If he/she cannot muster 15% at a site, his/her supporters must either bow out or change their support to one of the other candidates. I’m sure many of you already knew this, but some may not have, so thanks for putting up with this preface.
So when we look at the Dem. caucus in Iowa, Martin O’Malley my not get 15% at a number of caucus sites, so a number of his supporters may go the either Hillary or Bernie. And in this close race, which of the two these O’Malley supporters choose may make all the difference in who wins.
So get this! Andrea Mitchell is saying she has learned that the Clinton campaign is directing a number of its caucus goers to (disingenuously) caucus for Martin O’Malley to keep him above the 15% mark so as to prevent any of his supporters from caucusing for Bernie. It sounds like this is within the caucus rules. However, it still seems like a slimy tactic if you ask me.