THE MEANING OF THE WORD "PLEDGED"

Is the Democratic nomination going to be a nasty fight? Yes. [Link]

The Clinton camp is still crying "no surrender", but with legitimate avenues to the nomination closed, they are going to have to investigate some sketchier ones. my Atlantic colleague, Clive Crook, notes that the campaign is currently exploring the notion that "pledged" delegates are not "bound". The Politico reports:

The notion that pledged delegates must vote for a certain candidate is, according to the Democratic National Committee, a “myth.”

“Delegates are NOT bound to vote for the candidate they are pledged to at the convention or on the first ballot,” a recent DNC memo states. “A delegate goes to the convention with a signed pledge of support for a particular presidential candidate. At the convention, while it is assumed that the delegate will cast their vote for the candidate they are publicly pledged to, it is not required.”

Even if Hillary won the nomination this way, there's a very good chance that these antics would cost her the presidency--as well as the eternal enmity of a huge chunk of her party. I'm frankly flabbergasted they're even considering this.