Accusations That Clinton Campaign Has Fixed Upcoming Iowa Debate

The following piece is published on Iowa Independent as well as HuffPost's OffTheBus.

As Saturday night's Brown and Black Presidential Forum in Des Moines draws near, concerns have emerged about the way it is being organized. The forum, which is the oldest minority-focused presidential debate in the country, is one of the great traditions of the Iowa Caucuses, but local activists and campaigns have been frustrated by this year's planning and execution.

The core group helping to organize the forum has been shrunk from previous years, according to Des Moines Realtor and Latino activist Joe Henry, who was involved with the forum in its early years during the 1980s and became involved again during the 2000 election cycle. Henry, who supports Sen. Barack Obama, was not invited to participate in the planning this year.

"It's pretty evident at this point that both Wayne Ford and Mary Campos -- both old friends of mine -- have undoubtedly aligned themselves with the Clinton campaign," he said, "and the smaller, the better, for that." Campos and Ford, both respected and long-standing activists, founded the forum together in 1984 and continue to operate it as co-chairs. Ford also serves in the Iowa House.

Reached for comment Thursday afternoon, the two organizers denied any allegations that they were favoring one candidate over others. "I don't think that question needs an answer," Ford said. "I am a little insulted that people would even think that," continued Campos.

Mark Daley, Iowa Communications Director for Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign, denied the accusations as well.

Still, concerns exist because of the uncharacteristic exclusivity of the planning for this year's forum.

Max Cardenas, a Hispanic entrepreneur from Des Moines, was involved in the 2004 Brown and Black Presidential Forum. He told Iowa Independent that he was invited to participate in the planning of that year's forum a month before it began. In the week preceding it, he was asked to organize one of several community-wide meetings focusing on specific issue areas that were of interest to the minority community. The meetings served as part of the build-up to to the Saturday forum, he said, and they helped to maximize the number of people involved in the discussion before questions were formulated and the forum took place. This year, he was not invited to participate, and there was no indication that any such meetings took place. "That's unfortunate," he said.

Although Cardenas admitted he had not seen "concrete evidence" that either Campos or Ford planned to endorse Sen. Hillary Clinton, he noted speculatively that "The guests of Mary Campos [who will be at the Forum with her] are co-chairs of the Clinton campaign."

Henry said he did not have concrete proof that Campos and Ford were operating the forum to the benefit of Clinton, either. But, he said, "If they weren't doing it consciously, they were doing it through reduction of size" of the group invited to participate in organizing the forum, "Kind of in an unconscious way."

"By not allowing larger or more participation, they pretty much knew what they were going to do," he continued. "It lends itself to partisan behavior."

"Both Mary and Wayne, they already know which group they are going to support... They know what is going to be the end result." Henry added, "Again, I'm not going to be surprised a day after the forum that an endorsement's going to [be announced] and they're going to support Clinton."

Aside from the concerns raised by past participants about who was included in the planning of the forum and who was excluded, three knowledgeable sources who asked to remain anonymous expressed frustration over the apparent secrecy with which tickets are being distributed. Each presidential campaign has been promised approximately 50 tickets to hand out to their supporters, the organizers say, but the auditorium at North High School in Des Moines seats more than 1,000 people. If all eight participating candidates (including Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Sen. Mike Gravel) fill all 50 of their allotted seats with supporters, that would still leave the majority of the auditorium empty. Campaigns were set to receive their allotment of tickets Thursday afternoon.

In an interview, Campos and Ford did not explain how they would fill the rest of the auditorium, nor did the organization respond to an emailed request for clarification after the interview concluded. The Brown and Black Forum's web site does not offer any information about ticket distribution to the public.

Although no sources could provide proof of who would receive the additional tickets, three sources independently speculated that they would go to Clinton supporters, a charge which the Clinton campaign denies.

But Ford and Campos would not admit to any bias. "There's no proof out there that me and Mary have ever done anything wrong," said Ford. He also noted that the forum operates as a tax-exempt 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, so it cannot endorse a political candidate. It is "completely nonpartisan and noncommittal to any party," said Ryan Ford, who acts as the forum's liason with the media. "The co-chairs ... make sure that they do not commit or do any work for any of the campaigns before the forum" for this reason, he continued.

But the organizers do plan to issue individual endorsements. "My history has always been, after the forum is over, when I have a comfortable zone, I'll make a decision," Wayne Ford said. "I plan to make a statement about who impressed me." Campos confirmed that she, too, would probably make an endorsement, but noted that "I believe we have all good candidates running."

Neither would commit to a timetable for announcing their endorsements, admitting that they could come as early as next week or as late as January 2, 2008. Both said they had not made up their minds about which candidates they might support.

For their parts, both Cardenas and Henry called the appearance of bias -- whether true or not -- "unfortunate."

"I think the Brown and Black Forum, given its national audience -- it's a great opportunity for African-Americans and Hispanics" in Des Moines, said Cardenas.

"Now other Latinos and other African-Americans are being excluded from a group that should not be discriminatory and partisan," said Henry. "It should be about the issues."

Asked why the forum has been the subject of allegations and scrutiny this year, Ford paused. "It must be a close race," he said.

Comments

[Dorian]

The Clintonistas did the same thing for our debate here in Las Vegas. Hillary supporters received most of the tickets, hence the booing that you heard on your televisions when Obama and Edwards criticized Hillary. Loyal state party contributors who support other candidates were told "no tickets available."

[longislandlol]

Not to get off the subject== anyone have some thoughts on the Obama-Bloomberg Breakfast photo-op?

[USMC1980]

What a joke. Obama is so scared of losing to Hillary, that now he has stooped to accusing her of "rigging" the Iowa elections. Look Obama, just take your beat down like a man.

[Tellmethetruth]

I am sure the readers here will enjoy a debate between Joe Biden and Guilani. The Boston Globe released this article called "The Debate You Didn't See". JOE BIDEN had the least time but the best line at last week's Democratic debate - and his barb seems to have stung Rudy Giuliani's campaign. Questioning the Republican front-runner's qualifications to be president, Biden quipped that "there's only three things he mentions in a sentence: A noun and a verb and 9/11."

Giuliani's team quickly fired back, saying the Democratic senator, known for a certain loquacity, "has never run anything but his mouth."

More sardonic sorties ensued. So in the interest of illuminating some substantive differences, today we present a virtual debate between the two. Biden's comments came in a telephone interview. Giuliani's are drawn from a Monday town hall meeting at Saint Anselm College, plus answers to questions I posed afterward.

Our first topic: Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Saying that there was a worrisome level of irrationality in Iran's leadership, the former New York City mayor said he would press hard on the diplomatic front first, but stressed: "It would be very dangerous if Iran became nuclear, and we would have to make it clear that we would not allow them to do that and that, if necessary, we would use military force to stop them." Adding that some countries would rather trade with Iran than support sanctions against it, he continued: "I think the calculus changes completely if they begin assessing the fact that we are really serious about it and that we mean it. . . I also think Iran needs to hear it."



http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/11/07/the_debate_that_you_didnt_see/

[StillAmused]

Think I'll just sit here and watch all the Clinton-bashers circle the drain. Christ, does someone in Basher Central send 'em text messages when it's time to show up in force and carp?

Takes some doing, but they actually succeed in making these threads boring. How many fuckin' times can you read "Clinton=Bush" and "they're both the same" before your eyes cross?

[hippybaby1970]

i voted for bill both times and i would not vote for another clinton. they are both cut from the same cloth. they stick their fingers in the wind to discover what their opinions should be. i don't trust people who raise equivocation to an art.

[nosanity]

I think the debate should be segregated just like in first grade , girls on the left boys on the right . Maybe then the boys could finally win a debate . vote Obama = vote Nader
ps. Al Gore george bush .... so much alike its scarry .

[IowaGirl]

Years ago I worked with Mary Campos on political issues. She is a nice, older lady who is easily maneuvered around. I can easily imagine the Hillary troops having their way with her. It is a little hard to understand why younger and savvier Latinos in the area haven't moved in to replace her efforts to represent this important voice in Iowa, but maybe Mary is still hanging in there because they have not.

If it smells like a fish, it probably is a fish. Hillary knows that voters who get to hear Obama and Edwards in person are going to be more excited by their messages than hers.

[Economike]

Jesus, that's one scary picture of Hillary. If she's going to be pulling those faces, no way am I voting for her.

[xrayman]

Why has HuffPo used this picture of Clinton? As a picture is worth a thousand words, this negative picture is worth a thousand negative words.

HuffPo continually makes Clinton look foolish while they make Obama look like he's ready for GQ.

I don't want to get off topic, but the photo used for this article is inherently part of the topic and should be commented on.

[gujarbhai]

Please listen to Chase Martyn interview below:

http://www.taylormarsh.com/taylor_marsh_live.php

Scroll down to podcast and the interview was done on Wed.

Chase talks about the black and brown forum and mentions that Obama and Richardson camp is complaining about getting tickets which seems odd to me as it is black and brown forum but nowhere in his interview he claims any charges about Clinton campaign has fixed anything.

Always check the news yourself before you trust them. Internet is great..

[DontSpin]

I want to know how the rest of the tickets are being distributed. The media needs to push these guys really hard until they answer. How are they distributing the tickets?!?!

[EyeWantOneNation]

It seems it's coming to light, more and more, that the only way a Clinton can win is to buy it or fix the results to their benifit!!

I supported Bill Clinton back in the day, but there is NO WAY I could or would support Hillary!

[dantheman]

This story has merit. The majority of the people who attended the Las Vegas debate were Clinton supporters. The crowd, however was not proportionate to the support that the candidated receive in the polls. The Clark County Democratic Party was in charge of distributing most of the tickets. Mysteriously, an overwhelming majority of those tickets went to Clinton supporters. Later that evening, I attended the Clark County Jefferson Jackson Dinner. When I went to check in, they couldn't find my name on the list. Interestingly enough, there were dozens if not hundreds of Obama supporters whose names were also left off the lists. When I pressed one of the hosts for an explanation, they said the problem was that too many people put the list together and that there were bound to be mistakes made. No apology. I still managed to get in, but only because I insisted that they do so. It took over half an hour before someone made the decision to give us a table. I thought it strange that Hillary's supporters didn't have the same problem.
This is Clinton politics at work. They will do whatever it takes to gain some type of advantage in an unlevel paying field, even if ti means gaming the system and backroom deal making. I wonder what was promised to Wayne Ford and Mary Campos that they felt that they were going to mix it up this year and allow less input from the minority communities? Clinton operates best only under highly controlled circumstances. I hope Iowans see the Clointon machine for what it is, an affront on democracy.

[gujarbhai]

Arianna: Here is news of your wonder boy Obama you would like to print for a change. It involves health care that most Americans care for and your son is making false ads in Iowa about his health care plan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/opinion/30krugman.html?_r=1&ex=1354165200&en=ab87355cd063a773&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2007/11/hillary_campaign_demands_obama_take_down_ad_accuses_him_of_false_advertising.php