February 13, 2008
Will Clinton Money Bosses Break Campaign Finance Laws? (Brent Budowsky)
Word is spreading behind the scenes that some of the largest Clinton campaign donors, with long relationships with Hillary and Bill and inter-locking relationships with the Clinton campaign, are considering massive "independent" spending campaigns.
Bad plan. As word becomes public, there will be a huge backlash and extremely grave potential legal implications.
If these folks are truly independent as defined by federal law, I will be selected by the College of Cardinals as the next Pope. Both are equally plausible.
The last thing the Clintons should be doing is anything that smacks of skirting the law, breaking the rules or manipulating the process.
I will argue to the death that the candidate who receives the most elected delegates in the primaries and caucuses should be nominated. This is true whether the winner of most elected delegates is Barack Obama or Hillary, because it is the integrity of the process and the integrity of our democracy that is on the line.
Fixing the game, gaming the system, violating commitments of honor — these are the old tactics of the old politics that the nation rejects. The incredible outpouring from Democrats and independents is a precious gift that presages a potential landslide.
America does not need old bosses, new bosses or money bosses who disrespect the people as they disrespect the rules.
It is a tale of two cities: the revolutionary and gigantic surge of small donors that Barack brings to the system and the party, versus those tempted to try to buy another election by breaking another rule and violating another trust, which will inflame a majority of Democrats and help elect a Republican president.
This is the year when the people are right, the politicians are wrong, the rules should be honored and the bosses are yesterday's news using yesterday's schemes.
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Brent;
Again, another well said article.
Comment by Mike Coleman — February 13, 2008 @ 12:54 pm
EARMARKS
I am fed up with it.
Does anyone understand the priorities.
15-18 Billion in Earmarks.
3000B Budget
Less than 1%.
Pentagon wastes that much many times
Pentagon Fraud.
Medicare Fraud.
Go Big Bucks.
Do not give me the nonsense each dollar counts.
Effort to save 10 same as saving one is different.
TOP DOWN.
Spend effort TOP DOWN
It Congress does not understand they can buy my Video program–
TOP DOWN COST REDUCTION–
Spend $10 to save $1 or$100
I have seen many many cases of such waste of effort.
clarenceswinney@bellsouth.net
Comment by clarence swinney — February 13, 2008 @ 1:42 pm
Brent: You keep peeling back the layers of the onion revealing an out of touch political party who states one policy in public while another policy exists in reality. The Democrats have a stated policy of embracing diversity and racial equality for decades only to turn their backs on it when it really counts. The Grapes of Math are coming back to haunt the Democratic Party for creating their own fiasco in terms of Michigan and Florida. Frankly, I'm kind of enjoying watching the Democrats head for a certain type of oblivion. If the puppet masters in the party get their way and Obama goes down it should be interesting. Obama could become a third party candidate supplicated by Bloomberg. The results of that could be riotous.
Comment by Robert Rosencrans — February 13, 2008 @ 3:16 pm
I sure hope the media or someone takes hold of this potential problem and exposes it to the voters well in advance of the Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania (large delegate states).
I'm still fuming about New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. NH and Nevada were just before the vote by dirty tactics and distortions of Obama helped them win (don't take my word for it - check it out), and in SC, their new ad which appeared only for one day about Obama supporting Reagon, was ordered off the air by the DNC (this backfired on them and created AA's to take a second look at the Clinton's and their willingness to do anything to win.
I believe it is a mistake to count the Clinton's out. They will use their unmatchable political machine to create something — use swiftboating Obama just prior to the March 4 primary.
I live in Texas and I'm working hard for Obama up to minute as are enormous numbers of supporters.
Obama, our next President of the UNITED States of America.
Comment by SharonAustinTX — February 13, 2008 @ 4:43 pm
Once again - very well said, but there may be a little too much wishful thinking here.
You aren't going to convince any of these people by an appeal to what is right. The only thing that will stop them is a high probablility that they will be caught and run out of the beltway in disgrace.
Oops! I forgot, after 8 years of Republican leadership, the word disgrace no longer has any meaning.
Comment by GM Pierce — February 13, 2008 @ 6:32 pm
Well said. And your comments on Randi Rhodes' Air America radio show today were too. The DNC, DSCC and DCCC had better break their bubble quickly.
The Democrats who voted for retroactive telecom immunity & to maintain POTUS choice over the Constitution and statutes regarding citizens' rights will see themselves put out of office. Instead of standing tough on the Constitution and the rule of law, they put POTUS above the law again. This is a very bad year to do that.
We plain vanilla voters [aka the Little Guys] know that the current POTUS' actions in abrogating law and Constitution must not go unpunished in all possible respects.
I'm disabled, but I donated to the Edwards campaign to help restore the rule of law. Now I'll donate to Obama to help force him to do the same.
Hillary's campaign is a disaster because it's about Bill's time and her time in the WH. But the 1996 telecom act that Bill signed has changed the media & political landscape so that it is plain to more and more that Hillary is just another DC establishment figure, not an agent of change. Even if she might become one in the WH, nothing in her campaign will change the actions she has and has not taken.
No MSM seems to have picked up as important that both Osama and HRC did not vote to stop retroactive telecom immunity. However, together with her failure to read the intel report before voting for the Iraq force authorization even though former Sen. Graham of had made his vote known which should have alerted the DEMS that there was something fishy in the briefings she received.
DC should start remembering that voters' memories last right up to the seat holder's next election and they should be scared.
And that's another set of reasons why HRC & the SuperDelegates better do nothing until the Convention. They risk alienating their own base + the disgruntled GOP & independents.
Comment by Brett Greisen — February 13, 2008 @ 7:22 pm
The fact that everyone expects Hillary to go nuclear on Obama just underscores the type of person she is. It's time for the Clintons to retire!
Comment by Zoey — February 14, 2008 @ 12:10 am
Barack is bigger than Elvis, man. I don't think it can be denied to him.
He's built a great team, has made few mistakes, inspires the best within us, and is a true leader risen up from among us by the demands of the times.
Isn't that what we all want?
Rosencrans, your dreamin" if you think your lookin' at the end of the Democratic Party.
Happy days are almost here again!!!
Comment by Smilinjack — February 14, 2008 @ 12:37 am