Who Needs To Win A Caucus If You Have Already Won?

Being competitive is the standard Clinton has set? This is getting absolutely ridiculous from the Clinton campaign, this time from former Gov. and erstwhile presidential candidate Tom Vilsack.

“I can’t predict this thing – I don’t think anyone can, it’s so close,” he said.

The former two-term governor then offered a twist on my question – he said he couldn’t guess if Mrs. Clinton would “win,” yet he had no doubt that she had already “succeeded” in Iowa.

“When she got into this in March, she wasn’t competitive here – she wasn’t competitive,” Mr. Vilsack said, putting it as plainly as he ever has that Iowa Democrats were quite skeptical of a Clinton candidacy early on, a fact that led a Clinton deputy campaign manager to suggest last spring that she skip Iowa altogether.

“Now I think everyone would acknowledge that she is competitive here,” Mr. Vilsack said. “She has succeeded.”

The overwhelming national favorite is merely competitive in Iowa and that is success? Clinton’s strategy is reminiscent of a saying by former Republican Senator George Aiken: “The best policy is to declare victory and leave.”

Related at 2008 Central:

Hillary Clinton Fudges Facts on Iowa, Pakistan

Is Iowa The Right Choice To Go First? Gov. Strickland Says No.

An Open Memo To Iowa Democrats

Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Ponders Skipping Iowa Caucus

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Clinton Donors Also Gave Money to Vilsack

Following up on our post of the other day, an article in the LA Times today reports:

Shortly after endorsing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack received nearly $90,000 in donations to his defunct presidential campaign from some of Clinton’s major backers, campaign finance reports show.

The donations, disclosed in Federal Election Commission filings over the weekend, came from Clinton fundraising bastions of New York, California, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

None came from Iowa, where Vilsack served two terms as governor.

Vilsack, unable to raise the tens of millions needed to wage a serious presidential campaign, withdrew from the Democratic race in February. In a finance report filed Sunday covering the first half of the year, Vilsack disclosed that he had $2,962 in cash and a leftover debt of $148,000.

Once he dropped out, Democratic candidates came courting, hoping he could help them win the important early caucus state. In March he endorsed Clinton, and his Democratic organization is viewed as key to her chance of winning in Iowa six months from now.

In May and June, at least 45 Clinton donors contributed $87,000 to Vilsack’s presidential campaign account. Vilsack used part of the money to repay himself $55,000, part of a personal loan he had given to his campaign. He paid other bills as well.

It’s interesting that in every article, there are questions - mostly unanswered - about whether this sort of thing is right or wrong. Well, it’s legal, so in that sense, it’s right. But it certainly feels wrong - there’s a reason every Clinton official questioned has to strongly deny a quid pro quo was there, even though it was clear from the outset Clinton would help retire the bills. Of course, the whole existence of campaign finance always feels wrong somewhat; I shouldn’t be surprised at how icky (for lack of a better word) this seems.

Of course, at the current pace, we could be seeing this all over again with a Republican candidate enveloping the McCain campaign.

Related at 2008 Central:

• Clinton Campaign Purchased List From Vilsack on June 8 (7/15/07)
• Follow Up (2): Sources: ‘Vilsack To Endorse Hillary’ (3/27/07)
• Follow Up: Sources: ‘Vilsack To Endorse Hillary’ (3/26/07)
• Sources: ‘Vilsack To Endorse Hillary’ (3/25/07)

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Clinton Campaign Purchased List From Vilsack on June 8

The Clinton campaign decided recently they needed to make an impact in Iowa, where they were languishing in polls in comparison to the rest of the country, and recent filings have helped shed light on the timeline for that decision. On June 18, they announced that Bill would campaign with Hillary over July 4 in Iowa, but now there’s an indication the push began internally even earlier.

On March 7, shortly after Vilsack folded his campaign, the Clinton campaign purchased office equipment for $3,100.

And then on June 8, the Clinton campaign purchased a list (presumably of supporters) from the Vilsack campaign for $20,000. If this was something that the Clinton campaign wanted earlier, they seemingly could easily have purchased it earlier (as they did with the furniture). The circumstantial evidence seems to point to the Clinton campaign deciding in early June to make a big push in Iowa, and it was beyond just having Pres. Clinton on the trail.

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2008 Central’s Presidential Election Podcast (5/27/07)

This week’s podcast covers…

• Al Gore buzz
• Jockeying between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama’s campaigns
• Ron Paul vs. Rudy Giuliani on national security
• Discussion of bloggers call with Gov. Mike Huckabee
• Iraq War Funding Bill: What’s going on and what it means for the campaigns
• And more…

Feel free to email us questions/suggestions for next week’s podcast (you can also email an audio file of your question and we’ll include it in the podcast).

Subscribe to 2008 Central’s Presidential Election Podcast

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Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Ponders Skipping Iowa Caucus

Mike Henry, Hillary Clinton’s Deputy Campaign Manager, wrote a memo earlier this week compelling Sen. Clinton to skip the Iowa Caucus.  In it, he argued that money and currently being spent in Iowa would be more useful in New Hampshire and February 5 primary states.  Clinton strategist, Harold Ickes spins reports about this memo as follows:

“Every campaign games out different scenarios and this is one scenario…The campaign is moving in Iowa, is going to stay in Iowa and Mrs. Clinton is very dedicated to winning the state.”

I recognize the need for contingencies and alternative strategies.  My hope is that Henry was simply trying to be prepared and/or play the devil’s advocate.  That said, at this point, I think skipping the Iowa Caucus would be bad for Hillary…. 

• It seems unfounded given the way Sen. Clinton has been polling in Iowa.
• If Sen. Clinton does not compete in the Caucus, she risks strengthening her opponents as they gear up for the big push on February 5.  A massive victory in Iowa could very well propel Barack Obama or John Edwards past Hillary in the New Hampshire primary (Bill Richardson could be added to this list too, although it’s a bit too early at this point).  Needless to say, losing New Hampshire wouldn’t be good for Sen. Clinton.
• Skipping the Caucus could signal to voters in other states that she lacks confidence about winning in the midwest, whereby feeding into opponents’ argument that Sen. Clinton is unelectable. 
• Just because skipping the Iowa Caucus worked for Bill Clinton back in 1992, doesn’t mean that it will work for Sen. Clinton this time around.  The political climate and the primary schedules are drastically different.  After-all, skipping the Iowa Caucus didn’t help McCain back in 2000
• Hillary has emphatically stated that she will be campaigning in Iowa and even noted that she’ll be doing something that Bill Clinton didn’t do.  Skipping the Caucus will ultimately force her to eat her words as well as walk in the snowprints of Bill Clinton.  I imagine the bad press she’ll get for skipping the Caucus would counteract any possible benefits.

[Photo Credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh]

 Edit:

Hotline notes rightly that this may hurt Vilsack more than anyone (is there any doubt any more that he’s not the VP candidate?). And they also note that Vilsack today is at Clinton state headquarters … in New Hampshire. Ouch.

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A Glance at the Work Ethic of the Clinton Campaign

Implicit in all the polls about Hillary pulling away in polls is some surprise; people think the race should tighten first before someone pulls away, and that her high negative numbers will eventually hurt her. And those may eventually be true (especially her negative numbers).

But lost between her positions and her poll numbers is her actual campaigning. Her campaign is already at a fever pitch. A Nola.com blog entry describes her campaigns efforts tomorrow in New Orleans:

Clinton on Saturday is scheduled to deliver the commencement address at Dillard University during an 8 a.m. ceremony at the Gentilly campus.

The New York senator is slated to begin her 2-day visit at 1 p.m. Friday with a tour of the 9th Ward, Broadmoor and Central City, according to her campaign office. At 2 p.m., she is expected to visit with senior citizens at the Central City Multi-Purpose Center at 2020 Jackson Ave., then to meet with city and community leaders at the Hubbard Mansion, a bed and breakfast at 3535 St. Charles Ave.
…
After touring the city and meeting with residents, Clinton is expected to appear at a private fund-raiser at the Uptown home of Democratic Party supporters Calvin and Frances Fayard. An invitation to the 5:30 p.m. party indicates that “donors” will pay $1,000 apiece to get into the event; joining the “host committee” costs $2,300 per person.

That’s a busy schedule, and Louisiana is not even an important election state. And it’s only the beginning. Bill Clinton is attending events in South Carolina tomorrow, and is maintaining a heavy schedule over the weeks ahead (heavy enough that you have to be concerned for his health). He’s also doing work of his own, such as the Green Cities initiative he announced today, when he’s not meeting with Rush Limbaugh. And even beyond Hillary and Bill, she has other stand-ins as well. Tom Vilsack is blogging and organizing in Iowa. And judging by the latter link, the campaign is not suffering from a lack of realism either - they are well aware of what is happening on the ground.

They don’t seem to be making the mistake that Howard Dean did in 2004 - send people to Iowa and let the organization take care of itself. We’ll still have to see if they can overcome Edwards’ even harder working in the state, but on the whole, the Clinton campaign is just technically impressive. Clinton is not going to be beaten easily, if at all.

(By the way, the only responses Barack Obama has are intermittent appearances by Michelle Obama - they still have young children to raise - and now Tom Daschle, one of the least inspirational Democrats in my lifetime. Elizabeth Edwards often stumps for John Edwards, but between their young children and her health, she’s limited as well.)

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2008 Central’s Presidential Election Podcast (4/15/07)

This week’s podcast covers…

• Obama/Clinton ticket buzz
• Duncan Hunter’s declaration of a space race with China
• Update on Kucinich’s Eyes & Ears program
• Bill Richardson giving $30,000 to Tom Vilsack’s now defunct and debt plagued presidential campaign
• Hillary Clinton’s REAL Q1 fundraising numbers
• John McCain pegging his campaign to the Iraq War
• And more…

Stay tuned for next week’s podcast as we’ll be sitting down for the first time with 2008 Central’s official humorist (you’re not going to want to miss this)…

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McCain, Brownback, Kucinich, and Vilsack File

Four more filings, including the defunct Vilsack campaign.

John McCain raised $13,087,559.50 this quarter (higher than it was reported because it includes PAC contributions; all the numbers I’ve posted today include PAC numbers). McCain reported having 51,000 donors. He had 10,461 itemized receipts. He spent $8,379,214.68 during the quarter, and has $5,180,799.06 on hand.

Sam Brownback raised $1,871,057.79 this quarter, a decent amount. He showed 1,140 itemized receipts. He spent $1,064,431.52 during the quarter, and has $806,626.27 on hand. An overall decent start for Brownback, but if Brownback is going to break through to impact the election, this will have to turn out to be a modest start and not a peak. Note: The 1.8 million includes a $575,000 transfer from his Senate campaign that I originally had missed.

Dennis Kucinich raised $344,891.00 during the quarter. He spent $194217.00 and has $163887.00 in the bank; he reported 254 itemized receipts.

We can see with Tom Vilsack what sort of burn rate will take a candidate out of the race. He raised in half of the quarter $563,527.01 putting him on pace to beat Brownback and the second tier of Republicans, but far back behind the second tier of Democrats like Richardson, Dodd, and Biden. During the half of the quarter when he was running a cmapaign, he spent an astounding $1,119,364.02. He was relying on money raised in previous quarters (he entered the quarter with nearly $400,000 in the bank) and loans from himself to keep the campaign afloat - and obviously, was not successful. Vilsack loaned his campaign $180,055.10 and has only had $32,102.11 paid back to him. He’s also filed that his campaign is $154,664.98 in debt.

Now, burn rate is not a measure of failure in itself; Giuliani doesn’t get bonus points for spending less. The key is spending it effectively. Vilsack had spent his effectively - he had good support in Iowa, even considering he was a governor there. But he couldn’t raise enough money to maintain that level of support. We haven’t seen any first or second tier Democrats file yet, but the Republican burn rates seem to indicate that Giuliani may be at a disadvantage - McCain has been through an election already; he may be making mistakes politically, but it seems unlikely he will make such mistakes in running a campaign. Also, articles like this that praise how much Giuliani has in the bank… well, that’s going to change. McCain is overloading his schedule with fundraisers. I’m not sure he can win the nomination, but within the next month or so McCain seems primed for what the media will deem a comeback.

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Follow Up (2): Sources: ‘Vilsack To Endorse Hillary’

Yesterday, former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack endorsed Sen. Clinton in her quest for the presidency.

The NYT Blog reportsthat Sen. Clinton will be helping Gov. Vilsack pay off the roughly $430,000 campaign debt he’s accumulated.  Looks like we have yet another instance of Sen. Clinton putting her money to use…

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Follow Up: Sources: ‘Vilsack To Endorse Hillary’

As previously speculated, Gov. Vilsack endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton today in Iowa:

“This is the person to be the next president of the United States…She is tried, she is tested and she is ready.”

After their joint press conference, an email from Vilsack was distributed to Clinton campaign supporters (full text after the jump).  Naturally, the endorsement is fueling speculation that Vilsack is hoping to secure the VP slot.  We’ll see… Read more

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Sources: ‘Vilsack To Endorse Hillary’

Sen. Clinton will be in DesMoines, Iowa on Monday, March 26, 2007.  In the morning, she will appear on ABC’s Good Morning America’s Presidential Candidate Town Hall, where she will discuss health care.  Shortly following this appearance, both Tom Vilsack and Sen. Clinton are scheduled to make a “major announcement.”  It is expected that Tom Vilsack, former governor of Iowa, will endorse Sen. Clinton.

Vilsack’s position on the Iraq war is to the left of Sen. Clinton’s.  Accordingly, his endorsement could give her a bump amongst those Democrats still angry with her over her handling of the Iraq war issue.

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Vilsack to Endorse Clinton

Hillary Clinton will be Iowa on Monday, and sources say former Gov. and Presidential candidate Tom Vilsack will endorse her.

 The move comes undoubtedly as a blow to the Obama and Edwards campaigns, who need to make up ground in the polls against her. Clinton, though, continues to nag just about every endorsement that’s on the table. There were some subtle yet noticeable differences in their policies (Vilsack farther to the left than anyone on Iraq; Clinton farther to the right than any Democrat save Biden), and I’m intrigued to see what Vilsack says about that and other differences.

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Poll Vaulting: Clinton Beats Obama By One Vote in St. Paul Straw Poll

The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) had its straw poll yesterday following their caucus.

Results:

Clinton	324	25%
Obama	323	25%
Edwards	176	13.6%
Richardson	115	8.9%
Kucinich	77	6.0%
Gore (write-ins)	31	2.4%
Clark	17	1.3%
Biden	13	1%
Dodd	6	0.4%
Vilsack	4	0.3%
Gravel	0	0%
Undecided	207	16%

Poor Mike Gravel….

This is not a scientific poll, more something just to file away; although it is the first evidence that Richardson may be on the verge of breaking out.

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Friday Morning Democratic Roundup

Barack Obama

Michelle Obama briefly explains how she turned from a political cynic to a supporter of her husband’s run for office. … Obama is trying to make sure more anti-terrorism money goes to high-risk areas instead of being more strictly assigned to states equally … Another recap of Obama’s appearance in Cleveland earlier this week. …

Bill Richardson

Bill Richardson is having problems generating buzz outside the southwest, sometimes for obvious reasons, other times for hidden ones. For instance, his goal of getting a space port in New Mexico is quite unpopular in Florida. The article also points out the colors of his website, but more correctly (and importantly) notices the lack of interactivity. … Richardson is in Iowa today, lunching at the Latin Kings Restaurant in Des Moines, and later going to Indianola, before going to events tomorrow in Des Moines. … The New Mexico Senate is debating a minimum wage increase that Gov. Richardson is supporting. … Richardson continues to get accolades for his credentials, which have yet to turn into tangible results for him. In this article, on free trade, Richardson states, “I’m a free trader. But I think free-trade agreements have to have stronger enforcements in three areas: wage disparity, worker protection and environmental protection.” On immigration: “The border fence is a terrible symbol of division. … What is needed is a sensible path to legalization for the 12 million undocumented workers in America, plus realistic security measures like doubling Border Patrol agents on the border, and more detection technology.” He also called for the United States to offer more Third World debt relief, join the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and adhere to the International Criminal Court. On Cuba: “There has to be reciprocal action by the Cuban government. … Raúl Castro has been making noises about improving the relationship. The first thing he should do is release political prisoners. If he does that, you enter into a negotiation.” … Richardson is displeased that New Mexico politicians may not be required to submit a record of their finances anymore. … Another article on Richardson’s positions. On Immigration: “So I am calling on the Democratic Congress to act swiftly to work with the President and solve this problem (of 11 million illegal immigrants). And it can be solved by taking four realistic steps — securing the border, increasing legal immigration, preventing employers from hiring illegal workers, and providing a path to legalization for most of the 11 million illegal immigrants already here.” Richardson is also criticized in the article for advocating positions only when they are popular. … Richrdson joined with governors of California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona to form a pact for reducing carbon emissions.

Christopher Dodd

Dodd hasn’t issued a press release on his site in over a month, the latest ‘Dodd news’ article is from October 2006, and everything in the news is about something his presience in the Senate or a mention of him in the campaign. The ‘Press Clips’ section is hidden at the bottom and is essentially a duplicate of his press releases of his Senate office, just less detailed, if that’s even possible. Memo to Dodd’s campaign: if you’re serious about this, update your site, because no media sources are going to do the work for you. If you’re not serious, just get out now.

Dennis Kucinich

Time briefly profiles Kucinich here, and how he is basically being ignored by his party. He says he is not a joke: “When people see what I have to say, they go, ‘Hey, wait. He’s right about the war. Ha-ha. He’s right about health care. Ha-ha.’” Newsweek did an interview with Kucinich, and aside from him dropping the fact that he was a third string quarterback on his high school football team (say WHAT?), he seems to be basing his entire campaign on never being wrong politically. He reiterates his positions on Iraq and health care, but doesn’t say anything else other than ‘I told you so’ for five pages. He doesn’t seem to be courting people as much as convincing people that they should agree with his pre-determined positions. It’s a somewhat bizarre strategy (telling voters your views are important, not theirs), and probably a reason why he’ll always get the support he does. …

Hillary Clinton

I’m leading with this because it really just made my morning. Timbaland is hosting a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in Miami on March 31 (last day of the first quarter for fundraising). Not only that, but Bill Clinton will be attending the sioree as well. … Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were scheduled to appear in the same town of Selma, Alabama this weekend. In order to prevent being overshadowed (which would be especially disastrous Clinton’s claim of inevitability), Clinton is bringing out the big gun: Bill Clinton will be joining the campaign for their first joint appearance. Both Clintons and Obama will join in a symbolic march across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, the site where civil rights workers were beaten by state troopers in 1965. Suffice to say that the three will probably not be walking side by side like a montage from Law and Order. Also while there former President Clinton will be inducted into the ‘Voting Rights Hall of Fame’ … Sen. Clinton will be on a new talk show on March 26. … John Edwards raised a million dollars online over the past two months. Clinton did the same over the past week.

Joe Biden

Biden joined Obama and Clinton in criticizing the conditions at Walter Reed hospital, and is co-sponsoring a bill with Obama to require improvements. There’s a little irony in there, somewhere. … Biden was recently in New Hampshire holding a town hall meeting on Iraq, and will be in South Carolina this weekend.

John Edwards

John Edwards raised a million dollars online over the past two months. But Hillary Clinton did the same over the past week. The article references that the first candidate to raise a million dollars online last cycle was Howard Dean - and he did it in May 2003. … Someone vandalized John Edwards virtual headquarters. … Edwards issued a statement endorsing a plan in Congress to end the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy of the military. … He also issued a statement supporting organized labor.

Tom Vilsack

Gone but not forgotten: In an attempt to at least make the playing field talk about his issues and perhaps also angle for a potential VP slot, Vilsack is starting the process of vetting candidates for an endorsement.

Mike Gravel

Mike Gravel issued a press release calling for Congress to ‘end torture.’ He stated, “Under the U.S. Constitution, all enemy combatants fall under the jurisdiction of the Congress. It is abhorrent that the United States government today continues to torture human beings in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay and other secret C.I.A. prisons.” He continued: “The Constitution is very clear that prisoners of war are the responsibility of the Congress. The Bush administration has unlawfully taken that power without Constitutional justification. The Congress has been derelict in its duty to see that enemy combatants are treated humanely within the guidelines of the Geneva Conventions, and has been equally neglectful in its response to the President’s unlawful use of torture.”

Wesley Clark

Clark continues sitting on the fence. In an interview with Democracy Now, he states on declaring for President: “I’m waiting for several different preconditions, which I’m not at liberty to discuss. But I will tell you this: I think about it every single day.” He spends a lot of time criticizing the approach of the Bush administration to Iran, saying the military option is a bad one, and diplomacy needs to be pursued. He then talked about the mindset of generals preparing for war. There’s no real additional position clarity in the interview, just more depth on his feelings on Iran and why he feels that way…. Clark is in New Hampshire this weekend.

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Vilsack Drops Out

Tom Vilsack yesterday announced he could no longer continue to run for President, as he simply could not raise enough money. At his announcement, he stated, “We have to have a real debate about public financing and the ability to enable the primary and caucus process to be about ideas . . . not just simply about a money primary. … That’s the game that’s being played today, and it’s a game that obviously I was not able to play as successfully as I wanted to.”

The interesting part is what is going to happen to his organization and whom will receive his support. For obvious reasons (being a former governor of the state and also having started so early in Iowa), Vilsack had a large amount of support and good organization in the state. In particular, there are two details which may explain which way his supporters will swing. First, Vilsack apparently was polling the best in eastern Iowa. Furthermore, his anti-war stance was his hallmark. Given the media overlap and general proximity of eastern Iowa to Illinois and the anti-war stance, Obama probably stands to benefit the most, but Edwards cannot be counted out.

In the above linked Tribune story, an unnamed Obama ’operative’ said they hoped to benefit from it, as it makes sense for the above reasons. In fact, Obama waited only two minutes to begin courting a New Hampshire Vilsack supporter. Vilsack himself will not endorse anyone anytime soon, he said, as he instead tries to influence all of the candidates.

 Also in terms of endorsements, this clears up Sen. Tom Harkin for another endorsement. His office has already stated they will take thir time making it, but Chris Dodd already called Harkin asking for support.

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Monday Night Democratic Roundup

Barack Obama

Obama gave his stump speech in Columbia, SC on Saturday, and was compared to the Kennedys again.

Obama is speaking in Austin on Friday, and his speech was moved to a larger venue.

A former chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, Dick Harpootlian, endorsed Obama and will start fundraising for him.

Barack Obama responded to charges that he took too much credit for community work by pointing out that he never took credit by himself. Also, members of the community spoke out in his defense. I cannot see this issue outraging anyone - credit for community work? Unless he was doing cocaine during the community work, this probably will not go anywhere.

Gov. Tim Kaine went through with his plans to endorse Obama, but did so before the Jefferson-Jackson fundraising party which was attended by Sen. Webb and former Gov. Warner.

A Nigerian article about Obama, if you want that perspective.

Obama had a busy few days, as he was in southern Nevada Sunday, San Diego Sunday as well, San Francisco earlier today at a fundraiser for Barbara Boxer, and in Los Angeles tomorrow. Also, he’s in Ohio next weekend.

John Edwards

Edwards touted his health care plan in Iowa over the weekend, and challenged other candidates to give their detailed plans.

Edwards was in Las Vegas on Saturday night, campaigning to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union.

Speaking to the press in Iowa, Edwards reiterated his calls for direct talks with Iran regarding their nuclear program. He’s previously also taken a rather hard line, saying that all options ought be on the table. Edwards this time specifically called for economic action, such as nuclear power without nuclear weapons “so the Iranian people, who have not been historically anti-American, know that we’ve made this offer … and hopefully drive a deeper wedge between a radical leader (Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) and his own people.”

Even the Associated Press called Edwards out for being unrealistic in regards to Congress:

“That means using its appropriations authority in the Constitution to put a cap on the number of troops in Iraq so they can force (Bush) to start drawing down the number of troops,” he said. The reality is the Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate and such a move would require Republican votes, and any such legislation would face a certain veto by President Bush.

Edwards was on Real Time with Bill Maher.

US News and World Report has a feature article on Edwards. A nice summary for anyone who hasn’t been paying attention up until now. Otherwise, skip it.

Edwards is in Asheville, NC this Friday for a fundraising even with Rep. Heath Shuler.

Dennis Kucinich

Kucinich is being relentless in his tour of New Hampshire this weekend. His radicalism, such as ending nuclear wepons, may not attract much attention nationwide, but it is attracting some support in the Granite state.

Kucinich was the first Democrat to open an office in New Hampshire, as he opened an office in Keane (which may, as the article explains, be a keen move, no pun intended), and ate with Granny D, who is some sort of legend at this point.

A New Hampshire group concerned about a bottling company taking all the water in the water supply enlisted Kucinich in their battle.

Tom Vilsack

Vilsack campaigned in Iowa this weekend, trying to fight his way back to the top of the polls.

Bill Richardson

Richardson was in New Hampshire all weekend campaigning. He also raised $2 million at New Mexico fundraiser and is holding another fundraiser soon in Denver.

Richardson made a vague call for more ‘diplomacy’ in the Middle East regarding Hezbollah and Iran. (Wasn’t Rice in Israel the moment he made those comments?)

Richardson’s proposal to fund embryonic stem research in New Mexico is getting slowed down in the New Mexico House and Senate.

Chris Dodd

In a bad sign for his chances, Dodd is way behind even in Connecticut (with 8 %), though he is ahead of the margin of error there. Dodd’s representatives spinned the numbers, even though at this time 4 years ago Joe Lieberman had 41 percent of the vote.

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Friday Night Roundup: Democrats

Barack Obama

I’m no expert on race relations. I’m even less of an expert on racial identity. And that I’m going to be writing some sentences about African-American racial identity … well, I should be embarassed. That having been said, Obama held a rally Friday night and I’ll go to the AP article:

“Everybody’s entitled to their opinion,” Obama said. “But I know this _ that when folks were saying we’re going to march for our freedom, somebody said we can’t do that.”

And when others said blacks couldn’t sit at lunch counters, blacks did that, said Obama, who ended his thought with: “Yes, we can.” The crowd then started chanting the line.

Obama also touched on the diversity of the nearly 3,000 people at the event, saying a generation ago, blacks were harassed if they walked across the Statehouse grounds a few blocks away.

“Twenty years ago, nobody would have believed this crowd right here in South Carolina,” Obama said.

Now, this article doesn’t -quite- put his words into context. So I’m not going to do it for him. But I will make idle speculation on what he may have been saying. (Which either will be confirmed or shot down when more evidence comes in shortly).

Notice the ‘we’ Obama is using? I wonder if as a means of getting more support among African-Americans (his poll numbers compared to Hillary are shockingly low), if he isn’t using basic identity politics: identifying himself as an African-American. Here’s what Deborah Dickerson had to say at Salon:

“Black,” in our political and social reality, means those descended from West African slaves. Voluntary immigrants of African descent (even those descended from West Indian slaves) are just that, voluntary immigrants of African descent with markedly different outlooks on the role of race in their lives and in politics. At a minimum, it can’t be assumed that a Nigerian cabdriver and a third-generation Harlemite have more in common than the fact a cop won’t bother to make the distinction. They’re both “black” as a matter of skin color and DNA, but only the Harlemite, for better or worse, is politically and culturally black, as we use the term.

We know a great deal about black people. We know next to nothing about immigrants of African descent (woe be unto blacks when the latter groups find their voice and start saying all kinds of things we don’t want said). That rank-and-file black voters might not bother to make this distinction as long as Obama acts black and does us proud makes them no less complicit in this shell game we’re playing because everybody wins.

I think Dickerson here makes a delicate cultural distinction which some people might have missed simply by looking at Obama’s skin. And I wonder if Obama is trying to cross that cultural divide by partially identifying with the African-American struggle.

It seems like a cop-out on my part to end this without a conclusion - I understand. But I need to get more information before I make up my own mind. (and if someone posts video on Youtube, that would be fantastic)

For now, just something to chew on.

Bill Richardson

Bill Richardson was in New Hampshire today and is going back tomorrow.

Richardson still is trailing in the polls, but continues his run of building ground for a run by raising $2 million.

Christopher Dodd

Dodd spent a large portion of today and yesterday campaigning in New Hampshire. I think his campaign should stick with the rhymes and call his campaign ‘DoddTrod’. It would go well with the DoddPod and the Dodd Squad.

Because of the same Iraq war vote that McCain doesn’t care that he will miss, Chris Dodd is skipping campaign appearances and is sending his wife instead. Because if one thing is clear in this cycle, McCain needs appearances to get noticed and Dodd does not. Right?

Dennis Kucinich

Kucinich plans to be in New Hampshire on Sunday and Monday campaigning.

A Republican is quoted as saying that the Democrats chances of affecting war policy correlate with their ability to marginalize Kucinich and the other far left wing Democrats. I wonder how much that will correllate onto the trail over the next couple of weeks. One thing is for sure: Kucinich and people like him will never stop speaking. Who is listening is what could change.

Hillary Clinton

Sen Clinton is in New Hampshire campaigning tomorrow, as her ‘conversation’ tour continues.

Watch out for more articles like this, as its about time for the counter-revolution to begin in support of Hillary. There were a lot of people on the left making the case for war (and a lot on the right arguing against it. So far, only the anti-war people have been vocal, but eventually, everyone will be heard. I also agree with his conclusion - she ought to defend her vote on Iraq, not to apologize because a minority is pressing her.

Tom Vilsack

Here’s a brief recap of Vilsack on Leno Thursday night. Am I the only one hoping the Winnie the Pooh picture will eventually get out and become infamous?

Tom Vilsack filed his personal finance information, and true to his campaign, it’s unique but not particularly interesting. He rents a farm, and has collected $35k in environmental subsidies in the past 6 years. I speak for myself when I say -yawn-.

And here’s something everyone knows: Vilsack badly needs some sort of hook to separate him from the field to gain traction. With the depth the Democratic field has in government and oratorical skills, I’m not sure there’s a hook left. We’ll see.

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Press Released; Democrats: Edwards Issues Plan for Iraq; Biden and Dodd; Richardson and Clinton Go Nuts

John Edwards

Edwards Issued his comprehensive plan for Iraq today. Here’s the release (I’ve covered this elsewhere and will probably do so again eventually). In short, this is long on liberal ideas for the present divided government (whatever you personally lean - Democrat or Republican - it is undeniable that the status quo is divided government with a lame duck president) and short on practical ones for what he would do if elected. This looks like Edwards is just trying to get back into the Iowa race and isn’t concerned with being generally electable.

Feb 14, 2007

Calls on Congress to stop debating and take action: Cap funding for troops in Iraq at 100,000 troops and stop the surge; end war in 2008

Says Bush is acting without authorization

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Senator John Edwards today laid out a comprehensive proposal for Congress to implement his plan to stop President Bush’s escalation of the war in Iraq and begin an immediate withdrawal by capping funding for troops at 100,000, and requiring withdrawal of all combat troops over the next 12-18 months.

“Nearly a month ago, I called on Congress to block the President’s escalation of war. Unfortunately, while Congress has been debating Iraq, President Bush has been surging troops into Iraq. The escalation is underway, so blocking it is no longer enough – now we have to take the next step and cap funding to mandate a withdrawal,” Edwards said. “We don’t need debate; we don’t need non-binding resolutions; we need to end this war, and Congress has the power to do it. They should use it now. In order to get the Iraqi people to take responsibility for their country, we must show them that we are serious about leaving, and the best way to do that is to actually start leaving.”

Edwards believes that the only solution to the situation in Iraq is a political solution, which requires all the parties in Iraq to take responsibility for the future of their country. By leaving Iraq, the Iraqi people, regional powers, and the entire international community will be forced to engage in the search for a political solution that will end the sectarian violence and create a stable Iraq. Escalating the war sends exactly the wrong signal to the Iraqi people, regional powers and the world.

Edwards’ plan for Iraq calls for Congress to:
-Cap funding for the troops in Iraq at 100,000 troops to stop the surge and implement an immediate drawdown of 40-50,000 combat troops. Any troops beyond that level should be redeployed immediately.
-Prohibit funding to deploy any new troops to Iraq that do not meet real readiness standards and that have not been properly trained and equipped, so American tax dollars are used to train and equip our troops, instead of escalating the war.
-Make it clear that President Bush is conducting this war without authorization. The 2002 authorization did not give President Bush the power to use U.S. troops to police a civil war. President Bush exceeded his authority long ago, and now needs to end the war and ask Congress for new authority to manage the withdrawal of the U.S. military presence and to help Iraq achieve stability.
-Require a complete withdrawal of combat troops in Iraq in the next 12-18 months without leaving behind any permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq.

After withdrawal, Edwards believes that sufficient forces should remain in the region to contain the conflict and ensure that instability in Iraq does not spillover and create a regional war, a terrorist haven, or spark a genocide. In addition, Edwards believes the U.S. should step up our diplomatic efforts by engaging in direct talks with all the nations in the region, including Iran and Syria and work to bring about a political solution to the sectarian violence inside Iraq, including through a peace conference. He also believes the U.S. must intensify its efforts to train the Iraqi security forces.

Bill Richardson

Richardson issued 5 press releases from his governor’s office, mostly benign and having to do with state business.
Read more

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