Shorter version:

Dear Madame Speaker,

Believe and say what we tell you to believe and say or else.

Sincerly,

Money

Hahahaha, okay, so this is what the letter says:

"Millions of voters have yet to have their voices heard, so don't dare say that we will have to abide by their voices once they vote, because we'll cut off funding if you do"

Yes, they are using voters as an excuse to disenfranchise voters. Which is much in keeping with their overall strategy of hijacking the vote, while pretending to care about the voters. If you'd like to read my more extensive comments on their hypocrisy, you can here:

http://www.thepersonalispolitical.com/2008/03/hillarys-only-path-to-nomination.html

Anybody want to take bets on whether this letter would have been written if the situation were reversed and Hillary led in the Delegate count (instead of nothing)?

Place your bets here!

It must suck to be a big donor to a political party, expecting to curry a bunch of favors and whatnot, only to have this newfangled invention called "the interwebs" come along and make you completely insignificant.

Hey Pelosi - one million individual donors. $100 each. And we're just getting started.

Balls back in your court, Bob Johnson. Can I get a wha-wha?

I'm getting a little tired of HRC's argument that she's staying in for the selfless reason of honoring the desire of people in the remaining states to vote. Since when has there been a vested right to vote in a national primary? Yes, if a vote is held, you have a right to vote, but what is the source of this notion that everyone, everywhere must have an opportunity to vote on the nominee? If that's going to be the new standard, I guess primary season is going to last a full year from here on out. Good news for the media, bad news for all the rest of us.

If you won't let our friend Hillary win, we'll stomp our feet, take our money, and leave... Waaaaaaaa. -Clinton Donors
Could we kill two birds with one stone this year? Could we get rid of both the Clintons and the scum that follows them around with money to gain influence and power? I sure hope so. If only they had left address, we could tell them where they could stick their money.

So this is blatant extortion from Clinton donors to the Democratic Party.

Big donors having a tantrum, holding breath, stamping feet, and bellowing through tears:

"Where. Is. the. Candidate. We. Bought?"

Life's hard sometimes.

Sinbad wants everyone to know where his money goes. Check it out, Pelosi. Do you really want to turn off the Sinbad spigot?

Sinbad/Clinton '08 - Some people who have a lot of money are mad that they threw all of their money away on an ineffectual, unpleasant candidate

It's like a 400-foot neon sign with HRC's picture on it and the words "BOUGHT AND PAID FOR" flashing beneath it.

Just another flank of the Clinton campaign's "last throes" assault. I was truly struck by how much Hillary is beginning to resemble George Bush. The same stubborn refusal to accept reality. The preference for magical thinking and "truthiness". The same indifference to popular will.

Will Clinton treat her party as Bush has treated the soldiers? As a throwaway that's expendable in her quest for "larger goals"?

I would fully support Clinton if she stayed in the race, so long as she was using that time to fight for issues she believes in. But staying in under some stupid assumption that Obama can be brought down with slime and delegate poaching is not only self-destructive, but will help another incompetent Republican run roughshod over our country's common interests.

Another $100 for Barack's campaign...in honor of Nancy Pelosi.

Hmmmm...yes.

And the envelope was sealed with wax and a brass knuckle imprint.

Yeesh. These tactics are almost comical.

Dear Marc Aronchick, Clarence Avant, Susie Tompkins Buell, Sim Farar, Robert L. Johnson,
Chris Korge, Marc and Cathy Lasry, Hassan Nemazee, Alan and Susan Patricof, JB Pritzker,
Amy Rao, Lynn de Rothschild, Haim Saban, Bernard Schwartz,Stanley S. Shuman, Jay Snyder, Maureen White and Steven Rattner:

F*ck you. F*ck you very much.

Yet another reason NOT to vote for Hillary, for the good of the Party.

"We have been strong supporters of the DCCC."

We won't give you $$$ anymore unless you support our candidate.

This is why, if by some chance Hillary emerges as the nominee, I will leave the party for good. Oh, I'll vote for Hillary I suppose, but as I'm pulling the lever I'll be hoping for the Democratic Party to go the way of the Whigs and be replaced by something much better.

As it stands now, it wouldn't take much.

I feel the uncontrollable urge to donate to Obama right now. Yes, I think that will do just fine.

1. private letter?

2. where have we hear this before?

Super-delegates, like all delegates, have an obligation to make an informed, individual decision about whom to support and who would be the party’s strongest nominee.

3. Nancy, in the nicest possible way, please tell them to kiss your ass.

Shorter Clinton: I wanna be Madame President, and if you don't nominate me I'll take all the toys home with me.

I wasn't crazy about either Clinton or Obama (both are a bit too conservative for my taste), but I'm less impressed with Clinton every time she or her supporters pulls this kind of sh*t. I'll probably need a breath mask to vote for her if she should be nominated.

Here they go- the attempt to steal the election in on. The only difference is that Hillary is trying to stay above the fray by using her "donors."

Its stealing the election either way.

Hmm. Can we find their addresses and write them back?

"We therefore urge you to clarify your position on super-delegates and reflect in your comments a more open view to the optional independent actions of each of the delegates at the National Convention in August."

So not only should you tell the Super-Delegate to ignore the number of states won by Obama, his lead in the pledged delegate count and his lead in the popular vote, you should also make it clear to every pledged delegate that they are free to change their vote and should consider doing so.

No, not more money to the Obama campaign. It's time to send money to the DNC. What if folks start making $25 contributions and say: There's more where this comes from, especially if you get rid of these fat cats who are trying to hold our party hostage?

I guess (Hillary endorser) Maria Cantwell and the gov. of Tennessee can expect their angry letters soon, too. How dare they suggest the superdelegates follow the will of the voters!

I wonder who leaked the letter -- Pelosi or the bundlers

The sad part about this is that they think things like this aren't going to get out in the media and backfire.

I got news for you folks: inside politics doesn't remain inside for long these days. If you don't want to look like douchebags to your constituents, don't pull crap like this.

It's such a frustrating thing when something called "democracy" gets in the way of your control.

Poor little babies are have their power threatened. They will stomp and pout and hold their breath until they turn blue. The plutocracy is threatened!!!

Yup, count me in on another contribution to Obama's campaign.

I say we take a broom and sweep out the trash.

Are these people responsible for the "impeachment is off the table" catastrophe? Did they threaten Pelosi then too?

Extortion is the word to sum up this letter. The money bag holders seem to think they should run this party and the party's leadership must answer to them.

This is just another slimeball pulled out of Clinton's kitchen sink strategy. Maybe she picked it up from her new pal Richard Mellon Scaife.

I guess CHANGE really is scary -- on many levels.

I'm sure most have seen this, if not, enjoy...a few seconds of an ad precede the clip.
Hillary's Inner Tracy Flick
http://slatev.com/player.html?id=1377935786

My letter to Nancy Pelosi (with my permission to copy, xerox, adapt as any of you may see fit to do).

Dear Ms. Pelosi,

I read in the news today that you received a letter from several donors to the Hillary Clinton campaign urging you to “clarify your position on super-delegate,” preferably in a way that suggests that super-delegates should not give any weight to the pledged delegate and popular vote lead.

I too have been a strong supporter of the DCCC. I have shown that support not through huge donations of money, but with time canvassing, phone banking and yes giving money when I could afford to do so. I am one of the millions of people who made a small donation to the Obama campaign and have made small donations to Democrats in the past. I can’t afford seats at big dollar fundraisers and I can’t afford a big fancy lobbyist, but you and the other party leaders cannot afford to ignore the collective voice of Democrats.

What these donors are suggesting is both distasteful in its whiff of influence peddling and potentially disastrous in terms of party unity and energy this fall.

Thank you for speaking out strongly in favor of respecting the will of the voters on your March 16th appearance on This Week. I hope you will continue to speak out in favor of a fair, democratic and transparent process.

This list of people is a shocking example of who owns the Clintons. No wonder it has been so hard to tax hedge funds when the Clintons are in these peoples' pockets. Obey us or we take our meony away. Shame on them. The Clintons are even more out of touch than I thought.

I guess this means that Richardson was right in announcing his support of Obama, right?
He was simply using independent judgment after all.

OK, Can someone now please send a letter to Pelosi berating her for taking impeachment off the table?

"We therefore urge you to clarify your position on super-delegates and reflect in your comments a more open view to the optional independent actions of each of the delegates at the National Convention in August.."

These "major" supporters aren't just talking about superdelegates exercising their options, they are talking about pledged delegates too.

What a load of hooey!

1) "Several states and millions of Democratic voters have not yet had a chance to cast their votes. We respect those voters and believe that they... have a right to be heard."

2) "optional independent actions of each of the delegates"

Well, which is it Hillary gazillionaires?

Or are we supposed to be so confused as to buy both at once?

1. Wait until all the primaries have occurred.
2. Support the intended purpose of the superdelegates, their independence.

Only in the minds of Obamites is that a threat or extortion. To the rest of the world it's about due process.

The real nomination process is just about to begin. Get your popcorn and have a seat. Bwahahaha.

I don't think Nancy likes to be told what to do.

Unlike Hillary, she's the real deal.

The irony is almost too overwhelming. A bunch of donors write to Nancy Pelosi and claim to be "speaking for" voters by demanding that she stop telling super delegates to listen to voters, and claiming the authority to do so because they donate a lot of money.

There's something really wacky about claiming the right to speak on behalf of voters on account of the fact that you donate so much money.

It is extortion. No doubt.

But, this is the essence of the entire battle. The race between Hillary and Obama has always at the core been about Big Money vs. The Grassroots. It's why Hillary is fighting so hard. She is their candidate. If she loses, they lose. Now (Thanks to Greg) it is more out in the open. Good.

A lot of us already knew the battle lines. Hopefully, this gets some attention in the press so more people can see the vileness associated with Big Money.

Insults used as blackmail. Super delegates came about for a purpose...if you didn't like it you should have said so at the time. Not at the time they are to do what they were created to do. They don't represent "independents or republican cross overs" voting in the dem primaries, they represent the democratic party. It's the way it's supposed to operate no matter who they may favor. If you disagree with their function then join the party and get rid of them for the next primary election because they are there for this one.

I hate watching a desperate campaign flail around. This gets more ham-handed by the hour.

Excellent distillation of the issue!

Way to go getting the big money influence out of politics Hill!

As I read it, the big dollar HRC donors won't be able to donate their way around HRC's certain negative impact on down ticket Dems if she's the Dem candidate in November. It's Obama's coattails we need, and the better trade off for Pelosi is to ignore this silly threat and ensure that the Congressional races are as favorably positioned as possible. And why is there any reason to believe that Obama's fundraising capacity can't be turned to bringing in loads of small donations or the DCCC once he is the nominee? We're better off without HRC and her big-dollar supporters.

"The people deserve to have their voices heard! How dare you suggest that the people's voices actually matter!!"

It is far too long to repost, so if anyone wants to read my full breakdown of this latest shameless example of Hillary's attempt to hijack the democratic process you can read it here:

http://www.thepersonalispolitical.com/2008/03/new-tactic-attack-and-extort.html

Excellent, we can't let Pelosi and Reid steal this election by denying Florida and Michigan and giving us a candidate who is sure to lose. Hillary is our only chance. Obama is radio active now since his assocation with a racist hate cult has been exposed.

Hmm, isn't Pelosi a Super delegate? And therefore can't she exersize her judgement about the role of Supers? And isn't she free to say whatever the f*** she wants about anything she wants to? I hope this letter tips her into an outright endorsement of Obama. Wish I could vote for her (maybe a VP slot?)

It's interesting that the letter was leaked. It's clear to me that someone wants this out in the public domain. Who was it that said sunlight is the best sterilization?

Someone once said about Senator Obama that the current power structure will fight hard to hold on to thier position, and that he represents a threat to them. This letter clearly demonstrates that some people are getting very nervous.

From before Clinton "announced," I have believed that there was no way, none, that she could possibly win the general election. Since late February, when Obama conclusively demonstrated his viability, I have wanted Clinton to withdraw. And I believe that the last several weeks of "kitchen sink" flailing have demonstrated beyond doubt that Clinton is not staying in primarily for the Democrats, but rather for herself.

(Of course, it takes a heapin' helpin' of arrogance for anyone to be a politician; duly noted.)

But to criticize a leader of the Democratic party for, heaven forfend, trying to, you know, lead her party, strikes me as totally absurd.

I don't know what beef Pelosi and Clinton have with each other, but it's clearly deeply held, don't you think?

Doesn't it make you mad? I fail to understand why two dozen wealthy people have the gaul to put pressure on NANCY PELOSI to decide what to say to her party. Do they think they are better than the MILLIONS of democrats who donated to Obama? THIS IS LUDICROUS! We, MILLIONS of Obama supporters should sign an internet letter to Pelosi stating that she should keep her word and better yet urge superdelegates to go for Obama sooner, rather than later. We obviously are bigger in number of supporters and dollar amount given to the democrats. Our voice is much bigger than that of a dozen wealthy donors. This is a new day in politics and the internet have made the voices of small donors stronger than the few wealthy!

Yeah but the hispanic swing effect is greatly lessened if, say, a lot of black people or young people or young black people or college students, etc show up to vote for Obama.

This is what her supporters did in Florida.

Basically they said, seat the delegates as is, or give us back all the money we've given to the DNC.

Add that to the Michigan revote that was to be paid by big Clinton donors, and you can come to your own conclusion about what she's trying to do.

Ok, i'll say it, she's trying to blackmail the Democratic party in order to win the nomination.

Yeah but the hispanic swing effect is greatly lessened if, say, a lot of black people or young people or young black people or college students, etc show up to vote for Obam

That's certainly what happened here in Dallas County during the primary.

It's anyone's guess what happens in the general, though I have a pretty damn good idea what will happen here - Obama will win the county. Of course, Kerry won the city in '04 and just barely missed winning the county. But Obama will take Dallas County in November if he is the nominee. If it's Hilary, I honestly don't know. I'm not making that up, either - I can't call it. She might take the suburbs.

My response is that I just donated to the DCCC.

This letter is disgusting. Not only do they think their money buys Hillary Clinton, they think it buys the whole party. Same thing when Dean was threatened with having to give DNC money back. Obama's going the right way. Get money from the people. Not these big money donors with swollen heads and illusions of grandeur.

There are millions of us will never support Obama after his racial shenanigans and association with "Rev" Wright. *IF* he gets the nomination, we will work to defeat him. We must repudiate racial politics from our party. 28% of Hillary supporters will NEVER vote for Obama. Greatness can come from defeat.

Translation: We bought her, please don't break her.

Speaker Pelosi,

Don’t let these bastards intimidate you!

Would they be writing this if the shoe was on the other foot? Of course not.

And seriously, who gives more money to Democrats?
Is it these 20 bozos whose donations are concentrated in the hands a very few self-serving and obviously entitled and arrogant people?

Or is it the millions raised from grassroots /netroots activists?

Seriously.

Who actually has given more to the party, the presidential candidates and the people running for Congress & the Senate?

Top donors or individuals?

As soon as these same bozos started threatening Howard Dean a couple of weeks ago – implying they’d either withhold or ask to have their contributions returned - the grass roots/netroots stepped up to the plate and started making donations to cover the few hundred thousand in question (which is all it actually was when we started looking at who gave what among those who were threatening).

Ask the DNC how much they raised the weekend the reports of those backer’s threats became public.
Y
ou know where you can tell them to stick it, Speaker.

Go ahead & do it.

"The People" have yours, Howard Dean’s and Senator Reid’s backs.

Classless, loud mouth hillbillies calling Gov. Richardson a 'Judas' don’t represent real Democrats. In fact, they destroy them (just ask John Kerry about Ohio).

So, hang in there.

They don't care about the party, they only care about Bill, Hillary, the DLC and themselves.

Obama plus another $200. Thanks for the inspiration big money douches.

Isn't this fairly clear evidence that Hillary's claims that contributions from PACS, lobbyists, etc. do not demand a quid pro quo is bunk? Quite honestly, I view this position by these contributors as attempted extortion.

As others have noted in their posts, one of the real strengths of the Obama campaign has been its ability to attract small donations from hundreds of thousands of individuals, none of whom expect anything more than what Obama has publicly promised. There are no hidden promises, no secret deals, no ambassadorships or Cabinet posts up for sale.

Quite honestly, Nancy Pelosi has exhibited far more integrity and character than these selfish chumps who believe their contributions should have greater weight than the votes of the people. For some reason Clinton's supporters don't get it. The American people have had it with the savagery of the Clintons and their inability to engage in honest dialogue about the issues.

They've been so ensconced in the politics of personal destruction that they haven't any idea as to how to win a campaign based on the strength of their characters and policies.

For decades the Democratic Party has been neither a single party nor has it reliably acted like one.

It's thanks in large part to this that Bill Clinton was elected and then went on to be a disastrous president for the left in America and around the world.

I don't hear or read it often, but Clinton's administration was responsible for the deaths of more people (around one million in Iraq alone) than any since FDR, whose presidency, of course, included World War II.

It's thanks in large part to the Democratic Party not being a single party that Bush has been able to get away with the most unbelievable criminality of any president in U.S. history. By the time he's through, he may surpass Clinton in numbers of people killed.

If this primary battle will spotlight some of the differences within the party, so that it can find at least a modicum of unity, excellent!

If the in-fighting means McCain is elected, which I seriously doubt -- then again, I must remind myself never to underestimate the stupidity of Americans -- wouldn't that indicate that America is still not ready for a modicum of sanity at the head of its government?

If so, that would be a great pity. But if toxic medicine is what you need, you'll just have to plug your nose and swallow it. Again.

At the risk of being redundant:

Barack's victory is on us.

Yes he has won more delegates, more votes, and more states. All that is wonderful. The clincher however will be his ability to raise more money. Tons and tons of money.

This is Washington DC folks!
To quote Dylan: Money doesn't talk it screams.

We are almost two million strong. If we each give $25 dollars that sums to $50 million! You want to crush Clinton and clinch this thing? Then we got to bury them under our bullion. We need good massive number$ for March.

You know what to do.
You know where to click.

Make it so grasshoppers...

At this point we should all just resign ourselves to a McCain presidency. I think Dowd gets it right today... Hillary is already gunning for 2012, and is happy to see Obama go down so she'll have a chance at it.

Interesting times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/opinion/26dowd.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

This sounds remarkably similar to the arm-twisting tone Terry McAuliffe took with Bill Richardson, regarding what Richardson "owed" to the Clintons and why that should drive any endorsement decision; likewise Carville's "Judas" comments. Obama's shown that he doesn't need this circle of donors to raise money, so I doubt Pelosi's that scared about the implicit threat. The more likely effect is to continue to erode Hillary Clinton's credibility among party leaders and superdelegates. If this letter was initiated or approved by the Clinton campaign, or perceived as such, this will be yet another stupid tactical error by the Clinton team.

Well Bud, hopefully you're not representative of most Hillary supporters.

But it's very reassuring to hear about your committment to repudiating racial politics. Let us know how following through with that works out for you. In the meantime, don't understatemate the power of personal self-awareness and being honest with yourself.

I not only agree with what these rich people say, but I will never forgive Josh Marshall for denying me the right to vote for him in the primary. Primaries are never over until after the convention, and any American who is eligible to be president, but who either doesn't run or drops out before the convention disenfranchises every voter in the country. And I will never give anyone any money who prevents me from voting for any candidate I might want to choose.

Query: How do you simultaneously argue (1) that the primaries must take place so that the will of the people can be known and their choice honored and (2) that the delegates who are chosen by 'the people' because they will vote for a certain candidate are not required to honor their "pledge" to do so?

I guess in Clintonworld this doesn't present a problem: they are both arguments that the Clintons **want** to make and therefore they are, by decree, complimentary and consistent. Back over here in the mundane world of facts and logic, it makes no sense.

I keep thinking that **surely** it's become so blatant and stupid that the voters must see through this ....... and then I remember that GWB was re-elected and lose all hope.

This letter is incredible. It should be on display for all democratic voters to see. I don't care who you support - the power donors shouldn't be making veiled threats to the DNC like this.

I thought the RNC was supposed to be the party of wealth and the privilege.

The time has come for a third party...

Forget Democratic Party politicos and politics...

The Republicans are worse....

Understand we're living in an oligarchy and take it from there..

"On a personal note I would like to add that this is the first election that I have donated to a political candidate. If you can not already tell I am a Barrack Obama supporter. To be honest, my enthusiasm for this election has taken me a bit by surprise. It snuck up on me, and before I knew it I was donating, following online political discussions, and now even writing to the Speaker of the House." KenM1

Just sent a letter to Pelosi and DCCC with donation. If enough of us express disgust, it may get a response.

Translation: We bought her, please don't break her.

LOL!

I was thinking something along the lines of "we really don't lose our money..."

But I like yours a lot better.

Tonya Harding and her 20 kneecappers. Wonderful.

I am a democrat and I have never voted for a republican. If Obama is the nominee, I will vote for McCain. That is just the truth. Obama is not ready to run this nation. I don't understand the infactuation, but I love my country and will not hand it over to just anyone. I am a black male also. I know these ultra liberal blogs are filled with hate, but many people feel the same way I do, and will never support Obama. I use the think repupublicans were our worst enemy, but now I see we are our own worst enemy. There is a reason democrats have won only 3 presidencies in the last 40yrs. Dems do not know how to pick a candidate. They go off of pure emotion and details and experience be damned. Fellow democrats please wise up to how you treat one another. The Clintons are democrats who have done great things for this country. You would think they were the most racist, worst people in America reading these comments. It is sad, very sad.

It is sad to see fat cats pulling strings only to find out they are not attached to anything any more.

Is it not?

OK, just sent $100 to BHO, and this letter to Speaker Pelosi, CC'd my Gov and Congressional delegation as well.

Dear Speaker Pelosi-

Thank you for your service to our country, and to the Democratic Party.

I read today with disgust a letter, addressed to you, which can only be interpreted as an attempt to blackmail the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the most powerful woman in the United States. This letter from so-called significant Clinton donors implies their money will dry up if you do not publicly endorse their scheme to throw the Democratic nomination to the candidate with fewer votes, fewer delegates, and the fewest states won. I ask simply that you hold your ground, for the good of the country and our Party.

Perhaps I am especially sensitive to this scheme, as I am a local Party leader in a red state- one of the states that Senator Clinton and her surrogates say doesn't matter. I am only too aware that a Clinton candidacy will mean no money and no support for my state, while simultaneously punishing Congressional candidates simply for being associated with her toxic campaign.

These tactics are too frequent, too pointed to ignore. For years, I have consoled myself that even in lost campaigns the Democratic Party was fighting for the common people and the common good, for civil rights and economic fairness. Foreign investors do not write our foreign policy, oil corporations do not write our environmental policy, multi-billion dollar corporations do not write our labor policy and tax code, and we do not use the politics of fear and race baiting. This blatant effort by twenty individuals to hijack the nomination process because of their corporate interests, combined with the gut-wrenching tactics of the Clinton campaign, flies in the face of all I have believed of the Democratic Party.

Please help me fight for what's right, what's good in this country. Please stand up and defend the millions of us who do not make millions of dollars, who do not have the option to buy our place and the political table, and who don't happen to live in Democratic strongholds. We matter, too.

Again, many thanks for all your efforts.

every time she or one of her proxies opens their mouths, i write another check for Obama. getting pricey, but worth it. the Clintons have no moral compass, only self-interest.