March 28, 2008

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Leahy Urges Clinton to Quit Race

March 28, 2008 in News by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire.)

Is this the start of a drum beat? Following yesterday’s declaration by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) that Sen. Barack Obama has already won the Democratic presidential race, Vermont Public Radio reports that Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is calling on Sen. Hillary Clinton to drop out.

Said Leahy: “There is no way that Senator Clinton is going to win enough delegates to get the nomination. She ought to withdraw and she ought to be backing Senator Obama. Now, obviously that’s a decision that only she can make frankly I feel that she would have a tremendous career in the Senate.”

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Edwards Donors Favor Obama

March 28, 2008 in Featured by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire.)

According to analysis by CQ MoneyLine, John Edwards’ former donors broke toward Sen. Barack Obama by a 2-to-1 margin over Sen. Hillary Clinton in February, the first full month after Edwards dropped out of the Democratic presidential nomination fight.

The analysis “identified 287 former Edwards contributors who donated to Obama for the first time during his record-breaking $56 million month. Collectively, though, the former Edwards donors amounted to a small fraction of Obama’s haul, sending in $200,000. In comparison, Clinton banked $114,000 from 138 Edwards donors who had not given to her in past months as she piled up a personal-best $35 million in February.”

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Obama Should Pick A Vice-President

March 28, 2008 in Campaign 2008, Democrats by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via OpenLeft.)

Naming a Vice-President is particularly key, as it would accomplish many goals at once. First, obviously, it would make him look like the presumptive nominee. Second, it would provide him with a powerful new surrogate on the campaign trail, one who could possibly match Bill Clinton. Third, the right vice-presidential choice could actually secure a large number of the currently uncommitted superdelegates. For example, and I am just throwing out a name here, but choosing Nancy Pelosi would almost certainly lock down enough superdelegates, especially California supers and U.S. House supers, to end the nomination campaign pretty quickly. And hey, while Pelosi does not have the world’s highest favorability rating, not many people would doubt her ability to be President (she is already third in line) and she was a member of the progressive caucus before she had to leave in order to become leader (the leader should not be in any of the ideological caucuses).

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Activist Class War And Laughable Big Donor Threats

March 28, 2008 in Campaign 2008, House of Representatives by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via Open Left.)

The funniest thing about the Liebercrat letter threatening Nancy Pelosi and the DCCC is the inflated sense of influence these donors think they have. 20 big donors threaten to pull their support for the DCCC, eh? Let’s just assume for a moment that all 20 maxed out to the DCCC in 2005-2006, collectively raising $500,000 for the organization. That’s pretty unlikely, but let’s just assume it for now.

For starters, in 2005-2006, the DCCC raised $140,000,000, and $500,000 a drop in the bucket. Second, small, online donors now completely swamp a handful of big donors in contributions to the party. In the month of February alone, small online donors raised $75,000,000 for Obama and Clinton combined, putting up, in one month, 150 times the entire amount these donors could have potentially (but didn’t) contribute to the DCCC in the 2006 election cycle.

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Dean Says Attacks Getting Too Personal

March 28, 2008 in Featured by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via The Huffington Post.)

Democratic Party chief Howard Dean says Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and their supporters should beware of tearing each other down, demoralizing the base and damaging the party’s chances of winning the White House in November.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Dean also said he hopes the Democratic nominee will be determined shortly after the voting ends in early June and that he will encourage the superdelegates who will play a role to make up their minds before the August convention in Denver.

Dean said the charges and countercharges between Clinton and Obama have gotten too personal at times. He declined to say how they have crossed the line, but he said he’s made it clear privately when it has happened.

“You do not want to demoralize the base of the Democratic Party by having the Democrats attack each other,” he said Thursday during the interview in his office at Democratic National Committee headquarters. “Let the media and the Republicans and the talking heads on cable television attack and carry on, fulminate at the mouth. The supporters should keep their mouths shut about this stuff on both sides because that is harmful to the potential victory of a Democrat.”

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MoveOn takes on Clinton’s moneyed supporters

March 28, 2008 in Campaign 2008, Democrats by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via CNN.com.)

MoveOn.org, a grassroots powerhouse that supports Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, launched a fundraising drive Thursday to counter Sen. Hillary Clinton’s wealthy supporters.

Her supporters have recently argued with their checkbooks that superdelegates should vote their conscience at the Democratic National Convention in August.

MoveOn’s drive sets up a face-off that illustrates the widening gap in the Democratic Party between some of its traditional financial backers, many of whom support Clinton, and a Netroots donor base that leans toward Obama.

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