GOP Recycles Hillary Attacks On Obama Again -- This Time On Campaign Finance
Those who predicted that Hillary's harsher attacks on Obama would be recycled by the GOP during the general election were proven right again today.
The Republican National Committee just blasted out this toughly-worded Hillary quote from back in February, hitting Obama over his campaign finance pledge...
"Actions speak louder than words. No matter how beautiful the words are and how well presented, you've got to get beyond the words. And now we're seeing how the words don't even mean what we thought they meant," Clinton said. "So I think it raises some serious questions about what it is he stands for."
The Republicans are working hard to make Obama "own" his pledge, as Mark Halperin put it, by releasing a timeline of Obama's previous statements on public financing.
But as Ben Smith noted earlier today, if the Obama camp has its way, the focus of the spin war will be less over whether Obama broke his word, and more over whether Obama's smashing success with small donors represents a campaign finance revolution of sorts in its own right.
The Obama camp is also likely to keep hammering away at the idea that McCain recently said that he can't control the ad spending of outside groups, as a way of arguing that Obama's decision was made out of necessity and that McCain lacks the leadership and will to curb abuses on his side.
Ahhhh. The never ending lengthy and bitter primary (that was, for all intents and purposes, finito in March) keeps on giving....
I hope the Obama campaign hammers McCain with the "I can't control" language.
June 19, 2008 2:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
"I can't control the 527s, even though one of them is headed by my informal advisor, Karl Rove!"
June 19, 2008 2:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks Hillary! Glad to see you working for the home team!
June 19, 2008 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I know. It burns me to no end.
However, the gopranos have already shown their entire hand.
THEY HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO GO ON.
This morning on MSNBC, the republican surrogate who went on to discuss Cindy McCain making an idiot of herself on GMA vs. Michele Obama was quite angry about the GOP "going there" over the wives.
She said - "if THIS is what the republicans want to argue about, then we are going to lose."
Well, tell me something I don't already know.
They've spent the 9/11 capital. They've spent the Global War on Terror capital. Who gives a crap about tax rates when people are losing their homes and spending 300% more on gasoline than in 2004.
This is such a anti-climatic campaign, I wish they'd just hold the election tomorrow and let's get this puppy done with.
June 19, 2008 3:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Like this is a surprise? Obama supporters WARNED Hillary and her supporters about this -- did they/she listen? NOPE!
This is why politicians of the same party don't say things that could be used against their parties nominee later!
Obama will handle this -- but too bad it had to even be just one more distraction from the real issues.
June 19, 2008 2:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly. But even after it was obvious that Obama would be the nominee she kept attacking him with every right wing talking point she could come up with, knowing that all of them could and would be used against him in the general election. But did she care? Hell no, because it wasn't about the Democratic Party or about anything but her own political ambition. It was about Hillary and nothing else.
And when the Republicans use her quotes against Obama, Hillary remains silent.
June 19, 2008 2:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
On the other hand, it's given his campaign ample time to plan a strategy. Getting Kerry to speak up is good, playing up the effect of being the first nominee to have a truly substantive grassroots base is good.
June 19, 2008 4:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Looks like operation chaos is starting to pay dividens.
June 19, 2008 2:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
It would be paying dividends if this would actually be effective, but it won't, because Obama is quite used to fighting McCain and Hillary at the same time, so fighting McCain and Hillary's old smears won't be a problem. It is just annoying that she was so selfish that she attacked Obama in ways that would certainly be used against him in the general election.
But hey, they were bullshit attacks then, and they are bullshit attacks now. Obama will just flip them around and expose McCain for the hypocrite he is.
June 19, 2008 2:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Operation Chaos - if it ever really had an impact - will probably actually pay dividends to the Dems. This, "even Democrats say", garbage was going to come out anyway. I think they have a clip of Edwards saying something about "fancy" talk, and he dropped out well before the thing was over. I believe the first, "even Democrats", ad had quotes from both Biden and Richardson...and they dropped out even earlier than Edwards.
But if Op Chaos did extend the primary, it also helped increase Dem registration and enthusiasm in states that normally get ignored during the primary process. It introduced Obama to a lot more voters than would have been possible in previous cycles. And it allowed Obama to get his 50-state strategy in place and on the ground early...ready to get to work the day the primary ended and the GE started. And while the primary was going on, McCain got little attention from the press - at least relative to Obama and Clinton.
It would be wonderfully ironic if Op Chaos - and I'm not convinced it had an affect, but whatever - actually does more to help Obama win than hurt his chances. Or, given Rush's clear dislike of McCain, was that his secret goal?
June 19, 2008 3:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
"it also helped increase Dem registration and enthusiasm in states that normally get ignored during the primary process." True, but how many were crossovers trying to impact the primary? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Don't be surprised to hear the cries "it had to have been voter fraud, there were so many new Dems registered. We had record turn out in the primary. It must've been Diebold (or Blackwell or who ever steals the next one...)."
June 19, 2008 3:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Dividends"?? Sorry, sport, it has not even paid a penny. And won't. Keep whistling past the graveyard though. ;-)
June 19, 2008 4:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
In defense of Hillary, the opposite is true of well. This is true of McCain. His criticisms of his rivals, and theirs (which have been pointed out on TPM) don't paint a pretty picture. This would have been true whether Hillary got out early or later. What's important though, is that Hillary is eventually out there on the stump and in the media backing Obama.
June 19, 2008 2:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't agree with this. They've had fodder on Hillary for 16 years.
June 19, 2008 3:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hillary made sure we don't regret her defeat. Once she lost 12 states in a row, her 2012 campaign was launced.
June 19, 2008 2:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ditto-head.
June 19, 2008 2:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
for SFC Wallace.
June 19, 2008 2:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ha ha...guilty as charged...
June 19, 2008 3:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
So, Sarge, are you going to Denver to disrupt the Dem convention like Rushbo told you to?
June 19, 2008 4:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's true, actions speak louder than words. Obama has taken the action of making an ad for Rep. Barrow in Georgia. Therefore, I now think Obama sucks and is going to sell us all out, forever.
June 19, 2008 2:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Okay, step away from the keyboard, make yourself a stiff highball of some kind and calm down, because that's just a bit of an over-reaction to one lousy ad, methinks.
June 19, 2008 3:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree with you. I was trying to lampoon some of the insane rending-of-garments on this blog.
June 19, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Who would have thought that hillary clinton would be a more effective surrogate for john mccain than rudy "9/11" giulliani?
yet another reason why Hillary Clinton is a horrible person who deserves nothing short of our scorn.
BTW, I'm still waiting to see evidence that she's prepared to "work her heart out" for Obama like she said she would.
June 19, 2008 3:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think that this is a bit much. I was disappointed with Sen Clinton at several points throughout this campaign and was never in favor of making her our nominee, but for all that she is still a much better democrat than many in the senate. She is not perfect, but she is not nearly as horrible as you are making out. When Pres Obama signs the Clinton-Stabenow act creating a single payer health care system in this country (you heard it here first!), we will all be toasting her hard work in the Senate which achieved such a proud outcome.
June 19, 2008 3:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
granted "horrible person" is a bit much. i take that back.
but i stand by everything else in my previous comment.
June 19, 2008 3:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
she's a little busy taking care of her debts.
June 19, 2008 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
When McCain unleashes Clinton's "threshold" remark, it will be his last, best shot.
Or am I being sexist?
June 19, 2008 3:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
I approve of your avatar.
And I think you're being optimistic. There's the "He's not a Muslim, as far as I know" chestnut still to be unleashed, along with the "If he were my pastor, I would have left the church" goodie.
June 19, 2008 3:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, but, you know? This is all just too easy, and predictable and cheap. Is it like there are people out there who haven't heard Hillary say these things about Obama. Is there a Joe and Millie Voter out there who are gonna hear these ads and say, "Oh Gracious! If even Hillary doesn't support this candidate, we can't possibly. We'd better support McCain." It's an awful lot like a poor student ripping off a badly written paper from the internet.
I think it packs all of the whollop of a wet sock. The best they can hope for is to get us all mad at Hillary again. My reaction is, "Whatever."
June 19, 2008 7:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh and by the way, I just LOVE it when you kitties chat. Which poster was it who dubbed it "CatChat?"
June 19, 2008 8:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
When McCain unleashes Clinton's "threshold" remark, it will be his last, best shot.
The RNC already put together an ad that uses Hillary's "threshold" comments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2DECDKOFnw
June 19, 2008 3:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
ahhh...hillary was a fucking genius now, wasn't she??
she better step up big this election or else she can kill 2012 goodbye.
June 19, 2008 3:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why hasn't Obama been talking about the fact that McCain's already violated campaign finance laws by illegally opting out of public financing in the primaries after securing a loan with a thinly veiled promise to take public money if he lost?
June 19, 2008 3:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
they should be. i dunno why they're not.
there really is nothing to lose by pointing out john mccain's own hypocrisy and questionable ethics with regards to campaign money.
June 19, 2008 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
semantics.
voters eyes will glaze over on that.
But I do find it funny that McCain is feigning manufactured outrage that the DNC is somehow "trashing" Cindy by asking for an investigation on the use of the Hensley corporate jet for campaign events.
Because fuzzy accounting is equal to "Baby Mama" comments...
June 19, 2008 3:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
the hillary statement is too long to read and plus shes out the race so who cares
http://sensico.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/dwc-checklist-4-change-part-1/
June 19, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Once the affectionate, post-primary fuzzies for Hillary evaporate, Dems will see, more and more, what a slick little GOP beast she was throughout the campaign.
June 19, 2008 3:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
It is unfortunate, but certainly inevitable this would happen. We need to give her a chance to respond before jumping down her throat.
So far Barack is doing pretty well with most females. Hillary will definately help with those who are still in denial. It will help us win if we are not trashing her. Please give her the benefit of doubt. She can help, no one can dispute that.
June 19, 2008 3:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
still waiting for your rundown on whether Hillary's 'kitchen sink' strategy of prefiguring the GOP's general election attacks for them was fair to Obama or the Democratic party, greg.
June 19, 2008 10:59 PM | Reply | Permalink