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Clinton Stoops to new low
For Sen. Clinton to make noise about disenfranchised voters in Michigan and Florida is ludicrous. She agreed to the ground rules way back in August and has no right to any delegates.
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Comments (10)
And everyone agreed to the rules on super delegates, right?
February 15, 2008 3:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't forget most superdelegates have to face the voters! They may be "free" to cast a vote, but not free of voter ire for how they do!
February 15, 2008 4:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Everyone has, has anyone asked for the superdelegates to be changed for this election? No. All Obama has asked is that they consider strongly who they choose and not to ignore the popular vote. He's not the one trying to change their name: just refer to the Hillary camp's attempt to change them to "Automatic delegates."
February 16, 2008 12:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wrong. The majority are not elected, except to positions in the party, on which almost no one votes.
February 15, 2008 7:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
“OBAMA” is a Republican in a donkey suit.
He supports the upper-middle class, not the poor, average Americans searching for HOPE, you must be able to see through all these nice spoken words………………..
It’s amazing to me that people are voting for “Obama” someone that does not follow our country’s traditions, no hand during the pledge, “a Muslim past”. It’s kind of scary to see how someone can give such wonderful speeches and the media can be so biased of Hillary and he gets a free ride with free media coverage, just crazy… he’s a dreamer without any substance and HOPE is not going to change this country’s direction based on WORDS.
WAKE UP TEXAS, WE HAVE SOME WORK TO DO….OBAMANIA IS A FALSE HOPE THAT SPELLS TROUBLE…….
Great job, Hillary on your win in New Mexico! Continue to campaign and reinforce to the average American worker that Obama continues to give invigorating speeches, but has never provided a plan to improve health care. Also, he has never addressed the high gas prices, heating bills, grocery bills. I applaud Obama for motivating speeches but we need someone who will produce and who actually has a plan to help the middle class struggling families. The term “Change” is only a word if you don’t have a plan!
Do your research as to who’s zooming who “a lion in sheep’s clothing”
Obama, Clinton Donating Heavily to Superdelegates’ Campaigns
by Associated Press
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The study tracked donations received by members of Congress from the candidates’ leadership PACs and from their candidate committees. It tracked donations made to governors by examining the presidential candidates’ expenditures.
Among the findings:
— Since 2005, Obama’s committees gave $228,000 to superdelegates who have endorsed him, $363,900 to those who were still undecided, and $102,400 to those who have endorsed Clinton.
–Clinton’s committee’s gave $95,000 to superdelegates who have endorsed her, $88,000 to those who were still neutral, and $12,500 to those who have endorsed Obama.
Email Misrepresents Hillary’s Legislative Record
There is an email circulating that grossly misrepresents Hillary’s legislative record, as well as the record of Sen. Obama. (Various versions appear on the Obama campaign website here, here, and here.)
The email only gives Hillary credit for bills where she was the original sponsor and have also been signed into law. Here are the facts. In her time in the Senate, Hillary has sponsored 21 bills that have become law including:
— a bill that extended the availability of unemployment assistance.
— a bill which established a program to assist family caregivers.
— a bill that provided benefits to public safety officers who were killed or injured during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
But Hillary’s accomplishments in the Senate are not limited to bill sponsorships. Among her many other legislative accomplishments:
— Hillary worked with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to expand access to health care for the National Guard and Reserve.
— Hillary passed an amendment that created a national program for teacher and principal training and recruitment.
— Hillary used Senate rules to force the Bush administration to make emergency contraception, also known as Plan B, available over the counter.
Meanwhile, the email gives Sen. Obama credit for every bill he introduced or signed on as a co-sponsor, whether or not they became law. The reality is, since Sen. Obama joined the Senate (applying the same standard the email applies to Hillary) he has sponsored two bills that have become law:
— a bill that sought to promote democracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
— a bill that named a post office.
February 15, 2008 10:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Something needs to be done to resolve the Michigan and Florida delegate problem.
Obviously the delegates can't count as they stand because Obama wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan and no one was supposed to campaign in those states. Hillary had a natural advantage in Florida because of the demographics but campaigning changes things. Also, John Edwards was part of the mix at the time those votes were cast. I have read that some people didn't vote because they believed it would not count.
If the votes are to be counted, they must be recast by mail. I believe Michigan might lean toward Obama now but Clinton would still take Florida, but it would be proportional in both cases.
The state parties that broke the rules should pay for the balloting. They should also apologize to all of us for causing so much trouble.
February 16, 2008 9:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
Michigan and Florida can easily solve their delegate problem by holding new elections or caucuses.
They deliberately chose to waste their money on meaningless elections. I don't have any sympathy for claims that it would cost too much.
February 16, 2008 12:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
nor do i texaslib. but we know how scary these undemocratic caucus things are to hillary supporters.
February 16, 2008 12:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ditto, texaslib!
Can I just say I am sick of the Clinton folks trying to twist the argument on Michigan and Florida by saying, "well HE wants to change the rules on superdelegates!"
First, NO HE ISN'T. He has not issued any proposals to strip superdelegates of their status or vote. He's simply arguing that they consider the preferences of their home states/districts when making their choice. It's a legit argument - either candidate would be severely hobbled going into the general if the popular vote or the pledged delegate count was overturned by superdelegates. Further, the argument even works against his position in some ways because by that logic Kennedy and Kerry would have to cast their votes for Clinton. In other words, his cautionary remarks are meant for the good of the PARTY as much as (maybe more than) they are for his own candidacy.
Second, SAYING MI/FL = SUPERS IS A STUPID ARGUMENT because Clinton agreed to the DNC sanctions in August. There were no expressed concerns of voter disenfranchisement then. Keeping her name on the ballot in MI was self-serving, and at the time I thought Edwards and Obama were a little crazy to take their names off, but both were respecting the wishes of the party. Now, all Obama is asking is that the original agreement be honored. If people want to host a revote or caucus that's fine (but as bravo6 points out - they're "unfair" because Clinton hasn't won any).
In sum, Obama has been trying to maintain a fair process, and argues for the good of the party, while Clinton makes strategic arguments and decisions that benefit HERSELF. It's really hard to respect her - and the folks who speak on her behalf - when they use this stupid argument.
February 16, 2008 12:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Has anyone noticed how seamlessly Hillary Clinton subverts the discussion on MI/FL results with her contention that they should be "seated" at the DNC? To even suggest that these two primaries resembled a fair and democratic process insults our intelligence.
Now HRC is planting the concept that Obama's light on policy - via the "solution" blast we saw from the candidate and the candidate's shameless husband this week. Take a look at Obama's website to be disabused of this particular untruth.
Next, the negative ad's Clinton-Inc is running in WI about Obama evading debates is also noteworthy for pure fatuousness.
It's difficult not to acknowledge Obama's observation that a lack of clarity and overt distortion is part of what ails our body politic. And Hillary Clinton holds a black belt in the art of the evasive and diversionary response.
As a resident of NY who supports my senator, I have grown to filter her language and well understand that she subcribes to Bill's dictum of it being better to be wrong and strong than right and weak. I would argue that living by this dictum may be better for the politician, but in the long run it's really not better for the electorate.
So back to the here and now. Witness what is happening as the Clinton's make their Hail Mary lunge to rescue Hillary's coronation. They are certainly befuddled and perplexed, having already discovered that reflexively going negative the old fashioned way has blown up on them.
For me, Bill did himself irreparable harm in the lead-up to the SC primary. He SEVERELY diminished himself and HRC - because the race-baiting language was no unplanned slip of the tongue. They were clearly and quite selfishly prepared to play with fire at enormous risk to the social fabric. The first black President? Bite me! They cannot risk further alienating progressives by revealing even more of their cynical, take-no-prisoners underbelly.
What seems to be emerging is a program of muddying the water and trying to draw Obama into little a scrap here and a little scrap there until the level of debate is generally lowered. Then, with each side having at least one foot in the gutter, more direct hits will become increasingly acceptable. It seems to be a psychology of engaging low-level warfare to inch up the frequency and volume of negative language to attempt to draw Obama down to their more familiar turf.
It's really fascinating to observe that the reliable old weapons that the Clinton's have wielded so effectively over the years just don't work in this new battlefield. You can virtually hear and witness the gears clunking and grating inside the collective mind of the Clinton campaign as they timidly but relentlessly attempt to go negative without sustaining further self-inflicted wounds.
While Obama certainly has the big-Mo, the Clinton camp's newest tactic might just work.
So get out the popcorn and sit back and watch this remarkable drama unfold.
February 16, 2008 2:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
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