The lead of the story is buried at the very end of this piece from NBC News on former Labor Secretary Tom Perez’s ongoing campaign for Democratic National Committee chair.
Perez first declared that the DNC had deliberately rigged the 2016 primaries in Hillary Clinton’s favor, citing in particular the scheduling of debates for nights when people would be less likely to watch. Last night, he retracted what he had said, claiming he “misspoke.”
And that last bit — “I misspoke” — is an obvious, huge lie, the kind we’ve all become accustomed to in the Trump era.
But it’s an open question which of his contradictory assertions prior to that was intended to deceive the party officials who will vote on the DNC chair position later this month. Did Perez allege that the primaries had been rigged out of a need to pander to his party’s Bernie Sanders wing? Or did he firmly believe that it was rigged, then retract, against his conscience and under pressure?
Judge for yourself:
“We heard loudly and clearly yesterday from Bernie supporters that the process was rigged and it was. And you’ve got to be honest about it. That’s why we need a chair who is transparent,” Perez said.
Sanders supporters alleged that the DNC scheduled presidential primary debates at inopportune times to prevent candidates other than Clinton from getting a chance to be seen by the widest possible audience. Perez, who touted hiring both former Clinton and Sanders staffers, said that next time, the party should plan its debates before the candidates are in the race, “so there’s no question whatsoever.”
Later Wednesday, Perez clarified on Twitter that he “misspoke” about the primary process being rigged. “Hillary became our nominee fair and square, and she won more votes in the primary — and general — than her opponents,” he added.
