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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.
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Comments (173)
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
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May 7, 2008 9:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
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May 7, 2008 9:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
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May 7, 2008 9:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
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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