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Hillary Wants [at Least] a First Ballot Vote at the Convention
A news story Saturday in the New York Daily News stuck pretty much to the headline, "Hillary Clinton Asks Not to be Nominated at Democratic National Convention." Wrong. Her supporters say, as they've been saying for months, "Not so fast," and claim that Hillary has asked no such thing. I wrote about the Daily News story and the reaction of one of her supporters Friday.
Since then a You Tube video, taken at a cocktail hour, retire-Hillary's debt "Unity" event at the home of a major supporter in Los Altos Hills, California, has been getting plenty of hits. The video bears watching and re-watching, not only to understand the words, but also to read the body language and the tenor of the group of well-dressed, well-spoken, and not-anywhere-near-ready-to-concede women who peppered Hillary with questions.
The event was co-hosted by some of Silicon Valley's biggest Obama backers, but if there were any Obama backers on the patio of Lorraine Hariton's home--Hariton was spokeswoman for WalkAMileInOurShoes.org that mobilized Hillary backers to deliver shoes to the DNC headquarters in Washington to protest the exclusion of voters in Florida and Michigan, and urged superdelegates to support "the stronger candidate [i.e. Hillary] with a more certain win of the General Election"
(McCain surrogate Carly Fiorina, who has been wooing disenchanted Hillary backers, also lives in Los Altos Hills but was not in attendance.)
The women urged Hillary to allow her name to be put in nomination. One woman asked the senator from New York what she would do if, when the roll call was completed, Hillary actually won by a "narrow margin." Hillary responded, "That is not going to happen, not going to happen." She seemed to say the right things about Obama--"I've made it very clear that I'm supporting Sen. Obama."
But Hillary also seemed to encourage that woman and the others to push for "Hillary Clinton" to be placed in nomination; she told them that her delegates don't need her permission for there to be a roll call vote that included the names of both Clinton and Obama. "I think delegates can decide to do this on their own," she said. "They don't need permission."
Hillary twice used the word "catharsis."
"Look, what we want to have happen is for Sen. Obama to be nominated by a unified convention of Democrats....The best way...I think to do that is to have a strategy so that my delegates feel like they've had a role and that their legitimacy has been validated....It's as old as Greek drama. There is a catharsis. Everybody comes...to yell and scream....Then, okay, great, now let's go out and win." She did not say, at that point, "Let's go out and win for Obama."
When a woman who identified herself as "a proud delegate of yours," said she wants to be able to vote for Hillary "on the first ballot," adding that she wants to "let everybody know that there are a lot of delegates who have signed a petition...to put Hillary's name on the ballot," Hillary smiled at the hearty applause and said, "I think you can understand I don't have total control over this."
A minute earlier she told her supporters, "I think it would be better if we had a plan that actually we put in place and everybody knew what it was and then we executed it....I think that would go more smoothly. And so I hope that's what we come up with, some kind of strategy."
That sounds like Hillary--a woman who doesn't like to leave much to chance.
Hillary friend and financial backer, San Franciscan Susie Tompkins Buell, lunched with Hillary earlier that day. She will probably never be sold on Obama; she describes him as short on legislative achievement and long on ruthlessness. "As we are seeing and learning more and more about him and what he has not done for any legislation and what he did to get so far, it makes it harder to accept this. Buell wrote in an email to me that over lunch she looked at Hillary and thought, "Why not her, why him?" She described Hillary as "resolved and jok[ing] and pondering. She was giving us all a boost....She is so gracious and doing all she can to unite the party but so many of us can simply not go there yet. We are waiting to see HIM unite the party. He is not doing that at all and as a matter of fact, it is now the opposite that he is doing."
Buell, whom I have written about often and who was an important source for my biography of Bill Clinton's post presidency, made the big time Sunday, when Maureen Dowd wrote, "Before the Obama campaign even had a chance to denounce Ludacris, one of the rappers on the senator's iPod, Hillary Inc. started to mobilize. Susie Tompkins Buell ... told the New York Observer that Obama had to distance himself, given [hip-hop star] Ludacris's new song rooting for Obama to "paint the White House black" and calling Hillary the b-word."
Buell is particularly offended that Obama is "not even considering Hillary for VP," which she calls "such poor judgment....It seems careless to not want the strongest person possible to fill your shoes should something happen. Who is this Gov. Kaine [Tim Kaine of Virginia]? Seems like he is a lure for dissatisfied republicans to come to Obama. It also alienates women further for him to discount Hillary."
Buell signed her email, "Sadder than ever."
And so the Greek drama, as Hillary put it, continues.
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She claims her supporters are "18 million strong". Did she not comprehend Rush Limbaugh's call to disrupt the democratic primary? How many of those who voted for her were really Republicans trying to throw a wrench into the works of our election? OPERATION CHAOS is still very much alive and well. Limbaugh is calling for Republicans to disrupt the Democrat National Convention in Denver. Could it please Limbaugh and his cronies any more to hear that Hillary herself is doing her part to help them tear us apart and ensure that McCain gets the Whitehouse in November? Allowing her voter's voices to "be heard" when the primary election already determined that Barrack won is tantamount to handing the election to McCain on a silver platter.
Hillary and these so-called women are playing with fire. The rules are the rules. She ran and lost. Stop your threats. Hillary will do what the DNC tells her to do. The Clintons do not own the Party. This is about the country, not them.
The Clinton's are only allowed to remain in the news because of media spin. Americans have seen the light. Let them keep digging their own hole. Maybe this time they will stay in it. Leave room for buddy Mccain.
As far as I am concerned, I was not aware that THE CLINTONS had an entitlement to the presidency, out of millions of Americans.
THIS IS A SILLY ELECTION SEASON.
THE CLINTONS are not the only ones that can run a country. Helloooo, Someone please inform them. Anyone, someone,..............
Oh, Father Fledger was right..........Hill thought this is mine.............
PUMAs,
This election is not about Hillary or Obama.
It is about something much bigger than these two: it is about the future of our country. With McCain as president, disaster is staring at us all.
The last 8 years, have they not been bad enough for you, PUMAs? Do you want more of the same?
The DNC should give Hillary a first ballot vote at the convention!
The pledged delegates and super delegates will vote one more time. Hillary will lose even more badly this time around. This will prove to her and her PUMAs once and for all, that they are utterly delusional. Hopefully that will shut them up for good.
Meanwhile, Obama should announce his choice for VP to:
1/ Consolidate his position.
2/ Give the electorate a VP that is eminently superior to Hillary Clinton in every way: someone well known, well respected, smart, and likable; that person is Joe Biden, IMHO.
We'll drag Obama across the finish line if we have to.
Hiilary should know that if Obama loses to McCain, her name in the democratic party is mud.
and Bill's speechifying fees will shrink and dry up.
You right.
I honestly b elieve she will get less votes at the convention if pledged and super delegates vote. They wil not allow the CLINTONS to mess up the party. Trust me on this one.
And if O loses, she will pay politically. Bill to.
By the way HilBill's behaviour has assured us that she cannot and will not win the presidency. They can't without votes from African AMericans, men, independents etc.
It's like the Clintons want to hold the Democrats hostage at the Convention unitl she gets what she wants!! She's not going to get the nomination, and she's not getting the VP slot!!!
And please spare me with the " we are 18 million strong" defense. A significantly large portion of those voters are in support of Obama. It seems as though the closer we get to the Convention, there are still people determined to ruin any chance of Obama winning the general election just for the mere fact that Clinton lost.
It's so sad that there are still people determined to repeat 4 more years of Bush policies rather than see real progress in this country become a reality.
There are moments when people reveal themselves so beautifully. And it just - tickles me.
Susie Tompkins Buell was "lunching". Of course she was. That's what she does.
And she was criticizing Obama for being "short on legislative achievement and long on ruthlessness". While sitting across the table from the women who epitomizes "short on legislative achievement and long on ruthlessness". And the irony of the situation totally escaped her.
Hillary courted the "low information" voter heavily. No wonder. She knows them so well. Even lunches with them. I bet she even made sure Susie picked up the tab. And Susie probably thanked her for the honor.
Ok what we do is work harder...We must find some way to end this circus of fools.
At one time I could have gone along with Hillary as Veep, if it would help Obama. But NO! I want that woman gone...out of our misery. She is manuvereing herself into turning the convention into chaos, Obama's speech into a farce...I want Hillary Clinton and her husband and her harpies GONE. I am sick of her and them. Puma's Away!
Half of the BS that Obama is going through now is her blathering mouth. Wow if she starts something in Denver, she better win or she will be mud in DC and NY.
"Ruthless and short on legislative achievement..."
Who fits that description more - Obama or Hillary? If you don't believe me, maybe you should pay attention to the RNC playing an ad which has Clinton calling her party's candidate less qualified than the Republican. Nice job, Hillary.
"Why not her, why him?"
Um...b/c he won the primary.
Why would he not elect the strongest candidate for VP?
First, not everyone thinks she would be the strongest. Also, one of the perks of winning is getting to pick who you want to be your running mate. Finally, Kaine could deliver Virginia, Obama already has New York. As an additional bonus, Kaine doesn't have a husband with shady business deals and library donors which he won't make public and who is nursing a wounded ego.
Chuck Todd just stated that Hillary's supporters were "led to believe" that she had more support than she did, and if she goes for a nomination vote, she will lose by more than she did the first time.
Finally, someone telling it like it is.
Yep I heard that too! He also said the primary for HRC was over by February 19 and she had maybe a 1 in 10 chance of ever winning the nomination. The MSM also played a role in her and her supporters disillusions and it is really sad that they were not watching the same numbers as most people with logic have.
Yet, even with all that being true, she spent the next four months bashing Obama, running up $23 million in debt, fanning the flames of FL/MI voters against the DNC on a ruling her camp played a part in, and attempting to cast the Democratic Primary results as a fraud.
Yeah, why wouldn't we want her on the ticket?
And all this strategy in the name of selflessly seeking to sooth her supporters??
Doesn't she realize that even by talking about it in public, she has given those people who still support her the glimmer of hope that they can change things going forward. The women who put their hearts and souls into her election are surely reading her lips and are hearing "We Can Do It!" They dream of placing her name into Nomination, Hillary becoming the Candidate of Choice, Obama is told to go home and - voila - SHE will be swept into the White House in November!
When she said that it's "not going to happen", [that she would become the candidate by placing her name into nomination] her supporters aren't believing her. They're starry-eyed and full of hope right now, but when the charade is done and Obama is indeed the Nominee, how are they going to feel then? I doubt it would be described as "cathartic".
If she proceeds with this idea, she risks staining her legacy for good. To future generations, she will be seen as a divisive personality who was a sore loser. That she wasn't happy until she brought the Democratic party down, and in doing so, a terrible disservice to the American people. Knowing it was she, who helped elect another Bush-clone to the highest office, when that is truly the last thing this country needs right now won't help her sleep at night.
It's typical Clinton. All she has to say is, "Your voices have been heard when you cast your votes for me, and I thank you. But that time is over, and our nominee is Barack Obama and you would have to be crazy not to give him your full support. Everything I stood and fought for, he believes in and supports. John McCain is not your friend, and don't you for a minute let him fool you into thinking he is."
Rather, we get the Clintonian, "I'm for Obama, but you guys can do whatever you want. The main thing is that your voices are heard..." You can almost hear the "wink, wink" in that statement.
very well said.
What is disgraceful, is many of Hillary's wealthy supporters along with the media, carry on as if all this political maneuvering is just sport. She is sabotaging Obama on purpose. The media is foaming at the mouth just talking about all the different scenarios that could play out at the convention. For the MSM they see ratings and revenue.
I believe that she along with the higher ranking GOP members (Rove included) have conspired to bring Obama down. McCain gets this round, followed by Hillary. Both McCain and Hillary get to wear the crown, Wall Street and the corporate special interest groups maintain control of the government, and as for us - we're pushed further down the economic ladder. But I guess that is okay with many of us because as long as we have our beer, our religion, and our reality shows then we should count ourselves lucky. Welcome to the last days of Rome.
I don't believe this is a "catharsis." I believe this is a call for disruption at the convention. We can all see the writing on the wall. Any 5-year-old can see this. This whining and bickering really is starting to get me really annoyed. I cannot stand that we even still consider her viable anymore. Please for the sake of this country's future lets not lose focus on who the REAL nominee is for the DNC. We should ONLY be focusing on getting O into the WH Jan. 2009. Let the detractors talk among themselves. I don't know about you but I have better things to do than try to continue to soothe a bunch of sore losers.
I heard an analogy by Chuck Todd when Tim Russert was still with us (rest his soul), and he said, something to the effect that during the election of the house and senate in 2006, the MSM should have realized that WJC and HRC was no longer an importance to the DNC. I think he meant the democratic party took over the senate and the house WITHOUT the help of the C's.
I ask again for us all to please stay focused, too much is riding on this election!
The only thing these women, and Senator Clinton with her tacit approval of them, accomplish is to provide ammunition for those who mistakenly believe a woman is too emotional to be President. Senator Clinton's campaign has set back by years a woman's chance to be President.
New Yorkers -- Remember this. HRC is a continuing disruptive, divisive, toxic influence for the Democratic Nominee, whose window for preparation for an early Convention was cut short by her refusal to concede until the New York delegation forced her to do so. The bills racked up by a month of narcissistic refusal to concede -- remain UNPAID by her "supporters."
New Yorkers, YOU are her platform. Make your voices heard -- again -- as you did when the dean of the New York delegation and her sponsor, Charlie Rangel D-NY, announced from here in NYC her race was OVER...or his career would have been OVER.
New Yorkers polled today indicated 75% of NYS residents choose Senator Obama over John McCain (25%) (Hillary's validated candidate). Our Junior Senator is once again NOT representing our interests and more focused on her/her husband's various, undisclosed AGENDA(s).
New Yorkers, majority Democrats, need to STOP Hillary Clinton - once again. Stop being LEVERAGED for this narcissitic and destructive gaming of our Convention, Nominee and futures -- New Yorkers!
Then, as quickly as we can, let's put Clinton Inc. on a bus South, i-95 -- to ARKANSAS!
You are not speaking for me. A registered democrat since 1968. She and Schumer have been better Senators than any in my memory. Yes, I live in western New York and we never saw a sitting Senator in this area until Schumer was elected. Hillary took a page out of his book, and we are better for it.
Exactly what is Hillary's point in trying to push for a vote?
I think she wants bargaining power right now; I think she is still cognizant that something could happen to make Obama's campaign implode--who knows? Perhaps she and bill know something the rest of us don't--but I think she'll stop short of an actual roll call b/c too many of her delegates have migrated to Obama and her total will be much lower than she wants. That would be embarrassing. On the other hand, she might lost control of her most committed and angry supporters.
Bargain for what? The Veep slot?
Hillary Clinton is, with her husband, trying to DIVIDE the Party proactively - and HOPING SOMETHING HAPPENS.
Unfortunately, if the unthinkable happens via her actions or otherwise, SHE will not benefit. The millions who have carried BOTH the DNC and Senator Obama's Campaign, financially are solidly AGAINST her thanks to her own conduct and that of her husband.
Again, SHE will not benefit. That's the price she pays as blatent spoiler and/or somehow hoping against hope the decision of the majority of Democrats is somehow overturned.
"I think she wants bargaining power right now; I think she is still cognizant that something could happen to make Obama's campaign implode--who knows? Perhaps she and bill know something the rest of us don't"
Unfortunately the Clinton's still underestimate Mr. Obama even after Hillary lost the primary. I think they are still letting their ego's dictate their reason. The only thing they are continuing to do currently is further tarnish their legacy and give the Republican party a better chance in November.
"but I think she'll stop short of an actual roll call b/c too many of her delegates have migrated to Obama and her total will be much lower than she wants."
I hope it happens to be honest. I think some of her supporters need to have a bit of reality slapped in their face to realize that there is something bigger at stake this election than the Clintons.
"On the other hand, she might lost control of her most committed and angry supporters."
I think Hillary and Bill are in total control right now. The mixed comments they have been making is only encouraging their supporters to react the way they are.
Carol,
Hillary Clinton stayed in the race and got herself in financial trouble by waiting for something to happen to Obama...have you read about his organization? You think it will fall apart or that he has a mistress somewhere?
This is about Hillary and Bill thinking they were the best thing since sliced bread...then comes this new guy...oh he is older then Bill was, but still a big nothing compaired to the Clintons (so their ego says). And he beat them both.
Hillary is just looking angry and jealous. If she and her husband wants any legacy, she better get her adult on and suck it up...and Bill Clinton better put a smile on and become a cheerleader for Obama.
Bargaining power for what? She lost, she and her husband have shown themselves to be self-absorbed, divisive figures, worthy only of being shunned. She has set back the women's movement by years with this attitude that she and only she, leads all women. She has forgotten the sacrifices of the Bella Abzug's, Pat Schroeder's, Barbara Jordan's. Instead, Hillary arose fully grown to save us all from something. I, for one, am sick and tired of this sense of entitlement and the petulant jumping up and down demanding attention. I am 54 years old and have fought many of the same battles she did and thanked those who came before me. She plays the victim but believes she is entitled to power and must have it handed to her. Frankly, she needs to be shown the door, along with her husband.
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Posted August 3, 2008 | 06:30 PM (EST)