WASHINGTON - “Scurrilous” and “disingenuous” were among the words a top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives used on Thursday to describe Hillary Clinton’s campaign tactics in her bid to defeat Barack Obama for their party’s presidential nomination.
House Democratic Whip James Clyburn, of South Carolina and the highest ranking black in Congress, also said he has heard speculation that Clinton is staying in the race only to try to derail Obama and pave the way for her to make another White House run in 2012.
“I heard something, the first time yesterday (in South Carolina), and I heard it on the (House) floor today, which is telling me there are African Americans who have reached the decision that the Clintons know that she can’t win this. But they’re hell-bound to make it impossible for Obama to win” in November, Clyburn told Reuters in an interview.
Obama holds a sizable lead in delegates won in state-nominating contests which could be hard for her to overcome.
The purported theory is that an Obama defeat in November against Republican presidential candidate John McCain would let Clinton make another presidential bid in four years, Clyburn said.
Clyburn has not yet declared whether he supports Clinton or Obama. But in January, he raised his concerns about the heated exchanges between the two campaigns before the South Carolina primary.
On Thursday, Clyburn took Clinton and surrogates to task, complaining that they want the popular votes in Michigan and Florida counted, even though both states violated party rules for the early scheduling of their nominating contests.
“I think it’s so disingenuous … (adviser James) Carville and Sen. Clinton were all on TV. I’ve seen them two or three times this week, talking about counting Florida and Michigan.”
Obama did not campaign in those states because the Democratic Party said Florida and Michigan wouldn’t be included in the formal tally for the nomination. “Her name was the only one on the ticket in Michigan and still 42, 43 percent of the vote was against her,” Clyburn said.
Still, Clyburn said “I don’t think she ought to drop out.”
But he added, “There’s a difference between dropping out and raising all this extraneous scurrilous stuff about the guy (Obama). Just run your campaign … you don’t have to drop out to be respectful of other people.”
Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.
- Photo credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst (Clyburn with presidential candidates at a debate in January)
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That’s all Obama needs- more blacks ranting and raving about the unfairness of it all. In just a few short weeks, the man Americans first saw as a leader who transcended race, has now become just another Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. After this election, Barack will be lucky to hold on to his Senate seat.
- Posted by jimbostercome on all you democrats. your goal in life is to keep slavery alive. let go of the black people, set them free, tell them that the democrats tried to fight to keep slavery legal. tell them that the republicans were the ones that died to give them freedom. and by the way, the only party that has a problem counting votes is the democrat party. socialism has failed every place it has been tried. let go of oppression and live free.
- Posted by virgNot the first time. IMHO the Clinton’s influenced Gavin Newsom’s initiative to start marrying gays four years ago. This mobilized the republican base, tanked Kerry, and set the stage for Hillary 2008. Something pretty big must have been promised for the sleazy little man in a second Clinton administration.
- Posted by fredRace relations in this country will never be the same, and it will hardly matter who gets the Dumb-ocrat nomination. Congratulations Dimmies and drive-by media. You scholars set the table with two artificial candidates, i.e. Another Clinton and Hussein Obama, and now all the morons are feasting. Remember: The only thing that can destroy a democracy is democracy. We’re on our way. . . .
- Posted by Doc SavageMatthew, PS Major, CA
Come on Matthew! Please, Hill Clinton a moderate? Since when? I know you must have researched her history. She is a socialist and marxist at best. She has disdain for this country and the foundations on which it has been built. And don’t get caught up in the numbers regarding 3 to 1 ratios in PA. Clinton has spent over a $1.10 for every dollar her campaign has raised, while Obama has spent $.75 of every dollar raised. You may want Clinton as a financial advisor, but not most of us (citizens).
- Posted by DeObama and his supporters are making this about race, not the Clintons. Obama is on the ropes because he’s a phony and the country is opening its eyes to him finally. Hillary has proven how tough she is and Obama folds like a cheap lawn chair. He won’t even do another debate. I want a strong President who will fight! Hillary.
NObama! Hillary ‘08
- Posted by MelsgIt doesn’t matter if Hillary makes African Americans angry. Once Obama is derailed, they aren’t going to leave the plantation in significant numbers. They need the handouts we have been giving them all these years. They aren’t going to start voting Republican, that’s for sure. Pack animals never seek self-determination. Did Unions (like the UAW) go for Bush when Gore declared “The internal combustion engine is the greatest enemy of mankind”? Of course not. Once a slave of the Democrats, always a slave of the Democrats.
- Posted by Carl ParsonsReporter: Good morning Mr. President! Welcome to our state! Have you ever seen such blue skies?
- Posted by LouisBill: Wait a minuted. I know you. You’re trying to game me. I never said the sky was blue.
Reporter: Sir?
Bill:C’mon, I know your game. I’m not playing your game.
Reporter: Pardon me sir, all I said was…
Bill: I know what you said and I know you’re claiming I said it. Next time you people are going to play the race card and accuse Hillary of all kinds of things. She never said she was under gunfire in Bosnia. You should be ashamed.
Reporter (flustered): Sir, all I said was the sky is blue!
Bill: Shame on you. It’s not blue and I’ll tell you why. It’s red. This is a red state and you are a Republican stooge. And don’t say Hillary abandoned Arkansas to take advantage of the politics in New York. I say the sky is red. Have a nice day.
Reporter: The sky is red?
Bill: I never said that and have a nice day.
Hillary and Bill are proving just how racist the Democrats really are. When a party fails to Unite under a few sharp ideals and instead envelopes numerous and usually oppossing constituencies..they are headed for trouble. I am continually amazed at the fact that we have been fighting a Democrat WAR ON POVERTY..created by the Democrats for 5 decades. At some point the Poor constituency wakes up and wonders “Why are we Losing THIS war?”..How can one section of the Democrat Party, voting year after year for Democrats not notice that they are Not Rising With the Tide? Now that the Hispanics are being raised and others left behind ..it is easy to see something is stirring. Blacks see other blacks being raised up to high positions..Supreme Court, Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, Lt. Governors…and others like Lynn Swann running in a statewide contest ONLY THEY ARE NOT DEMOCRATS ..they see these folks being attacked every day by Liberal Democrats in the most Vile ways..yet, now they see this happening in their own party because One Black Dared to run for a High Office and against ..until the past few months.. an annointed Liberal Democrat candidate.
Now the party of a Million Ideas..is having a hard time explaining itself and containing itself. In Massachusetts a Black Candidate won the Governorship ONLY because BLACKS WERE DISENFRANCHISED BY GERRYMANDERING BY THE DEMOCRAT SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE.AND SUDDENLY THE NAACP SUED THE DEMOCRATS. A Big debt was then owed to All blacks who have been failed by the War On Poverty and Education and all the other Programs that have failed…up here that includes the FORCING OF BANKS TO LEND ON GUIDELINES which we see have Failed as well! And they are beginning to hear the “not enough experience as our state is currently looking at a 2 billion dollar deficit and just one year into a 4 year term for the Black Governor”..It ain’t pretty and it is being blamed on “Not Ready for the Big Time” Mass. Dem. rhetoric! All the Not Ready Words are from…Democrats!
It is not very hard to see how Mad this Special Group is since they see Failure all around, even to the point of noticing that even Years before the Civil Rights act, Massachusetts elected a Black not only as State Attorney General but as US Senator..LONG FORGOTTEN , BANNED FROM HISTORY, BANNED FROM BLACK THOUGHT…HE WAS A REPUBLICAN.. For years the blacks up here Obeyed the Big Shots..Ted, Kerry, Capuanao, Mc Governs, Tsongas, etc..and had to AGREE..THEY ARE JUST NOT READY! OR THE REALLY BIGGER ONES…IT IS NOT YOUR TURN, YOU WON’T HAVE A SHOT AT WINNING BECAUSE WE WON’T GIVE YOU ANY MONEY! Some times people wake up…Bill and Hill are just One and the Same ..do not be wondering why Ted Kennedy supported Barack..it is the only way he can save Face and probably his and Kerry’s future White Democrats Seats..it is the I helped you..game..and then comes the Bill when the other folk must ONCE AGAIN WAIT AND WAIT!
IT IS REALLY TOO FUNNY TO WATCH!
- Posted by CaronThis is nothing new to me. It has been my intuition for some time that the Clinton strategy was to derail Obama to preserve 2012 for her to run again. The Cintons will stop at NOTHING to get power, what they want. If your memory serves you well you will remember that they did very little to support Sen. Kerry in his run for president. They did very little for Gore as well, though I don’t think he wanted their contaminated aid.
- Posted by sigmund fraudIt should not surprise Mr. Clayburn or anyone else who has watched the Clintons since they burst on the scene in the 90s that they and their attack dog, Carville, would employ tactics that fall into the catagory of being “scurrilous and disingenuous”. They are amoral people who seem to live by the creed of what ever is good for me justifies my actions regardless of how they effect others. They are, in my opinion, people of the lowest order and if the democrats want Hillary they deserve her. After 8 years of Bill, I don’t think the nation does. I imagine that Hillary got her training answering the phone at 3 a.m. by being told where Bill was and who he was with.
- Posted by Mike HalbyOPERATION CHAOS
- Posted by dwightI find it very interesting that this piece looks suspiciously like the ground work for an elaborate plan to have an excuse as to why the democrats did not win in Nov. if that happens to be the case. …Well Barrack got the nomination BUT since Hilary was so destructive during the primaries he was unfairly hindered during the general election and that is why he lost, the american public is still however overwelmingly against republicans this was just not fair… I can see it now.
- Posted by Random ThoughtBarack has all of his surrogates fighting our freedoms. Hillary has the right to run just like Barack has the right to run. Barack’s true Marxist colors are being well painted by his surrogates. Hillary 08!
From a Romney fan hoping Hillary wins all the way to the White house and then gets smashed by Mitt Romney in 2012. Incidentally McCain would be the best candidate to represent the dems on the dem ticket, but I cannot vote for him, because that scores points for the Rinos in our sad party.
By the way my name is really Barack. But it’s only a coincidence, because I hate Barack Hussein Obama’s policies and politics.
- Posted by BarackThe Clintons have excelled in the use of racial code words in a manner not seen since Ronald Reagan’s heyday. They refuse to condemn the bigotry aimed at Senator Obama. They happily allow their surrogates to do their dirty work and they will repay them with no more loyalty than they did after their trusting supporters went out on a limb to defend in the White House.
- Posted by ChristinaI live in Pa and I know the kinds of things that their supporters were saying to voters before the Primary. In Scranton (her “home town”), Obama volunteers were jeered with racial epithets by her supporters, with no words of condemmnation from the Clintons.
I am tired of the race card consistently being drawn in this election. It simply comes down to this, who will win in the fall? The way I see it, if it is Obama against McCain, Obama will have a tough time getting the independent votes, Senior citizens, and the blue collar because he is a left wing liberal. Clinton has a better chance because she is a moderate democrat and McCain is a moderate republican.
I don’t want to hear this crap about how Obama is the victim of Clinton tactics, neither do I want to hear that he is honest, and wants to change Washington, politics, blah blah blah. The truth is he is using the exact same political tactics he is fighting to change, against the Clinton campaign. He has excepted money from private corporations via fund raisers (just not lobbyists). He doesnt want to debate anymore because he knows it gives Clinton an advantage. He opposed any solution to FL and Mi, except for a caucus revote or a split delegation, which will give him and Clinton the same amount regardless who won…which still disenfranchise the voters. Either way, he wont do anything unless he sees an advantage for him. Same ol politics, it will never change because the capitalistic system the United States has built itself on since the Progressive Era. This is what you get with a Bipartisan system.
I like Obama, but I am not going to get caught up in his speeches, his energizing youth, or his message in hope and change. Unless he starts talking about what he is actually going to do and How, he will never be able to beat McCain. Hillary, as aggressive as she has been, has laid out her plans and her ideas and you can get a clear sense of what she will do if elected. Obama hasn’t done that yet. We dont need hope, we need action, and he hasnt demonstrated that as of yet. Finally, how could someone outspend their opponent 3:1 and still lose by double digits? I am sorry, but with that kind of money being spent, you have to ask questions whether or not he can close the deal. If we learned anything from eight years of Bush, you cant solve a problem (Iraq) by throwing money at it!!!
- Posted by Matthew, poltical science major, CAI voted for the Clintons in the past for the presidency and NY senate. I know I will Not vote for Sen Clinton if she ever runs for the senate again. If she selected for the presidential run I will vote for her but only because I don’t want McCain-though on a honesty level McCain is a much better candidate. I just don’t believe in what he wants to do. I feel he is inflexible and his temper does not help.
- Posted by monarnycThe well of intellect here is obviously bottomless. Just think: Elect Obama and we could get this kind of deep observation and reasoning daily. Seriously. Destructively.
- Posted by Doc SavageI don’t think he was saying anything racial about Clinton. I think she would be doing the same thing if Barak wasn’t black. Hilary feels it is her turn and her destiney and if she can’t win she is trying to make sure no democrat win. She was inevitable after all. I don’t think he is trying to be a racisist.
- Posted by bridgetteVote Nader 08!
Seriously. McCain has flipped on every issue, gone from Moderate Republican to Hardcore Bushie. Obama and Hillary are identical on the issues, and neither are any good.
Let’s give a third party a chance. Not really Nader. But someone
- Posted by Robert S