Hillary Clinton dissed party activists and MoveOn.org

Apparently Hillary Clinton hasn't always been enamored with the rambunctious nature of the historic fight for the Democratic presidential nomination. Speaking to financial backers after Super Tuesday, she blamed the party's activists and MoveOn.org for her early primary and caucus defeats, according to an item over at The Huffington Post.

"MoveOn.org endorsed [Barack Obama] -- which is like a gusher of money that never seems to slow down," the item quotes Clinton as saying (there's audio on the site).

Her campaign, she continues, had been less successful in caucuses because those gatherings bring out "the activist base of the Democratic Party... [T]hey are very driven by their view of our positions, and it's primarily national security and foreign policy that drives them. I don't agree with them. They know I don't agree with them. So they flood into these caucuses and dominate them and really intimidate people who actually show up to support me."

Eli Pariser, MoveOn's executive director, defended the base: "Senator Clinton's attack on our members is divisive at a time when Democrats will soon need to unify to beat Senator [John] McCain. MoveOn is 3.2 million reliable voters and volunteers who are an important part of any winning Democratic coalition in November. They deserve better than to be dismissed using Republican talking points."

So much for party unity in the dash for the White House.

It was exactly ago a week ago ...

that another Huffington Post item unearthed a candid comment -- Barack Obama's now-infamous sociological assessment of the mores of small-town America -- and the reaction to it roiled the Democratic presidential race.

Clinton's comment won't kick up as much a fuss as Obama's, but she did poke a stick at a group that can be counted on to respond in kind.

Indeed, Pariser took particular umbrage to Clinton, in the comments to her donors, saying, "MoveOn didn't even want us to go into Afghanistan. I mean, that's what we're dealing with."

Pariser said: "Senator Clinton has her facts wrong again. MoveOn never opposed the war in Afghanistan, and we set the record straight years ago when Karl Rove made the same claim."

And you can be sure that many of its members will seethe over the Afghanistan matter.

The fact that Obama made his small-town comment in San Francisco helped give it particular reasonance. The new post concerning Clinton does not identify where she uttered her words; Huffington Post editors tell us that information was withheld to protect the source who provided the audio to free-lance journalist and author Celeste Fremon.

The event, we've been told, "was a small affair held between Super Tuesday and the Ohio/Texas primaries in a major American city."

There's irony in Clinton trashing MoveOn -- the group was formed, and its name conceived, in an effort to persuade the country that too much time and energy was being devoted to impeach and drive Bill Clinton from office because of the Monica Lewinsky affair.

-- Scott Martelle/Don Frederick

Comments

[swuzy]

True of False? Was Hillary Clinton Fired from Watergate Investigation for Unethical Misconduct and Then Lying About It?
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Did her boss in the Watergate investigation fire her, refuse to give her a letter of recommendation and said she was a liar who did highly unethical things?
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Does her boss say that she conspired to violate the Constitution, the rules of the House, the rules of the committee and the rules of confidentiality, that she was an unethical and dishonest lawyer; that he should have reported her to the bar association for disciplinary action; that she wrote a fraudulent legal memorandum which if submitted to a judge would have gotten her disbarred; and that he could not recommend her for any subsequent position of public or private trust?
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http://www.jzeifman.com/
http://www.aim.org/aim-column/hillarys-crocodile-tears-in-connecticut
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Check it out, what do you think? If it is not true, wouldn't the Clintons' have shut these sites down?
.

[allison]

Don't expect nice politics coming from the Obama campaign. they wont get far bragging about Obama credentials and accomplishments.

McCain is smart, recognize that early .

[Move-OnMember]

Well, Move-On, there was something VERY FISHY about your so-called vote for your members to see which candidate a majority supported. Several women I know, who all support Clinton and who are all Move-On Members, DID NOT receive your emails for their votes on who they supported. Then, with less than a 10% response, you said that your members endorsed Obama. This is not real, and it is misleading and dishonest. I was very disappointed in the lack of integrity demonstrated by your organization.

[Casey]

I would very much like to know precisely what is her disagreement with MoveOn with regard to foreign policy and Iraq. I mean, she said she'd end the war in Iraq, right?

Maybe she is lying about that too.

[Midwest Mark]

Its time to MoveOn beyond the politics of the 1990s - Monica, Hillary et. al. Our nation needs a healer, not a street fighter.

[mary saunders]

I agree completly,That Hillary has been kicked around to long now! We know her much better then we know Obama, If you believe Obama wont bring all his american haters into the white house then your being fooled again! This man nose is up to high! like Black is better then Whites, the rv Wright believes are comeing trew Obama"s speach'es loud and strong, I would'nt trust Obama with my dog , never mind being my president. I see what kind of CHANGE he is headed for And it's not pretty, It's gonna be pay back for all of AMERICA!

[sparky]

The Clinton comments are not surprising to anyone who has followed this year's campaign. Deceit and disingenuousness have always been a part of Hillary Clintons tactics. For a good example, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exsmFDYyK4U and forward it to others you think might be interested.

[Fran]

Why are people dissing MoveOn.org? I am a member and I am not an extremist or left-winger. I focus on the issues MoveOn fights for and that is the needs of middle and lower income citizens who have been forgotten continuously. When she was lobbying MoveOn for their endorsement she LOVED them. It is only after we endorsed Obama that she now disparages them, just as in Richardson's and others who have endorsed Obama. And she continually spouted that small states and caucus states weren't important. Who told her she gets to decide what states and what citizen's votes are important and not important. Being from New York she used this same tactic to gain the Senate seat, attack anyone who doesn't support her. Who annoited her to decide which citizen's vote was important and which were not? And what gives her the right to attack anyone who endorses Obama? She attacks him on having a slight association with someone who did something illegal 40 years ago (now a highly respected Professor)through the assistance of ABC and Georgia boy (her lap dog) yet God forbid anyone bring up the fact she worked in a law firm for Robert Truehaft the attorney for The Communist Party USA (even mentioned in his obitutuary) which was 30 years ago. She wants people to count her 35 years of experience, let's discuss all her donors who have been endicted. But no, if you bring all this up you are talking about the past and beating up on poor Hillary but it's okay for her to attack Obama and any politically active group who do not fall in line with her.

She is pathetic.

[Chelsea]

I guess I'm not blue collar, but I make about 26,000 a year, which isn't much. I'm 27, one of those people Hillary condescendingly said thinks they're "immortal" in the March debate. I'm hopeful, which she and Bill have said means I'm living in a fantasy world. And I'm a MoveOn member, which means, now, apparently, that I'm some overbearing ultra-liberal who hates her and throws money at defeating her.

MoveOn's made up of a lot of pretty normal people. I'm more liberal politically than Clinton is, which is why I'm not supporting her... not because I hate her or my gender!) The MoveOn endorsement of Obama came about after they sent an email survey to members asking their preference - that's pretty democratic I think. More than the messed up caucus format, which I think should be eliminated, but I didn't hear anyone calling caucuses unfair until they lost one.

I'm not a registered Democrat. I have volunteered through MoveOn and on my own to register people to vote, to explain to them the confusing "Texas Two-Step" process, and to check people in at my Texas county convention last month, where the caucus votes were finally counted. All of these involved trying to help people vote, regardless of who they'd vote for.

I've never given a dollar to a political candidate, not directly, through a political party, or through a PAC. But I will keep spending my free time trying to affect this election, and there are lots of people doing that, within and without MoveOn.org. Hillary Clinton, please don't tell me my influence is untoward just because it's not helping you.

[Mary LB]

I voted in Move On dot org's poll on who they should endorse. I do not recall any Afghanistan petitions; most likely she misspoke and meant Iraq. She told Code Pink she gave the matter (Iraq) careful study and would like to agree with them, but could not.

That is why I did not vote for her in Move On's poll. She seems not to understand a government "of, for and by the people". It is a president's job to work for us; we pay their salary. We are allowed to "redress government" for wrongs. They are to do our bidding, not force us to vote for them, when they do not agree with our core values.

She now admits "we acted on faulty intelligence"; there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The only thing I wrote to Bill, during his terms in office, about was air strikes in no fly zones. I suggested we start lessening our nation's dependency upon oil, rather than start yet another war.

He did not agree with me either. Maybe he should have listened; because we are less safe now. A Marine Iraqi vet summed it up: for every 2 or 3 enemy we kill, we wake up 10 or 12 more. Iraqi Vets Against War, Veterans for Peace are other citizen groups that do not agree with Hillary.

Of course, like Neil Bush, Bill profits from the Iraq war via Dubai. The Bush/Clinton monarchy do not want to give up their seat of power in DC. That is why she lies so much about Obama and pretends that she is going to fight special interests. She vowed in an earlier debate that she would continue to take lobbyists money.

I guess she banks on people misremembering. She forgot that this is not yesterday. We, the people have instant access to information and yesterday's news at our fingertips. "a gusher of money" is questionable. She has more large dollar donors than Obama. His ave. contribution is $109.

Her assumption seems to be that Move On dot org members are middle or upper income folks. Maybe they are. But I have signed many of their petitions and I most definitely do not have spare change to gush.

[cbl]

I was a member of Moveon and moved out the moment they endorsed Senator Obama. I agree with the assessment of the caucus'. In Texas at our precinct, there were Obama supporters trying to intimidate and take over. Remember the news? We also had a lawyer flown in that was telling us how to do everything. I kept trying to find our why he was there and who brought him in. He was not from Texas, I absolutely believe that they were at caucus' all over Texas that night.

[Mariano]

Comment by John: Maya Angelou endorsed Hillary almost a year ago now, what does that have to do with this issue? What does McCain, both Bush's and both Clintons not wearing flag lapel pins have to say about their patriotism? (Debate or plain old silly?) I wrote Maya then, telling her I feel Hillary has become what Maya cautioned woman about: forgetting values; favoring power and money over values of love and life.

My PA family members are voting for Obama. I was surprised by the pro-war, Marine vet Republican's switch. My son-in-law and I butt heads more than once on the issue of Iraq. They are more citizens that do not agree with Hillary. He most especially would not be a Move On activist.

What makes Clinton think citizens want a Bush/Clinton monarchy in DC? She will blame anyone and anything on her lack of majority support, but never face facts. Lie upon lie. Not just from Bill, but from her throughout the campaign. Must say, she is good at selling her lies to gullible people. I see their comments all over the web. Even on this blog post.

[Merry]

Her comments are much more noteworthy when you hear what she said to move on a year ago.
Praising them in hopes to get their endorsement. Perhaps printing both statements in one article will give everyone a good view of the real Hillary Clinton
It show, once again how untruthful she is and how good she is at lying.

[Kevin]

I really am suprised at this nonsense the media keeps trying to poison people with. The Clinton's are not dishonest in anyway. I think there is no doubt that Obama and the Republicans have united media-wise because they both fear the support the Clinton's have will defeat them. It's the persecution from the ridiculous Lewinsky Scandal all over again.

[Anee]

Harley is right every time Snobama ridicules voters or flips off our candidate is just another reminder for us why we can't vote for him.
With the moveon.org radicals in my party I feel like I am IN the wrong party and this makes McCain a very viable choice.

[girladvenger]

Good they should be dissed. Never in my life as a democrat have I seen this kind of behavior from so-call democrats and the reason is because they are not democrats but anti-american, anti war of any kind and anti democratic.

Some of the tactics use came out of 3rd world MARXIST dictatorships.

Obama, no thank-you...this black women is not drinking your kool-aid. You're just like Jim Jones and the People's temple here in Los Angeles that killed so many people.

All talke and nothing else...Chicago politics 101 are dirty, corrupted and useless.

[nooptee]

I can almost predict what she is going to do.. She will do a Lieberman. And this is how this will end. She has too much at stake to lose the nomination. Atleast she will make sure it doesnt go to someone like Obama who will shut down the kind of crony capitalism/politics in action now under bush and will continue under clinton. What a shame.

[Michael Richey]

The Democrats have given the GOP an early Christmas gift. Hillary (like Bill) is a pathological liar. She will say, or do, ANYTHING in order to get elected. It's about power, not serving the people. Admit it to yourselves, Hillary supporters. More and more people who can actually think for themselves are seeing right through this candidate. She and her husband are, without doubt, political prostitutes.

As for Obama, again we must be honest with ourselves before we can properly critique him. His voting record in the senate demonstrates a pattern of wishy-washy - don't dare take a stand LACK of voting that should, by itself, show he is not a leader! He has abstained from so many votes that he should be ashamed to refer to himself as a senator. He was elected to represent his constituency and has failed miserable every time he declined to vote on an issue. What kind of leader does NOTHING in order to "not make a mistake that could come back on him"? Furthermore, and again this requires one to be honest with ones self: he has involved himself for decades with a radical sect of "Americans", if they can call themselves that. Separatists are probably a better word. His wife is more racially biased than anyone in mainstream politics could ever get away with. Why is she allowed to do this? Are we afraid to call an African American a racist? Pathetic. Wake up Americans!

John McCain is by no means a perfect candidate. He does, however, often buck the entire system and refuse to toe the party line. He has his own ethical standards and sticks to them more than any other candidate we've seen in quite some time. He is experienced in life, politics, and war. He has seen the worst war has to offer. Again, be honest: would this man subject so many people from so many countries to the horrors of war without reasonable cause? No matter who takes over, they will have to deal with extremism and our security and make decisions about how best to use or not to use our military.

Appeasement has been shown throughout history to be an unlikely resolution in the long run. We don't speak German and live under tyranny because of the blood of millions of brave souls in the 20th century. Don't stomp on their graves! Our military is based on a volunteer army. Don't join without considering the chance of being deployed in a deadly situation. If all you want is free training and college money, but don't want to offer your life, potentially, for the security of your country STAY OUT OF THE ARMED FORCES.

Admit to yourself one last thing: it is not, and has never been, humanly possible to peacefully coexist on this planet. Think about it. I certainly don't have an answer to fix it. I do know that large portions of our national treasure are given out as aid to many, many countries around the globe. America is not a bad country! People didn't cry about our involvement around the world so much when the big bad Soviet Union posed a threat. If a nuke of any size gets detonated in New York, or most places in this country, you can say goodbye to the American way of life as our financial system will collapse like a deck of cards. We will be worthless. Try and get some money from your investments or bank accounts when the system collapses. No commerce, no money to buy food, looting, bare cupboards and fighting among ourselves for the Darwinian right to survive. Do you think it can't happen? Just wake up and be an American who supports America. That is the best we can do. Then, together we take our chances living in a dangerous world.

Michael Richey
Pasadena, CA

[Kim in Islesboro, Maine]

First, what exactly has Hillary "whooped" Obama at?! He has more popular votes (even counting the non-vote in FL), he has won twice as many States (and yes we in those other States think we actually count even if Hillary doesn't think so), he has more pledged delegates, and more elected official super delegates. Who's the loser?? She is not going to get this nomination -- deal with it. Second, the reason no one covered Maya Angelou endorsing Hillary last week is because Maya Angelou had ALREADY endorsed her last year. It isn't actually news worthy for the same person to repeatedly re-endorse the same candidate. It is true Hillary has lost so many super delegates (which Maya is not) that I guess she needs to gin up fake news (like fake sniper fire) by having her people re-endorse her again and again. But it isn't actually NEWS if you go to your supporters birthday celebration and they say they are STILL for you. Here is the link since I am sure you won't believe me -- a mere rude Obama supporter and MoveOn member --
http://www.blackvoices.com/blogs/2007/12/12/maya-angelou-endorses-hillary-clinton/

[Mrs]

here's what Hillary said about MoveOn just last year.

Strange how much she loved MoveOn then...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iFtHoNu-2Pc

[Jim]

I am constantly amazed how Obama can have that kind of support money. They say he is supported by blacks and young people. Why aren't we asking where the money is coming from. Do you really think that blacks and young people have that much money. This is strange phenomenon that no media seems to care. Where is he getting the money. Blacks or college kids? Please give me a break. I would see the money trail. There is something wrong. Mathematically impossible for him to raise this kind of money and we just take it as is. Hillary had this kind of money pouring in, don't you think someone raised a red flag?

[Herm]

I am so happy to hear that Senator Clinton is coming back again and moving ahead of Obama on recent poll. I heard she is 19 points behind on Newsweek poll but Newsweek is strong supporter of Obama (much like MSNBC)and its samples may not be reliable. She appeares to be extremely knowledgeable on issues and a strong leader as she has been standing up fighting despite severe attacks from news/medias, party leaders, and some liberal democrats. Since Senator Clinton's supporters seems very loyal to her, Obama needs her intense help to get their votes in order to win the GE. However, Senator Clinton may not be so proud of you(Obama) for the first time in her adult life if you continue flipping your wrong finger on her.

[Cori]

She is right.

[Teri B.]

The division in the party isn't the candidates' fault - they're doing what candidates do. It isn't the voters' fault - they're allowed to be divided. Democracy is a good thing right? But too little in this primary has been about democracy.

The DNC has caused it, with not only this FL and MI nightmare, but what Dean is doing right now, in trying to stifle the voices of the remaining voters. The media is doing it, by taking sides, slanting coverage, and focusing almost exclusively on rubbish. And the powerful democratic political action groups and other organizations, like moveon.org, dailykos, democraticundergroud, etc. are doing it, by only furthering the agenda of half the party and spitting in the face of the other half. Folks, remember these are the very people who keep saying this primary is divisive and must be ended! NO, THEY DON'T DECIDE ELECTIONS, WE DO! If we give our power to them, we'll never get it back!

[Jim]

John, post at 7:12PM:

the reason there is no coverage of the "news" that Hill-Billy got endorsed by Maya Angelou (come on, this one is idiotic: but what does Maya Angelou know about politics that I don't??) is:

IT'S NOT NEWS!!

Angelou has been on Clinton's side all along. OLD NEWS is not really news, is it??

Before you bash LA Times for putting out another bad real news for Hill-Billy, check your knowledge. LA TImes is not responsible for your ignorance.

Meanwhile, what do you have to say about your losing candidate aiming another "SCREW 'EM" at people who happens to not want to support her, this time at Democratic activists?

MoveOn came about to support Bill in 1996. They recognized their mistake and just want to do the right thing now. Plus Obama has a real message and Hill-Billy is all about who's got more insider connections....