The Core founders invested very little in the DAO, and pushing for a decision that went against the interests of the network would have hurt them far more throu

The Core founders invested very little in the DAO, and pushing for a decision that went against the interests of the network would have hurt them far more through reducing the value of the portion of their holdings they still held, than helped by rescueing the portion they put in the DAO. In short, you're mischaracterizing the motives of the lead developers who supported the HF.