Why Is It Okay For Clinton To Skip States?

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Democrats, Hillary

Obama won very big last night all over the place and today I’m wondering why Clinton is skipping these states.

I mean, I know what they’re saying…that they’re focusing on the larger states in about a month, but is that responsible? Is it a smart strategy? On Super Tuesday it’s understandable that you can’t focus on all the states and you have to pick and choose, but after that it really shouldn’t be like that. You should have enough organization to compete in these other states. Especially if your campaign shows how you’ll run the country.

Marc Ambinder agrees…

(Ordinarily, this would be a firing offense — how dare they let a state go uncontested?) [...]

John McCain’s advisers are probably thinking: woe unto the Democratic nominee who refuses to organize; woe unto the Democratic nominee who appeals to activists perfectly and regular Democrats kinda sorta.

And yet her strategy is clear. Give up the small ones. What that’s resulted in is Obama winning 18 of 28 states, with New Mexico yet to be decided (looks like it’ll break for Clinton).

And here’s a question…if Clinton’s strategy actually works what if she becomes the nominee by winning 15 of 50 states? Is that something the Dems really want to do? Elect a pure “blue state” nominee?

Hmmm….


This entry was posted on Sunday, February 10th, 2008 and is filed under 2008 Election, Democrats, Hillary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “Why Is It Okay For Clinton To Skip States?”

  1. TerenceC Says:

    That’s why the Dem’s will lose if she’s the one. Billary is not the co-nominee that will win in Nov. It’s unfortunate, by and large I find women politicians far more reasonable and able to discuss the important issues and reach a compromise – just not the woman Hillary Clinton. She focuses on the large states, with lots of people, because she’s a pure “Blue” nominee. Where ever the electorate is reasonably “purple” she loses, where ever the electorate is Red she loses, where ever the electorate is “Blue” she win’s sometimes but not by very much. She’s a good candidate, just not good enough – Barack is. Billary has too much baggage, too much history, too much scandal, too much demigoguery. God I’m tired of them!

  2. Europeanview Says:

    The mistake Giuliani made.

    But could it be, she doesn’t want to attach herself too directly with losing there. She can always say “I haven’t even campaigned there”. If she had and lost nevertheless (which would have happened) the momentum for Obama would have been ever greater.

    TerenceC you took the words out of my mouth, I’m sick and tired of her, too.

  3. Peter Says:

    Records of these two candidates should be scrutinized in order to make an informed decision.

    Senator Clinton, who has served only one full term (6yrs.), and another year campaigning, has managed to author and pass into law, (20) twenty pieces of legislation in her first six years.
    These bills can be found on the website of the Library of Congress (www.thomas.loc.gov), but to save you trouble, I’ll post them here for you.
    1. Establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site.
    2. Support the goals and ideals of Better Hearing and Speech Month.
    3. Recognize the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
    4. Name courthouse after Thurgood Marshall.
    5. Name courthouse after James L. Watson.
    6. Name post office after Jonn A. O’Shea.
    7. Designate Aug. 7, 2003, as National Purple Heart Recognition Day.
    8. Support the goals and ideals of National Purple Heart Recognition Day.
    9. Honor the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton on the bicentennial of his death.
    10. Congratulate the Syracuse Univ. Orange Men’s Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.
    11. Congratulate the Le Moyne College Dolphins Men’s Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.
    12. Establish the 225th Anniversary of the American Revolution Commemorative Program.
    13. Name post office after Sergeant Riayan A. Tejeda.
    14. Honor Shirley Chisholm for her service to the nation and express condolences on her death.
    15. Honor John J. Downing, Brian Fahey, and Harry Ford, firefighters who lost their lives on duty. Only five of Clinton’s bills are, more substantive. 16. Extend period of unemployment assistance to victims of 9/11.
    17. Pay for city projects in response to 9/11
    18. Assist landmine victims in other countries.
    19. Assist family caregivers in accessing affordable respite care.
    20. Designate part of the National Forest System in Puerto Rico as protected in the wilderness preservation system.

    There you have it, the fact’s straight from the Senate Record.

    Now, I would post those of Obama’s, but the list is too substantive, so I’ll mainly categorize.
    During the first (8) eight years of his elected service he sponsored over 820 bills. He introduced
    233 regarding healthcare reform,
    125 on poverty and public assistance,
    112 crime fighting bills,
    97 economic bills,
    60 human rights and anti-discrimination bills,
    21 ethics reform bills,
    15 gun control,
    6 veterans affairs and many others.

    His first year in the U.S. Senate, he authored 152 bills and co-sponsored another 427. These inculded
    **the Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006 (became law),
    **The Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act, (became law),
    **The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, passed the Senate,
    **The 2007 Government Ethics Bill, (became law),
    **The Protection Against Excessive Executive Compensation Bill, (In committee), and many more.

    In all since enter the U.S. Senate, Senator Obama has written 890 bills and co-sponsored another 1096. An impressive record, for someone who supposedly has no record according to the spin meisters and mindless twits.

  4. Simms Says:

    Hillary Clinton’s experience is mired in controversy, ranging from:

    1) turning $1,000 into $100,000 in cattle futures while working for the Rose law firm. She received tips from James B. Blair who was outside counsel for Tyson Foods in Arkansas. In one day she made over $10,000 on day trading which would point to insider knowledge from within Tyson Foods.
    Washington Post (please check my references if you like)

    2) to Whitewater, a 1980s land deal that went bad and revealed that 1) Bill Clinton exerted pressure on an Arkansas businessman, David Hale, to make an illegal loan that would benefit him and the owners of Madison Guaranty; and 2) that an Arkansas bank had concealed transactions involving Clinton’s gubernatorial campaign in 1990.

    3) to Travelgate, the 1993 firing of seven longtime employees of the travel office, which handles travel arrangements for reporters and television crews covering the president. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is alleged to have pressured White House lawyers into dismissing the travel office staff and bringing in the FBI to investigate them, so that friends of the First Family could enjoy the office’s patronage spoils.
    Columbia Journalism Review/New York Observer

    4) In the aftermath of the apparent suicide (yes, it gets ugly!) of her former partner and closest confidant, White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster, Hillary Clinton ordered the overturn of an agreement to allow the Justice Department to examine the files in the dead man’s office. Her closest friends and aides, under oath, have been blatantly disremembering this likely obstruction of justice, and may have to pay for supporting Hillary’s lie with jail terms.
    New York Times

    5) In August 2000, during her first Senate run, Clinton met with the Hasidic community in New Square, where many members were working to obtain clemency for four members of their community who had been convicted of stealing tens of millions of dollars from the state and federal government.
    She refused to talk about the controversial pardons of the four New York Hasidic Jews by her husband. New Square voted 1359-10 for the first lady – although other nearby Hasidic enclaves voted 3480-152 for Clinton’s GOP opponent, former Rep. Rick Lazio.
    New York Times

    6) Hillary Clinton’s brother Hugh Rodham , was paid approximately $200,000 from Almon Glenn Braswell, whom President Clinton pardoned for mail fraud and perjury, as was Carlos Vignali, whose sentence for cocaine trafficking was commuted. News of his involvement in the pardon controversy prompted an outrage in Washington, D.C.

    “I knew nothing about my brother’s involvement in these pardons,” Sen. Clinton said at the time. “I knew nothing about his taking money for his involvement.”
    The Clintons asked Hugh Rodham to return the cash, which he did.
    Time Magazine

    7) Hillary Clinton’s brother Tony Rodham was paid $244,769 over 2½ years by a carnival company, United Shows of America, owned by Edgar and Vonna Jo Gregory. The Gregorys had been convicted of bank fraud and were seeking pardons. Tony Rodham has said he mentioned their pardon application to his brother-in-law, who ultimately granted the Gregorys a pardon. But Rodham said he was not paid for anything having to do with the pardon.
    Boston Globe

    8) Peter Paul has business relationship with Clintons that goes bad. Clintons steal one of his clients and he retaliates turning Clinton in for violating campaign regulations during a fundraiser he held for her to the tune of $1 million. The FEC formally determined that Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign treasurer, Andrew Grossman is legally responsible for the three false FEC reports that Hillary’s finance director, David Rosen, was criminally charged and tried for in mid-2005. Mr. Grossman signed a “Conciliation Agreement” with the FEC on December 13, 2005, admitting his culpability, and agreeing to pay a civil fine and amend his false reports to reflect the $721,000 that he failed to report since October, 2000.
    Wall Street Journal

    9) Pastor Got $1.5 Million in Clinton Earmarks Before Endorsement
    Widely reported

    10) Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton gives large earmarks of $1 billion in government-backed financing for a development project called Destiny. Robert Congel, the owner of Destiny, then turned around and financed and campaigned for her.
    Robert J. Congel, his family and associates affiliated with his development have donated $40,000 to Clinton’s state and national campaigns since she first ran for office in 1999.
    Congel co-hosted a Syracuse fundraiser for her, an event said to have raised an additional $50,000. Lobbying firms hired by Congel in connection with Destiny and other ventures also donated more than $200,000 to various Clinton campaign funds, records show.
    LA Times

    11) New School in New York City, which received $1.6 million in earmarks in this year’s defense budget and $6 million previously, is particularly well-connected. Its president, former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), campaigned for Clinton in Iowa. Three school trustees are among Clinton’s most prominent backers, having each raised at least $100,000 for her campaign. A former trustee is Norman Hsu, who was indicted on fraud charges. After Hsu’s criminal past was revealed last summer, Clinton returned $850,000 he raised for her.
    LA Times

    12) to falsely attacking Obama as a pro-life candidate for voting “present” in New Hampshire.

    13) Her husband Bill Clinton says he consulted her on every major decision. Does that include Rwanda, and his decision to stand by and watch genocide kill hundreds of thousands of people? She is firmly entrenched with Bill and the establishment, at best a dirty politician who knows everything there is to know about our political system. A vote for her is a vote for the status quo. The Republicans are so sure she is the next Democratic nominee that there’s even a movie set to release.

    14) http://www.hillarythemovie.com/

    15) btw Bill Clinton is an experienced sexual predator with at least half a dozen rapes or assaults on women reported.
    Posted by: skeyewater | January 31, 2008 10:23 AM
    You, want a free and open campaign? Clinton’s organization is by far the most padlocked. Hillary says she wants open conversation, yet she held virtually no press conferences during her Senatorial campaign and tenure in the Senate, and frequently refuses to appear on the Sunday political programs where serious issues are debated by political leaders. Someone who only answers scripted questions with pre-digested answers is hardly engaging in ‘two-way’ communication with the people.

  5. Peter Says:

    Hillary Clinton’s experience is mired in controversy, ranging from:

    1) turning $1,000 into $100,000 in cattle futures while working for the Rose law firm. She received tips from James B. Blair who was outside counsel for Tyson Foods in Arkansas. In one day she made over $10,000 on day trading which would point to insider knowledge from within Tyson Foods.
    Washington Post (please check my references if you like)

    2) to Whitewater, a 1980s land deal that went bad and revealed that 1) Bill Clinton exerted pressure on an Arkansas businessman, David Hale, to make an illegal loan that would benefit him and the owners of Madison Guaranty; and 2) that an Arkansas bank had concealed transactions involving Clinton’s gubernatorial campaign in 1990.

    3) to Travelgate, the 1993 firing of seven longtime employees of the travel office, which handles travel arrangements for reporters and television crews covering the president. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is alleged to have pressured White House lawyers into dismissing the travel office staff and bringing in the FBI to investigate them, so that friends of the First Family could enjoy the office’s patronage spoils.
    Columbia Journalism Review/New York Observer

    4) In the aftermath of the apparent suicide (yes, it gets ugly!) of her former partner and closest confidant, White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster, Hillary Clinton ordered the overturn of an agreement to allow the Justice Department to examine the files in the dead man’s office. Her closest friends and aides, under oath, have been blatantly disremembering this likely obstruction of justice, and may have to pay for supporting Hillary’s lie with jail terms.
    New York Times

    5) In August 2000, during her first Senate run, Clinton met with the Hasidic community in New Square, where many members were working to obtain clemency for four members of their community who had been convicted of stealing tens of millions of dollars from the state and federal government.
    She refused to talk about the controversial pardons of the four New York Hasidic Jews by her husband. New Square voted 1359-10 for the first lady – although other nearby Hasidic enclaves voted 3480-152 for Clinton’s GOP opponent, former Rep. Rick Lazio.
    New York Times

    6) Hillary Clinton’s brother Hugh Rodham , was paid approximately $200,000 from Almon Glenn Braswell, whom President Clinton pardoned for mail fraud and perjury, as was Carlos Vignali, whose sentence for cocaine trafficking was commuted. News of his involvement in the pardon controversy prompted an outrage in Washington, D.C.

    “I knew nothing about my brother’s involvement in these pardons,” Sen. Clinton said at the time. “I knew nothing about his taking money for his involvement.”

    The Clintons asked Hugh Rodham to return the cash, which he did.
    Time Magazine

    7) Hillary Clinton’s brother Tony Rodham was paid $244,769 over 2½ years by a carnival company, United Shows of America, owned by Edgar and Vonna Jo Gregory. The Gregorys had been convicted of bank fraud and were seeking pardons. Tony Rodham has said he mentioned their pardon application to his brother-in-law, who ultimately granted the Gregorys a pardon. But Rodham said he was not paid for anything having to do with the pardon.
    Boston Globe

    8) Peter Paul has business relationship with Clintons that goes bad. Clintons steal one of his clients and he retaliates turning Clinton in for violating campaign regulations during a fundraiser he held for her to the tune of $1 million. The FEC formally determined that Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign treasurer, Andrew Grossman is legally responsible for the three false FEC reports that Hillary’s finance director, David Rosen, was criminally charged and tried for in mid-2005. Mr. Grossman signed a “Conciliation Agreement” with the FEC on December 13, 2005, admitting his culpability, and agreeing to pay a civil fine and amend his false reports to reflect the $721,000 that he failed to report since October, 2000.
    Wall Street Journal

    9) Pastor Got $1.5 Million in Clinton Earmarks Before Endorsement
    Widely reported

    10) Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton gives large earmarks of $1 billion in government-backed financing for a development project called Destiny. Robert Congel, the owner of Destiny, then turned around and financed and campaigned for her.
    Robert J. Congel, his family and associates affiliated with his development have donated $40,000 to Clinton’s state and national campaigns since she first ran for office in 1999.
    Congel co-hosted a Syracuse fundraiser for her, an event said to have raised an additional $50,000. Lobbying firms hired by Congel in connection with Destiny and other ventures also donated more than $200,000 to various Clinton campaign funds, records show.
    LA Times

    11) New School in New York City, which received $1.6 million in earmarks in this year’s defense budget and $6 million previously, is particularly well-connected. Its president, former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), campaigned for Clinton in Iowa. Three school trustees are among Clinton’s most prominent backers, having each raised at least $100,000 for her campaign. A former trustee is Norman Hsu, who was indicted on fraud charges. After Hsu’s criminal past was revealed last summer, Clinton returned $850,000 he raised for her.
    LA Times

    12) to falsely attacking Obama as a pro-life candidate for voting “present” in New Hampshire.

    13) Her husband Bill Clinton says he consulted her on every major decision. Does that include Rwanda, and his decision to stand by and watch genocide kill hundreds of thousands of people? She is firmly entrenched with Bill and the establishment, at best a dirty politician who knows everything there is to know about our political system. A vote for her is a vote for the status quo. The Republicans are so sure she is the next Democratic nominee that there’s even a movie set to release.

    14) http://www.hillarythemovie.com/

    15) btw Bill Clinton is an experienced sexual predator with at least half a dozen rapes or assaults on women reported.

    you want a free and open campaign? Clinton’s organization is by far the most padlocked. Hillary says she wants open conversation, yet she held virtually no press conferences during her Senatorial campaign and tenure in the Senate, and frequently refuses to appear on the Sunday political programs where serious issues are debated by political leaders. Someone who only answers scripted questions with pre-digested answers is hardly engaging in ‘two-way’ communication with the people.

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