Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus floated a conscience exception Monday afternoon for Democratic convention delegates upset by the party’s meddling on behalf of Hillary Clinton during the primary.
Asked by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer for a reaction to Bernie Sanders supporters booing his suggestion that they vote for Hillary Clinton, Priebus said it was a justified expression of frustration—one that may deserve a procedural remedy.
“My reaction to it is they’re ticked off, they have a right to be, they were lied [to]—and Hillary Clinton is their nominee based on false pretenses,” Priebus said. “And so, I mean, I’m not sure whether they have any mechanism to vote their conscience on the floor and rectify the problem or not, but clearly these people were lied to in the most personal way, so, yeah, they’re mad, and they should be.”
According to Democratic rules, not even “pledged” delegates are bound in the sense that they’re compelled to vote for a specific candidate. Per Rule 12.J, the party’s language is, “Delegates elected to the national convention pledged to a presidential candidate shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.”
Priebus and Republican officials were working behind the scenes last week to prevent the adoption of a conscience clause at their own convention. The efforts of anti-Donald Trump forces to unbind delegates from supporting the nominee on the floor ultimately fell short, though the failure didn’t stop Ted Cruz from objecting in his own way during a dramatic speech last Wednesday.’
This post was updated to include a reference to Rule 12.J of the Democratic party rules.
