Will the DNC Pay for a Do-Over?

Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) warns that if Florida's delegates aren't seated, we may be headed for a 'train wreck':

"If they go to the Democratic Convention and stiff-arm the Florida delegations, how in the world do you think Floridians are going to support the Democratic nominee on Nov. 4?" Nelson told reporters Thursday. "It's in everybody's interest to find a solution to this problem."

DNC Chair Howard Dean however, says that the Committee can't afford it:

However, earlier in the day, Dean said the party would not pay for any do-over.

"We can't afford to do that," Dean stated on CBS's "Early Show." "That's not our problem. We need our money to win the presidential race."

Dean is right: the DNC can't afford it. As of January 31, they only had $3.1 million in cash on hand. Reports put the cost of re-doing the primaries at $18-$20 million each.

Do you think the RNC is trying to figure out a way to back the Democrats into paying for new primaries? With the Democrats currently holding a substantial edge in campaign cash, this would be a devious way to narrow that margin.

Jim Geraghty wonders how Howard Dean wound up instituting a penalty that has come back to haunt him.