More Calvinball From Clinton

The AP reports that--now just days before the election--the Clinton campaign has decided that it doesn't like the caucus rules in Texas:

Aides to Clinton said earlier this week they were alarmed at the lack of clarity about many of the caucus rules....

Specifically, Clinton aides questioned a provision allowing caucus attendees to vote to move the location if they choose to do so, and whether people who had cast so-called "provisional ballots" in the primary would have their votes counted in the caucus.

They also expressed concern about the automated phone system precinct chairs would use to call in the results of each caucus, saying the party hadn't yet trained anyone to use the system properly.

The problem with the Clinton campaign's complaint isn't that it's baseless--these all seem like legitimate concerns about the integrity of the election. The problem is the timing: why didn't the campaign raise this issue earlier, before the primary began? It may be because the campaign just didn't bother doing the research on the Texas rules until now--indeed, this is the impression that Clinton herself has given. But this is undermined by Texas party officials, who said in a letter to the campaign that

many of Clinton's senior campaign advisers in Texas had helped to develop the rules governing the state's caucus system.

So it seems to me that the only explanation is that the Clinton campaign complaint is a self-serving one, stemming from political expediency rather than any real concern for voter enfranchisement or principle. Their cynical strategy is to delegitimize any election that doesn't bode well for Hillary's chances by questioning--and attempting to change--the rules mid-game.