Purgegate: Just stop it.

[Abacus]

Both campaigns were cleaning their rolls; why are people making something out of nothing?

LOS ANGELES – The campaigns for Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are purging potential California delegates in a bid to ensure that only their loyalists travel to the national convention in August.

Locked in a race with an uncertain outcome, representatives for both camps directed the California Democratic Party this week to knock dozens of names off lists of potential delegates who will be elected Sunday in party caucuses.

Driven by fears that some prospective delegates might be concealing their true allegiances, campaigns have weeded out dubious candidates by searching campaign-finance data, scouring the Internet and making phone calls. Both sides want to guard against electing delegates who might actually support their rival – or even a fringe candidate.

Roger Salazar, a Democratic operative running as a Clinton delegate, compared the behind-the-scenes screening to jury selection.

The campaigns “want to make sure the people who are running for delegate for their candidate are going to stay true to that candidate,” Salazar said. “If they see somebody who is a supporter of the other side, they are going to knock them off” the candidate list for each congressional district.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20080409-1531-ca-californiadelegates.html

Edit: typo