« Anti-War GOP Congressman Wins Renomination | Home | Wolfson Shares Details Of Hillary's $6.4 Million Loan To Campaign »
Breaking: Hillary Spokesperson Confirms She Lent Her Campaign Millions In The Past Month
Hillary spokesperson Howard Wolfson confirms to me that she lent her campaign $6.4 million in the past month.
The AP reported this moments ago, attributing the info to an anonymous aide.
More soon.
Late Update: Details of the loan are here.
Advertisement
You know your rich when you can flush $6.4 million down the toilet.
May 7, 2008 9:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ahem...you're rich...
:)
May 7, 2008 9:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
Something she and Mitt have in common.
May 7, 2008 9:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
Total down the toilet = 11.4 mil.
I always disbelieved the hype when they touted their 10 mil they supposedly took in after PA. Never believed it!
They've been running a campaign on snake oil!
May 7, 2008 9:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
$12M.
Media loves round up Clinton's percentages so a 9.2pt. "victory" becomes 10. Or even how her lost in NC got round up to 42% even though it was morn like 41.4.
So she's given herself $12M...as far as we know.
May 7, 2008 10:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
And Obama's 56.8 win in NC becomes just 56 for some reason.
May 7, 2008 10:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
I wonder if that $6.4 million was part of the $10 million her campaign 'raised' immediately after PA.
May 7, 2008 9:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
iam willing to bet it was.
May 7, 2008 10:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
For more information regarding this story, head to hillaryclinton.com!!
In fact, anytime you feel bored, be sure to check out hillaryclinton.com!!
What's that? Headache got you feeling blue? Log on now at hillaryclinton.com!!
More updates to this story, and any other story, will be posted first at hillaryclinton.com!!
May 7, 2008 9:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Don't you have to make a donation before you can click on hillaryclinton.com?
May 7, 2008 9:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
There's only way to find out - head to hillaryclinton.com and log on now!
May 7, 2008 9:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
EXCLUSIVE!!! THE MILEY CYRUS PICS THAT WERE TOO HOT FOR VANITY FAIR!!! ONLY AT... HILLARYCLINTON.COM!!!
May 7, 2008 9:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
ADDED BONUS: NAKED PICTURES OF BEE ARTHUR, ONLY AT HILLARYCLINTON.COM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 7, 2008 9:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
HillaryClinton.com! Apply directly to the forehead!
May 7, 2008 9:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
Where's the beef?
HillaryClinton.com
May 7, 2008 1:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
WOnder if she will ask Obama to pay for all her debt as a condition of her support in the fall? That will be a bitter pill to swallow since so much wa spent on negative campaiging to tear down Obama's image.
May 7, 2008 9:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah the pundits were speculating on that last night. But given how shameless the Clinton's have been so far I can't think they won't ask.
May 7, 2008 9:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
Judging by the look on Bill Clinton's face during her speech last night, I think it is he who is going to be paying for her 'hobby'.
May 7, 2008 9:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, it's his "hobby" that he is paying for.
May 7, 2008 9:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ha!
May 7, 2008 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
When Hillary Clinton finally breaks down and admits defeat, Bill Clinton is going to bite his lip, look remorseful, and give her a hug... but despite the millions of his money she squandered, he's going to be laughing inside, because ultimately he'll feel vindicated for being a better candidate than her.
...besides, he's going to be making her pay him back for all that money, one way or another.
To him, this will all be about setting up Chelsea to carry on the dynasty.
May 7, 2008 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
O I wouldn't be Bill Clinton for anything right now or at any time in the future.
I keep sayin - he's going to get waked up some 3AM by a pillow on his face with Hillary lying on top of it, saying: "What were you thinking telling people I was 60 and tired? What in the hell was wrong with you - you brought up Tuzla again just when it was dead. And the race card, Bill? You idiot! It was my turn!"
May 7, 2008 10:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
and Obama's the elitist.
Obama/Sebelius '08 **==
May 7, 2008 9:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wow. She's done.
May 7, 2008 9:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
Drudge, however, says she'll be giving herself more money.
May 7, 2008 9:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
Can you ask him if she used any of the $10MM+ raised post-PA to pay back her originally $5MM loan?
May 7, 2008 9:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'd heard that, no, she didn't. I don't remember where I read it but Hillary has been fudging on her fundraising numbers and debt reporting. She has NOT been including the original 5M loan she made in her debt totals. She was 10M (not including the 5M loan she made to herself) in debt before she raised that 10M, that means she barely broke even, but actually didn't even do that if you include the 5M loan.
So how much of that 10M that she raised in one day was raised by new loans from the Clintons?
May 7, 2008 9:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
Does this mean the $10M she raised in one day was really only $3.6M?
May 7, 2008 9:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
yes, it does.
May 7, 2008 9:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
"$10M" is only $10,000. Please see http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/05/stephanopoulos_obama_camp_will.php#comment-2792820 for further information.
Thank you for your attention.
May 7, 2008 10:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wow. That IS nitpicky. But $10MM it is.
May 7, 2008 10:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
So, she loaned herself $6.4 million of that $10 Million she was supposed to have raised in one night.
Liar, liar. Sniper Fire.
May 7, 2008 9:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
I want to know if this money was included in the boatload of cash they claim was raised after Pennsylvania. I sense something not right here. And why is this coming out now? Did the media sit on this to prolong the drama after Pennsylvania? Inquiring minds want to know...
May 7, 2008 9:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
The folks over at Zogby has to be punch drunk right about now. They nailed it in PA and was off by 4 in IN.
May 7, 2008 9:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
They also nailed NC, if I recall. I'm pretty sure Zogby said 14.
May 7, 2008 10:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
They would've nailed Indiana too, if it weren't for those meddlesome Limbaugh Republicans.
May 7, 2008 10:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
NO kidding! I swear he would have won if not for the Chaos.
May 7, 2008 10:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yep - here's a handy dandy little info on Operation Chaos:
In Indiana, 1 in 8 Clinton voters say they will vote for McCain in the fall even if Clinton wins the nomination (as opposed to 1 in 22 Obama voters)
In North Carolina, 1 in 6 Clinton voters say they will vote for McCain in the fall even if Clinton wins the nomination (as opposed to 1 in 31 Obama voters).
Source: http://www.jedreport.com/2008/05/mccain-supporte.html
What does that tell you about her electability? Tells me she has a snowball's chance in hell.
May 7, 2008 10:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Okay, but in all seriousness, it's pretty obvious now that the $10 million they said they raised after Pennsylvania was mostly a self-loan. Which should have been pretty obvious to anyone who has been following this race. She should apologize to her supporters. Once again, she shows them little respect, lies to them regarding her fundraising, and then asks them for more money. Last night I felt a great amount of sympathy for Hillary. This more I feel more sympathy for her supporters.
May 7, 2008 9:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, Billy, I totally agree - I posted the same thing (a little more inelegantly than you) upthread. If she lent herself $6.4 million, then the $10 million that she claims was raised after Pennsylvania is an abject lie. I hope someone in the media (Keith??) calls the campaign out on it and exposes them for the frauds they are.
May 7, 2008 9:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
I really don't believe that could be true. Because it would require nearly all her top people to have lied point blank to everyone they spoke to, by email and in person. In particular, I don't think Peter Daou would have done that. I think they got $10 from supporters in 24 hours, but that most of it came from high rollers who normally just wrote actual checks, but this time the campaign insisted they must donate via the web form. I bet the 6.4 loan even came before PA voted. A bridge to the big victory they knew was coming.
And I think all of it--16.4, and everything raised after the 10 mil--is gone now.
May 7, 2008 9:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
So you don't think the Clinton supporters, en mass, would lie?
No offense, but have you been paying attention?
May 7, 2008 9:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think they lie in press releases, and she and Bill lie on the stump. but in person I think her top aides are very canny and usually avoid language and statements that are outright lies.
I may be wrong about the money, but I bet we'll see the 6.4 mil loan with a date of 4/21. That too could turn out to be a lie, but it would be traceable through the FEC and the specific bank the transfer came from.
May 7, 2008 10:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
oh and you know when that 6.4mill probably happened? April 21, minutes after the reporting deadline.
May 7, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Re the $10 million, I keep wondering why no one is tying her site traffic right after PA to the apparent lie about the $10 million. Alexa site traffic charts show that she had about half the traffic to her site after PA as she did on Super Tuesday. To me, that proves there's no way she raised $10 million on the site after PA.
May 7, 2008 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
Is it possible that they sat on some contributions for a few days so they could include them in the post-PA totals? At the time I wondered if this was a real or a faked surge.
For what it's worth, one of my relatives, who fits the feminist-female-over-65 stereotype of a Hillary supporter, told me day after PA how much she wanted to send Hillary a campaign contribution if she could afford anything at all. I don't know if she did or how much, but something resonated with that particular potential contributor in that 24 hour period. She hadn't even voted for Hillary when she had the chance (she'd gone with Edwards on Super Tuesday).
May 7, 2008 10:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
How dare you say her mejesty Hillary should apologise for lying? What lies? Hillary never lies but Mispeaks.See below:
*Hillary never ran a negative campaign.
*She never lied about Tuzla
*And of course she is a good friend of Pres. MyMood IamAdinnerJacket!
Oh wait...!
May 7, 2008 12:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
I posted this on another thread - but since Mr. Tena and I are right on the verge of his retirement - I know how scary that is.
I guess when you have $110 million it doesn't matter so much, but man, this scares me - all that money just to pound down rat holes.
May 7, 2008 9:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well, you know, character assasination and destroying a political party are very expensive endeavours.
May 7, 2008 9:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
My definition of an elite: An elite is someone who can finance their political campaign out of their own bank account.
May 7, 2008 9:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
So the candidate who's "fighting for the working class" is now in the position of soliciting still more donations from people who can't afford it, just so she can pay her own rich ass back. Amazing. There is no depth to which the Clintons won't sink. They're scum.
May 7, 2008 9:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Spot on analysis!
But really, try to be a little nicer to scum, what has scum ever done to you that you would compare it to the Clintons?
May 7, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not just her *own* fat ass, by the way.
Remember that she raised a *lot* of money from already maxed-out donors by having them donate money designated for the general election, should she get the nomination. That money cannot be used to retire primary debt. It has to be returned to the donors.
If she can't convince enough little old ladies to open up their wallets for a lost cause, she's going to have to pay that money back out of her own pocket too.
May 7, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Are you kidding me? I KNEW her 10 million bullcrap story was a lie.
I KNEW IT!
Sometimes I just can't even believe her nerve.
Thank god this is almost over.
Story going around that Wesley Cark has already called on Clinton to bow out gracefully.
However, If she does't run negative attack ads against Obama... I am ok with her waiting until after Kentucky/Oregon. Then they both end the Primary campaign on strong wins... and the healing can begin.
May 7, 2008 9:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
I figured it was a lie because that's all she and those scumbags who run her campaign know how to do.
Dammit, Hillary - if only you had had decent campaign workers you could have done better and come out of this with some shred of dignity and Bill's legacy still intact. I can't feel sorry for you - you and Bill surround yourself with such trash that I can only think you have everything in common with them and nothing with me or any other honest Democrat.
The DLC is dead! Long live the DNC and Howard Dean!!!
May 7, 2008 9:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
I very, very wholeheartedly second that!!!!! :)
May 7, 2008 9:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
I third that sentiment. It may be the best thing to come out of this primary.
May 7, 2008 9:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
Amen T!!
This whole ugly mess is Hillary and Hillary's Renfros fault. I'm glad they are paying for it both economically and personally. The Clinton legacy is in tatters. Sure, Bill will be able to recoup whatever personal funds they lost, but restoring the Clinton name? Forget about it.
May 7, 2008 9:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
the best part is:
We Won! We got our party back!!!!!!
May 7, 2008 9:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
Our long national nightmare is over!
May 7, 2008 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
The 50-state strategy has been working great for Obama, and for the Democratic party since Dean's been chair!
May 7, 2008 9:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
No shit - look at the difference - my god! The people who turn out - the newly registered voter numbers.
It's stunning. It's just stunning and you think the SDs don't see this and saw it all along?
This is the best thing that has happened to this party since John motherfucking Kennedy.
It's better - he's far better a person than John Kennedy was.
May 7, 2008 10:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
Let the dead guy be dead, please. We can praise Barack without bashing JFK, can't we?
May 7, 2008 10:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
Although, I admit I had the same thought last night, and censored myself before I mentioned it to a friend who said he thought Barack was the best candidate since JFK.
May 7, 2008 10:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
Darlin - I"m not bashing Kennedy but IMO Obama is better person - as far as I know, he doesn't chase other women around obsessively and John Kennedy did and dead is dead.
There is one huge lesson people don't seem to learn:
The dead don't care.
May 7, 2008 10:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
True enough, but the guy's my hero, warts and all, what can I say?
May 7, 2008 10:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
You know what - I'm sorry.
I don't like to walk around on other peoples' heros -
;)
May 7, 2008 10:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
THIS IS GREAT NEWS!!! FOR HILLARY!!!
May 7, 2008 9:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
BREAKING:
Chelsea is pissed because she saw another $6.4 million of her inheritance go down the tubes.
May 7, 2008 9:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
Quite literally, as Ted Stevens would remind us.
May 7, 2008 9:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good one.
May 7, 2008 10:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
I had a feeling she was going to have money problems back in the Texas debate when her answer to the question "when are you going to release your tax returns?" was "visit hillaryclinton.com!"
May 7, 2008 9:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
Greg:
There's a call in a few minutes with the Clinton campaign to discuss the state of the race, which I assume you will be on. Can you clear up if the $6.4MM was part of the $10MM they claimed they raised post PA?
May 7, 2008 9:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
MSNBC is going to broadcast the conference call live.
May 7, 2008 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
But I thought she didn't have any money. You know, Obama being elitist and all and she being from "the people".
May 7, 2008 9:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
So BO strategy in PA worked. By spending the way he did, it sent made Hillary spend what she didnt have to keep up and now we see that 6.4 of 10mil raised in 24hrs was a loan from herself. Kudos to the BO campaign they outfoxed the fox.
May 7, 2008 9:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Franklyn, they've been doing that throughout the entire primary season - outfoxing the fox. That's why Obama doesn't worry me in the generals - this man (and his campaign staff) are running the smartest campaign I have ever seen. As my father used to say "this guy ain't no dummy!" ;)
May 7, 2008 9:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Lord help us, yet another Clinton camp conference call is coming up shortly. It will be fascinating to see what they say.
May 7, 2008 9:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
$11.4 mil? So much for the not so elitist beer drinking working class girl from Scranton, PA.
Obama has succeeded not only in taking away her dream but also made the Clintons a little less richer--and I have to admit, it makes be smile.
May 7, 2008 9:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
If she intends to loan herself more money, this is not a good sign. I think Barack intends to pay her debts as part of a deal for her to exit the race, but this is just running up the tab. She should be running a skeleton campaign from this point on and I hope that the loan is minimal.
May 7, 2008 9:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
There all this talk of "unity" and Obama taking on her debt as an offer of peace on Daily Kos and it makes me want to puke.
Not a single dime to her campaign. No VP slot for her OR for Evan Bayh OR for ANY DLC member in her camp.
Unity is one thing, with her supporters, but accepting her as if she didn't campaign like the monster that the right-wing has been calling her for years?
No fucking way.
As far as I'm concerned, I hope HRC is primaried in NY. I will work for whomever goes up against her. I will donate the max. I will do whatever I can to unseat her.
She isn't a real Democrat. She's Joe Lieberman.
And does ANYONE really believe she is going to "work her heart out" for the nominee? Like she did for John Kerry & John Edwards?
Obama can't afford that kind of help.
Not a dime. She should be forced to eat the loss.
May 7, 2008 9:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm with you!
And what is 11M to the clintons? Bubba charges 250,000 dollars a speech, and there is no shortage of assholes willing to pay.
There personal wealth is secure, nobody needs to cry for the poor Clintons.
And no way in hell does Obama need the name Clinton anywhere near his on the ticket.
One more thing; pundit assholes are saying she will go on to be the majority leader of the Senate; fuck that. What the hell has she accomplished that warrants that? Nothing!
May 7, 2008 9:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
I didn't donate to Obama for it to be given to Hillary. That would really make me mad!
May 7, 2008 9:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
You and me both - I will work my heart out for whoever challenges her Senate seat in 2012. I'm done with her.
May 7, 2008 9:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
I will be really pissed if my money ends up paying her debt. I think the Obama people would fear a backlash, all those $25 donors, including college kids.
May 7, 2008 10:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
Another thing about her speech last night that was less than "charming"--she said she can only continue in the race if she can compete against an "opponent who is outspending us massively", as though there's something unfair about that! He can outspend her like that because of hundreds of thousands of people like me who scrape together $25 at a time and send it in when we can. I'm not rich, I buy groceries at Aldi, but every time I see an Obama ad on TV I get a thrill knowing I helped pay for it. She's been whining about the outspending for months now and I'm sick of it.
May 7, 2008 9:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Becky, you are absolutely right. His outspending her is based on his ability to raise funds. This surely will be an important factor in the SD's decision to support him.
May 7, 2008 10:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hillary Clinton is not going to drop out of the race for these reasons:
1. she hopes something major will happen that will cause the super delegates to give in.
2. she hopes that by staying in, if obama does win, he will feel forced to pick her as his running mate.
3. she believes that by staying in, if the above does not happen, it will help her again in 2012.
In order for her to win the delegate/super delegates.....she will have to win 70% of the vote in all remaining states....and have michigan, florida counted.
I still have faith in Hillary:)
May 7, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you're delusional.
May 7, 2008 9:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Aren't you speaking for yourself, rather than Clinton? You'd still vote for her if her primary hope is some disaster for Senator Obama?
May 7, 2008 10:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
No DLC VEEPS - end of story.
No. No. No.
And none of my money goes to pay off her garbage. Not one thin dime dammit.
May 7, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
You knew this news was coming last night when a minute into her victory speech she starts asking for donations. It's tricky because her populous approach and catering to the gas tax holiday crowd that needs that break probably can't afford to give money to her campaign, whereas the folks that can donate are turned off by her pandering and the fact that she's loaning herself money instead of giving it to her campaign.
I understand that they are not worth the $120M as that was over nine years of earning s and they had expenses and such, but Bill can virtually print his own money with his speeches and Dubai contacts. Of course maybe they realize that that money will dry up rather quickly when those bankrollers realize that the Clinton's are not going to be in the White House again. The way she is running this campaign she is not winning a lot of fans outside of her supporter circle - Does she really believe her new GOP fans will stick around once she has served out her purpose?
May 7, 2008 9:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
"Send me the 30 bucks you would've gotten from the gas tax holiday that's never going to happen!"
May 7, 2008 9:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
I might send her 18.4 cents, but only if I'm bored.
May 7, 2008 10:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Are they saying this now to try and get another pity sweepstakes?
Either way, it's devastating news for her campaign.
I hope the press enjoyed relaying those false fundraising numbers the Clinton's were pedaling.
May 7, 2008 9:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
And she is not going to drop out when she knows that she has west virginia & kentucky on her side.
May 7, 2008 9:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's good. It would look bad for her to drop out now, then have Obama lose in WV and KY. Better for Obama for Hillary to stay in through WV, then when he wins in OR, SD, and MT and it will look much better, much stronger for the presumptive nominee.
May 7, 2008 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
I've said all along; I don't care if she stays in as long as she stops throwing feces at Obama.
This has been over for months, if she'd acted like Huckabee, campaigned cordially, nobody would care if she got out or not. She hasn't. She has been a vile, bottom feeding, scum sucking herpes sore on the body of the Democratic party. None of her nastiness changed a thing, just like we knew it wouldn't. There was absolutely no call for it.
May 7, 2008 10:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
bitter? ;)
May 7, 2008 10:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
No, I'm pissed, but I'll get over it when she withdraws from the race.
May 7, 2008 10:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
Look= Evan Bayh is out of the question - he balances exactly nothing on that ticket.
I don't think Obama will choose a Congressional running mate. He needs more balance on that ticket. Two senators - no. Not happening.
No Congressmen either. He needs a governor, IMO, or someone else who has not been hanging around DC for a million years.
and not Bill Richardson, either. He's not safe.
May 7, 2008 9:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
I still like Webb as a VP pick, Senator or not, just because his past experience extends beyond Congress. Going by your criteria though, maybe Mark Warner?
May 7, 2008 9:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
Warner: terrible to lose an almost certain Senate pickup in a tough state. VA Gov. Tim Kaine seems a better possibility.
May 7, 2008 10:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
Lt. Gov of Virginia is a Republican, however.
May 7, 2008 10:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not safe because of "woman issues"?
To quote Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the Big Lebowski, "That is our concern, Dude."
Otherwise he's got to be a top candidate. Lots of synergies.
May 7, 2008 10:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
He has big time women issues. Everyone in New Mexico is aware.
He has a lot more in common with Bill Clinton than the same first name.
Unfortunately - I like the guy a lot. But it's risky for Obama to go there, IMO.
May 7, 2008 10:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
I guess that wouldn't be so good of a choice, then, seeing as there's probably going to be more than a few unhappy women supporters when Hillary drops out. Sebelius is another option though I don't know much about her.
May 7, 2008 10:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wes Clark.
is the perfect VP choice.
May 7, 2008 12:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Various talking heads last night were saying that maybe she would try to get the Obama campaign to pay her debts, including those to herself.
Why can't she just pay them from her general election campaign fund, after she withdraws from the primary? She's got to be sitting on a ton of cash.
May 7, 2008 9:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
She can't because that would be illegal. Most of that general fund money was presumably from donors who had already maxed out for the primary, so that well is dry.
All the money from her general election fund has to be returned to the donors.
May 7, 2008 10:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
yes, but it could be returned, and then at least the deadender Clintonites could re-donate it to pay down the debt.
May 7, 2008 10:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Nope, not if they have already maxed out for the primary.
There may be a few donors who hedged their bets by giving to the general election fund instead of to the primary, knowing full well that in the (likely) event that she didn't get the nomination they would get their money back. But the vast majority, I'm sure, of folks who gave to her G.E. fund did so because they had already reached the legal limit on what they could donate to her primary.
May 7, 2008 10:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
I got Hagel's book signed a week ago, told him I hoped to see him on an Obama cabinet soon.
Some pro war types in the crowd tried to ask him neo-con like questions, he pushed back pretty hard.
I wouldn't be surprised by a Hagel endorsement and if he signs on for Sec of Defense or something, holy shit, McCain is cooked.
VP: Wesley, Webb, McCaskil (sp) on short list for me...I'm sure there's good options I don't know enough about.
May 7, 2008 10:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
NO McCASKILL. She is another junior senator with a dubious voting record. She would bring nothing to the ticket, other than two X chromosomes. And I say that as a Missourian.
May 7, 2008 12:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
"the music died tonight"
- Pat Buchanan last night on MSNBC.
May 7, 2008 10:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
No shit - look at the difference - my god! The people who turn out - the newly registered voter numbers.
It's stunning. It's just stunning and you think the SDs don't see this and saw it all along?
This is the best thing that has happened to this party since John motherfucking Kennedy.
It's better - he's far better a person than John Kennedy was.
May 7, 2008 10:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obama could sure use a Bobby by his side though.
May 7, 2008 10:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's the real shame of that whole thing - Bobby would have been such an incredible president.
John bothers me much more in retrospect - having listened to his phone call to Eisenhower when he was playing nuclear poker with the Russians sealed that for me - he was dangerous because John Kennedy was reckless. He might have outgrown that eventually, but I don't know.
And unfortunately, Bobby was bad about chasing women, too.
But I suspect about 75% of our presidents have been like that.
May 7, 2008 10:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Though one might argue that that recklessness was a necessary evil that kept him from shrinking from the nuclear threat, and the strange (to our perception) psychology of the Russians of that era.
I'm playing devil's advocate a bit, but it's mostly because I'm always hesitant to judge military actions and diplomacy that "worked" too harshly in hindsight, or, what I mean is that it's easy to condemn violence and risky diplomacy when we are removed from the present danger, and all that comes with it.
As horrible stupid awful as Hiroshima was, I tend to avoid criticizing that too harshly for the same reason. Plus, there are soldiers of that war who already criticize it, and so I can defer to their surer footing.
On the other hand, policies that were total failures demand criticism and Vietnam, while more LBJ's than Kennedy's, would fit in that category soundly.
May 7, 2008 10:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not me - Hiroshima was a goddamn crime against humanity and I hate Truman for it.
I was alive for that missile crisis and it was no joke, let me tell you.
We were all scared to death.
May 7, 2008 10:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
There was a show a couple of years ago on PBS on the '60's or something. And when they got to Bobby Kennedy's assassination, I literally wept. It really brought home how pivotal that tragedy was. I mean, we got Richard Nixon, with his Silent Majority and Southern Strategy, after that.
I know this might sound racist or obtuse to alot of people heavily involved in the civil rights movement, but it really felt like the dream of equality, that in many ways was represented by the 60's social movements, died with Bobby Kennedy.
May 7, 2008 10:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
O my god - when I think back on those years and how many of our best of the best were shot down -
It scares the shit out of me!!
May 7, 2008 10:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
King was about to do really important things, shifting his focus from race to poverty, that would have forced us to face problems we still haven't faced.
Malcolm was going to introduce America to it's new self. Conflicted but resolved toward community. Another thing that was left shattered.
Of course, Bobby would've gotten us out of Vietnam, so there's who knows how many people still alive.
It's easy perhaps to overstate one person's impact, especially in a PBS documentary which always makes the subject seem like Jesus, but yeah, the point is the same. The assassins of the sixties set this country back thirty years, easy.
May 7, 2008 10:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Why after all these years, do I still mistype "its" all the time?
May 7, 2008 11:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
I am sorry about the double post - the traffic must be really awful today cause this place is threatening to break down.
I''ve gotten all kinds of error messages when I try to post.
May 7, 2008 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
Department of blind pigs and acorns- Jake Tapper, of all people, just made a very good point. It's time for the press to show a little more curiosity about just how the Clintons made all this money that she's pissing away.
May 7, 2008 10:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Where is our friend gotnolife?
May 7, 2008 10:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Deep in "oppo research" mode, no doubt.
May 7, 2008 10:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
Celebrated the predicted "thumpin"?
May 7, 2008 10:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
He, and all the folk from project chaos, are hiding under their beds, waiting for their mommys to come tell them everything is allright.
I will give the project chaos fools this: they very likely put Hillary over the top in Indiana.
May 7, 2008 10:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
yes, I've been waiting for him/her, too, yet chances are we'll never hear from him/her.
May 7, 2008 10:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
Nah, he'll just change names and start cutting and pasting for McSame.
Operation Chaos is over!
May 7, 2008 10:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
Correct I'd think. I haven't had time to scour the usual suspects re: marshaling sites as of yet but i'd give it just another couple of hours at most before we start to see the new variations.
Enjoy the break while we have it, but I'm supposing i'm not out of a job quite yet ;)
May 7, 2008 10:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's a very safe bet.
May 7, 2008 10:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
polls look great in the remaining states for hillary clinton..... if she can keep it that way and keep the national polls close.... she might can get the pleaged delegates and super delegates to vote for her.......
I think Hillary Clinton did good last night.... Obama had said that he was going to win Indiana by 7 points and he lost by 2 points..... he said that he would win north carolina by huge digits like he did in other southern states, which he did not.... he only won north carolina by 14 points..... Blue Collar White still backed Hillary Clinton in Indiana & North Carolina.... I don't see this as a lost.
GO HILLARY!!!!!!!!!!!
May 7, 2008 10:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
GO HOME HILLARY!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 7, 2008 10:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
awwwww. that's so cute.
May 7, 2008 10:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
If it isn't lost, what the heck is it? Misplaced?
May 7, 2008 10:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
She lost her popular vote gain from PA, she lost in delegates last night, and there are no "game changing" states left. She had the blue collar white vote. That is great. She lacked other important constituencies that are no less important. How was this a victory?
May 7, 2008 10:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good Morning Lanny.
May 7, 2008 10:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Can I borrow like, $10 until next week?
May 7, 2008 10:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wait a second, you seem to be implying that Obama has been "moving the goalposts."
Is that really where you want to go? Really?
May 7, 2008 10:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, honey, it's going to be OK - really. Come down off the ledge and take a deep breath. Your girl put up a good fight (albeit a dirty one), but it really is time to face reality. It's over - Obama has an insurmountable lead and even the media (who fought so long to prolong this agony) is admitting that it's over. Yes, she'll probably win WV and Kentucky, but no matter what happens it won't make any difference in delegate count, in popular vote, in anything. He's going to be our nominee, and it's time for this to end so we can focus on beating McCain in the fall.
May 7, 2008 10:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
In point of fact, Obama beat Clinton by 14.7% which would round up to 15%.
Thank you for your attention.
May 7, 2008 10:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Please post a link supporting these statements:
Since the Obama campaing has been saying that they'd lose IN for weeks now, I'm really curious why and when Obama would say they were set to win by 7. Especially since Obama has never once in this whole race laid out exact numbers on the expectations.
Or are you just full of shit?
Oh and...
May 7, 2008 10:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hey - did Lanny ever break down and cry last night? I was going to stay up for his first tears, but I couldn't make it.
May 7, 2008 10:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not to rag on them.... but some of the Hillary pundits seemed to be in a bad place last night.
May 7, 2008 10:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hah! I knew it too. Back before she announced, they said they were liquidating their entire portfolio into cash and cash equivilents to avoid any potential appearance of a conflict of interest, but everyone knew it also had the effect of basically converting the entire fortune into an emergency war chest.
That's the first thing I thought of when the stories started coming out about how she was more or less keeping up with Barack in the ad wars.
It also makes Lanny the Lout's talk on CNN last night about the big fundraising spike they were expecting after her Great Victory in Indiana being key to her Continuing March to Inevitable Victory extra hilarious.
So, as others are asking, the big question is whether she was flat out lying by including her own money in the 10 million she supposedly raised after Pennsylvania, or whether she really did raise that much, used it to pay down down enough of her of her outstanding vendor payables to keep them out of the news, and was merely being disengenuious by simply not mentioning that she was paying current expenses out of her and Bill's own pocket.
May 7, 2008 10:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
If the Clintons were really concerned about the little people, the first thing they would do is transfer some more of their huge personal bank account into her campaign coffers and pay off the vendors and small businesses owed money by the Clinton campaign. The extent of her debts outstanding to 'little people' must have increased a lot in the run up to yesterday's primaries.
May 7, 2008 10:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't hear the super delegates coming out an endorsing Obama today..... the super delegates are in a hurry.....
They will wait a few days......
GO West Virginia.
May 7, 2008 10:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Weren't you the "Guam is going for Hillary" cheerleader last week?
Insanity must be contagious in Hillaryland...go away.
May 7, 2008 10:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
You remind me of those PSA's about methamphetamines.
THIS COULD BE YOU!
May 7, 2008 10:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
NPR's Diane Rehm just credited this story to "Greg Sargent," without mentioning TPM. Is that progress, for the mainstream media, in crediting blogs, or more of the same?
May 7, 2008 10:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Whoa Greg!
Good on you, dude! You got a shout out from Diane Rehm!
May 7, 2008 10:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
Nice!!
May 7, 2008 10:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hillary's best move now is to suspend her campaign and say she's taking her delegates to the convention. She would then continue to work on seating Michigan and Florida while she reaps huge margins in WV and KY and wins PR (though losing big in Oregon, MT, and SD). Then she can wait for the next big scandal to rock Obama, which is the only strategy she has left anyway. Basically, she should just shut up, say see you in August, and wait to see whether absence makes the heart grow fonder in democratic hearts. It's not much of a strategy but it's the best one she has left.
Luckily, Hillary's campaign bought it's brain from the tin man, so that's not what she's going to do. Instead she will continue to fight and ultimately will alienate the party so much that she'll lose any influence she might have had at the convention and thereafter. Since I'm an Obama guy, that makes me feel good; I'd prefer to see the Clinton influence purged from the party. Still, I have to admit pangs of sympathy for Hillary this morning. She's a very interesting and tragic figure -- but she'd be a lousy president. The best candidate won and now it's time to keep McCain out of the White House.
May 7, 2008 10:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
HilaryClinton08 :
Obama is meeting with superdelegates today in DC. Watch for a flood to come out in the next few days.
It's over for Mrs. Clinton. You can tell that her husband knows this from the sad look on his face last night.
May 7, 2008 10:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
yes, that's what I'm looking forward to. With another 6.5 million$$$ self-loan, this can not be a good meeting for Clintons.
May 7, 2008 10:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
Chelsea was practically crying as Hillary spoke...
May 7, 2008 10:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
I thought Bill was getting weepy,too.
May 7, 2008 10:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
I was distracted by the woman behind Hillary wearing a sticker on her forehead the whole time...
May 7, 2008 10:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
i was distracted by the cute little baby boy being held by his dad. soooooo cute!
May 7, 2008 10:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
TV settings on my TV were so wonky last night. Bill was Super Red on my screen. He looked drunk. Then he would just stand there. My husband asked more than once, "Is that a cutout of Bill?"
May 7, 2008 11:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I mentioned that last night. I knew something was up when I saw Chelsea, she was barely keeping them back--you could see that she felt awful for her mom, but was trying to hide it.
Obviously the mood before they took the stage was much starker than the public one.
May 7, 2008 10:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hillary could write a tell all book about all the people she and Bill murdered while smuggling tons of dope into the booming metropolis of Little Rock. Then there is the special relationship with Vince Foster and all of Bill's side action. I'm sure her friend Richard Mellon Scaife would front her the cash for it.
May 7, 2008 10:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well, your name is apt. Seriously, I'm no Hillary fan but this trash talk isn't necessary at this point. Keep in mind we'll need every Democrat we can in November. Let's all play nice and be respectful- both candidates and their supporters deserve it.
May 7, 2008 10:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hell, we don't even have to play very nice and we can still avoid that shit.
I wonder sometimes if comments like that aren't an attempt to get us to chime in with those stupid smears.
May 7, 2008 10:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
George McGovern urges Clinton to drop out
May 7, 2008 10:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
HUGE LOL on that one, Tena! That would make a great skit.....
May 7, 2008 10:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
on your bill with pillow comments! :)
May 7, 2008 10:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks.
I've pushed that twice now - I better shut up or it will get stale.
;)
May 7, 2008 11:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Roll the Hillary "Apple" virual mpeg.
May 7, 2008 10:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
"But, honey, are you sure..."
"Shut up and sign the check, Bill."
Here's my offer, on behalf of Obama, regarding her campaign's debts. Give me your list of payables. I'll pay all of your vendors, and any unpaid salary and unreimbursed expenses of your hardworking campaign staff, except not a dime to Penn,Wolfson or Ickes, and not a dime to repay your loans.
May 7, 2008 10:56 AM | Reply | Permalink