Lanny Davis Loses His Cool On DNC Member

A brief but spittle-filled shouting match broke out in the halls of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee hearing on Saturday between a committee member and a surrogate for Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Lanny Davis, the colorful, committed, and sometimes unrestrained Clinton supporter deliberately interrupted a small gathering of press who had come to hear Jon Ausman, a DNC member, explain the basis of his proposed Florida delegation compromise.

"I'll tell you what," Davis chimed in, "the Clinton campaign's position has been misrepresented by this wonderful love-fest, and the lady who testified for us was saying that the Obama campaign and your proposal is not generous. But it is in fact unfair. If you want to hear, now that the love-fest is over, why don't you come over and hear the counterpoint to this completely disingenuous argument."

A befuddled Ausman who had earlier proposed that Florida's 185 pledged delegates be subject to a 50 percent penalty, asked who exactly Lanny Davis was. By then, however, Davis had herded a slew of reporters around Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, another Clinton supporter, who was standing feet away and insisting that Ausman's deal was far from a "generous" token by the Obama campaign. Then, in the midst of the hastily gathered question and answer session, Ausman reemerged to defend himself.

What proceeded was a heated and, at times, unintentionally hilarious exchange, with the two standing inches apart from each other and the occasional finger pointed in the other's face.

Ausman: [My proposal] is very generous, because Obama was initially fighting for a situation where Clinton would net 6 delegates, now it's 19.

Davis: Don't say you're being generous.

Ausman: I can say we're being generous.

Davis: But you're allowed to and I'm allowed to disagree...

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Ausman: But I'm the one who's on the petition...

Reporter: Ok ok, why don't we --

Ausman: Are you a representative of Clinton?

Davis: No, I'm actually just a person...

Ausman: Are you a designated representative of Clinton?

Davis: I am not a designated representative.

Ausman: Then why don't we have a designated representative speak for Clinton and you be silent?

After the fracas ended, Tubbs Jones fielded several additional questions. Arguing that the only "fair" outcome in Florida would be for the full seating of the delegation and not for those delegates to be halved, she deflected questions as to whether the Clinton campaign's proposals were, themselves, uncompromising.

"My name is Stephanie Tubbs Jones and I am the congresswoman from the great state of Ohio, and on behalf of the Clinton campaign, we don't expect that the Obama campaign could be so generous to us to give us these 19 delegates. It is in fact more generous, and more appropriate, that all the votes be counted as they were cast. And if the votes are counted as they were cast, Senator Clinton will get much more than the Obama campaign is saying will be generous."

Within minutes the congresswoman and the press had dispersed. But a heated Davis was still strolling the halls of the Marriot Hotel. Talking to a separate reporter, he acknowledged that even if Clinton were to get everything she wanted, the likelihood remained that she would still lose the nomination.

"They can give us the full 38 delegates [the net gain of counting 100 percent of the vote] and still win," he said. "So why won't they."

Asked about the exchange with Ausman, he said: "I'm f-ing angry."

Comments

[OBXartist]

I know losing is hard, especially when you're so invested. But, jeez, Lanny Davis needs to take his medicine. The guy is blowin' a gasket on an almost daily basis.

[HotATL]

I am an African American. And no! That divide the races crap is not going to work this time.

Troll!!!

[jcandrsn]

Lanny Davis has been the sorest loser of them all. The night of the N.C. and Indiana primaries I thought he was going to have a mental breakdown live on CNN.

[mesuki]

All of Hillary's people are pissed caused they thought they had their tickets bought and paid for to the whitehouse. Lanny is as crooked they get as a lawyer for the Clintons. He deffended Bill from his sexual escapades in the whitehouse­...What a loser,he needs to go back to chasing ambulances!

[JTinParadise]

I've been telling my Hillary and John loving friends and reletives how good it will be starting 1/20/09 with Obama as POTUS. We have put up with this crap from Lanny, Harold. Nute, Carl (I could go on forever) for 14 to 16 years. After a few months of having adults in the white house, all this political mind numbing crap will start to go away. Today I think we are looked at as a joke by the reat of the world.
Whenever I watch Obama have a press conf. like the other night in South Dakota, I feel like it's 1962. I know you older BO backers know what I'm feeling.

[heal57]

I know exactly what you're feeling cause I feel it too. It's been well over 40 years and I think Obama is the first person to run for our highest office that really gives a damn about the country and its people. He doesn't have to wear a flag lapel pin either. I feel JFK's spirit. It's been a long time.

Independent for Obama '08

[SethBLiNK]

Yes, why doesn't the DNC just announce to the world that their rulings have no meaning and that every state is free to just run roughshod over them?

Considering that the DNC had to inflict some punishment on both states, counting the votes as they were cast, but reduced in power was as generous as it was going to get.

Lanny Davis has an editorial here saying that Obama and the DNC were foolish to grab those extra four delegates in Michigan, but his behavior with the Florida group shows that nothing short of a coronation would satisfy them.

[bxmask]

EXACTLY! If she cannot win enough pledged delegates to eclipse Obama, then why all the fighting and anger? Hillary is not going to exit honorably so seating the full delegation as the votes were cast only helps to drag this thing out longer than it should. All the people have spoken and Obama won the contest.

Hillary and her supporters are going to whine regardless. This was a botched process and both sides came together to make a decision. Hopefully Michigan's attempts to have a rotating primary system will be fruitful and the DNC can avoid this kind of mess in the future. It's time to put it all behind us and unite to win the general election.

[Insideout143]

Lanny is Hillary's biggest whiner.

[barackobama4prez]

Mirror Mirror on the wall....wh­o is the most whacked out Clinton supporter of them all?

[WESLEYA17]

The problem is all those in the campaign who were looking great jobs . Now they see it all going down the drain . The way the campaign blew all the funds on the idea it would all was suppose to be over after Super Tuesday. This is why it is so hard to let go. Hillary just could not think it was going to happen this way, The machine behind her told no one could beat them. WRONG so now they have to live with it and it is hard to do.

[madkey]

What Davis said is true but the DNC can only give 50% of votes anyway not matter what anybody said. The Clinton campaign has been nothing but angry and troublesome ever since she fell behind in the delegate count. she is a sore loser and no matter how you look at it she lost. What she was trying to do was come close in pledge delegates and take over the popular vote but the nominee is wins the most pledge delegates. Her only problem is Obama's name wasn't on the MI ballot and she wanted him to get no delegates as if nobody would vote for him in MI. All I know is Hillary Clinton is a big sore loser and she already demonstrated that she would be a terrible president.

[kellygrrrl]

I cannot imagine what promises were made from 09 Clinton WH.

I'd hate to have to be the one who tells the Columbians

[windwalker1984]

What about Bill's "business partners?" I bet the $$ he's now paid for speaking engagements will go down too. One of the reasons the Clintons are fighting so hard is probably because they BOTH had big plans to spin their White House leverage into mega power deals. They probably would have out Bushed the Bush White House.

[Rove]

Why 1/2, why not 3/5?

[bxmask]

That was a cheap comment. I understand where you are going with this and if you truly understood the reasons behind the 3/5 rule you would understand that it was put in place to stop Southern Slave states from getting additional electoral college votes by counting slaves in their population yet not letting the slaves vote. It was meant to dilute the strength of those slave states because they wanted additional power though everyone who would have voted under different circumstances were "discouraged" from voting. Kind of like Hillary supporters who want to count 100% of Florida votes though several Floridians may not have voted thinking that the votes would not count. Giving that election (where Clinton had more name recognition and did not have to deal with the Obama campaign juggernaught aka the Clinton margin eraser) full weight would have been a total farce and would have set a horrible precedent. Who would follow the rules if no one enforced them??

[jcandrsn]

I see what ya did there. Trying to parallel those two things treads easily into poor taste and borders on lunacy.

[Chrys]

This is so cheap, poor taste and typical of the Clintons. Funny enough you will live to always regret being a racist. Racism that the Clintons have taken as a banner is very unfortunat­e.... If she has any plan for the future comments like 3/5 should never come out again.

Unfortunate

[Sneakerface]

Is that you Karl ? Don't you have a subpoena you should be going to ?

[JR49]

And now immage if such a people like Ickes, Davis and others came with Hillary Rocky Clinton into the White House...I hope superdelegates are smarter than this.

[jackstpaul]

Davis is a lightweight.

I think of him to the Clinton's as akin to Steve Lawrence to Frank Sinatra on SNL's the "Sinatra Group" take-off on the McLauglin Group (rest Phil Hartmann's soul). "Right-o Frank!" 'You got that right Chairman!" "Anything you want Chariman!"

Hoping for a job in another Clinton admin.

[Americanium]

Any Democrat who volunteers to work for the current president does not deserve to speak for no well thinking Democrat. Lanny Davis is a Bush volunteer who is barking from the outside because the Clinton Campaign dare not use him in an official capacity because if his toxic association with Bush.

[JJeff88]

Just curious, but how much of the rancor expressed by Ickes and Davis is legitimate, and how much of it is just political posturing geared toward working the refs and feeding raw meat to the faithful?

[mairs]

I'm assuming it's all cynically crafted to disrupt moving forward, and to keep her supporters angry and feeling cheated. Otherwise they're all escaped inmates of some asylum.

[kellygrrrl]

or both

[KMan1]

Exactly, they view this as a chess game and the Clinton supporters are the pawns.

[lizr]

I'd just like to know what Clinton could possibly be thinking, dragging us all through this.

[kennedy]

Obama the liar, cheater, anti-American and racist will NEVER be anywhere near the WH.

But you can always dream and hope. After Obama is handed his butt that is all either of you will have left of his campaign.

Hillary is dragging you frauds through nothing.

You cult kids are not real DEMS.

And WE Hillary supporters want Hillary to stay in. We are supporting her all the way to the WH. But you dim wits would have no idea what it is like to back a real winner would you?Hillary has won everything in this race the hard way, working her as- off. Unlike your fancy pants Obama that has almost 100% butt kissing press coverage.

And your loser Obama has bearly kept his head afloat since the first week of March. Hillary has been rolling over Obama week after week after week after week after week after week after week after week......­..........­... In Obamas entire political life he has lied, cheated, stolen and sued to get into office.

Obama and you cult kids are the worse kind of disease on a great party. Hillary supporters will take care of that when we fumigate in November.

[sleeperd]

This is precisely what the country would face if either one of these two democrapic flakes ever gets into the presidency.

[KMan1]

Yeah we can’t risk a Dem. in office not when we can get more McCain/Bush failed policies and war.

[SeriousBlack]

I always appreciated Lanny's effective defense of the Clinton's in the late 90's during all of that brouhaha.

It's really sad to watch someone of Lanny Davis' caliber go down the tubes as they cannot either emotionally or intellectually accept the ramifications of their having bet the farm on one particular candidate, that they thought had it "in the bag". Understandable because they know that they will not be in the halls of power again, but still - pretty sad.

[metogamekun]

Were those folks ever that great, or was it just that they were all the Democrats had at the time, so they were embraced as saviors from the Reagan era?

We now have a new standard and can more properly see the true metal of the Clinton team.

[windwalker1984]

We also have the Internet so can now find out the real stories and not just the manufactured "news" they feed us. The more educated you become, the worse the Clintons look.

PS: I voted for Bill twice but have since reformed. :)