ThetaBurst

Title
Mud stirs party fears of Democrats divided

Link
Mud stirs party fears of Democrats divided
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Excerpt

As the Clinton and Obama camps spar, some see the potential for a damaging rift

BY ALEC MACGILLIS AND ANNE E. KORNBLUT



THE WASHINGTON POST

DILLON, S.C. -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign aired a new radio ad here Wednesday that repeated a discredited charge against Sen. Barack Obama in what some Democrats said was part of an increasing pattern of hardball politics by her and former president Bill Clinton.

The ad takes one line from an Obama interview -- "The Republicans were the party of ideas for a pretty long chunk of time there over the last 10, 15 years" -- and juxtaposes it with GOP policies that Obama has never advocated.

"Really?" a voiceover says. "Aren't those the ideas that got us into the economic mess we're in today? Ideas like special tax breaks for Wall Street. Running up a $9 trillion debt. Refusing to raise the minimum wage or deal with the housing crisis. Are those the ideas Barack Obama's talking about?" The Clinton campaign argued that it was simply quoting Obama. But in the original context, Obama was describing the dominance of Republican ideas in the 1980s and 1990s, without saying he supported them, and asserting that those ideas are of no use today.

The ad marked the escalation of a bitter fight between the two Democratic front-runners that has taken on a new dimension because of the involvement of Bill Clinton. The former president has been making daily appearances in South Carolina while his wife campaigns elsewhere, and he has adopted the role of attacking his wife's opponent the way a vice presidential candidate traditionally does in a general election.

Responding to the ad aired by the Clinton campaign, Dick Harpootlian, the former chairman of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, accused the Clintons of using the "politics of deception" and compared the former president to the late Lee Atwater, the Republican operative from South Carolina who was known for his tough tactics.

In response, Bill Clinton said Harpootlian's comments were a distraction and accused the Obama campaign of funneling negative smears through the compliant media.

"They are feeding you this because they know this is what you want to cover; this is what you live for," the former president chastised a CNN reporter, Jessica Yellin, who asked him for a response to Harpootlian at an appearance in South Carolina.

"They just spin you up on this and you happily go along," Clinton said. As aides steered him away, Clinton scolded: "Shame on you."

In Washington, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the Judiciary Committee chairman who endorsed Obama last week, castigated the former president for "glib cheap shots" that he was throwing at Obama, saying both sides should settle down, but placing the blame predominantly on Bill Clinton.

"That's beneath the dignity of a former president," Leahy told reporters, adding, "He is not helping anyone and certainly not helping the Democratic Party."

That fear was also voiced by some neutral Democrats, who said that the former president's aggressive role, as well as the couple's harsh approach recently, threaten to divide the party in the general election.

A few prominent Democrats, including Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., have already spoken directly to the former president about the force of his Obama critiques. There is some fear within the party that if Obama becomes the Democratic nominee, he could emerge personally battered and politically compromised. And if Clinton beats him, there is a growing concern that it could come at a cost with black voters in particular, who could blame her for Obama's defeat, and stay at home in November.

"I'm not underestimating that this could be divisive, but I think both camps know how important this is, that is doesn't go beyond repair," said Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.

"Our party has to remain united -- that's the most important thing for November," Landrieu said. "The bottom line is, all this could cause a rift, but I hope it doesn't."

Earlier this week the Obama campaign began a new effort to deal with what it says has been a string of misleading or untrue attacks from the Clintons over the last three weeks. The campaign has begun pushing back harder, trying to puncture the charges more quickly -- a risky approach, because it involves questioning the credibility of the Democratic Party's most prominent figures of the past two decades.

Among the charges leveled against Obama are that his opposition to the war in Iraq is overstated, that he is weak on abortion rights, that his ties to a nuclear energy company undermine his opposition to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site in Nevada and that he is for a trillion-dollar tax increase on "hard-working Americans" because he is open to raising the cap on salary taxed for Social Security.

Harpootlian, a prominent voice in South Carolina politics and a onetime Clinton supporter, said the Clintons' recent tactics have been "all about deceit."

"This is harmful to the party, it's harmful to the state. And I understand they want to win, but this is about -- should be about -- a competition of ideas, not who can pull the hammer harder," Harpootlian said.

The Clinton campaign says Obama has shaded the record at times. He regularly makes fun of Clinton for saying in a recent debate that she was glad that a 2001 bankruptcy reform bill that she voted for did not pass, though what Clinton was trying to say was simply that she regretted the vote.

More often, Obama's shadings come in discussions of his own resume or proposals, not in attacks against his rivals. He says his health care plan offers "universal" coverage, though most experts agree that it would leave millions out, at least in the initial years, because it does not include a personal insurance mandate. And he has played down his past support for a single-payer health care system, even though the record reflects statements in favor of such an approach.

So far, it is the Clinton rhetoric that has created a queasiness, although elected officials said they are hopeful it will eventually cool down.

"Some statements that were said could be worded differently," Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who has not endorsed in the primary, said of the Clintons. But in general, "it's a competitive campaign, good for the Democratic Party and good for our country."

Sen. Barbara Boxer, who represents the big Feb. 5 prize of California, called the campaign "very rough, very tough. It's a fight to the finish."

"People want authenticity -- they're getting authenticity here," said Boxer, who is neutral in the race. "But I don't see it as a long-term problem. People want to see, if you're thrown a punch, how you are going to react. Can you stand up? Do you wither under criticism? Now, I do think it's better for us as a party if we all stick to a debate on the issue. But I think the candidates know that."

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Comment:

Current list of prominent Democrats who have openly criticized the Clintons for their smear-tactics:

Sen. John Kerry

Sen. Ted Kennedy

Rep. Rom Emanuel

Sen. Tom Daschel

Dick Harpootlian

Sen. Patrick Leahy

Sen. Mary Landrieu

Jonesy

Mud, as in our very own Gayness of the North Star?

To be perfectly fair, Obama should be familiar enough with politics to more carefully choose his words. I remember the whole 'taking things out of context' tactic from 10-15 years ago, and i'm only 26. If you word things 'properly', your word-choices cannot be used against you.

ThetaBurst

Really?

Watch this:

ROGER EBERT: "The script is poorly written, the acting is awful, the effects are lame and, really, there's no way I could ever say this is a great movie..."

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A day later, the studio runs a trailer that states:

"ROGER EBERT SAYS, 'THIS IS A GREAT MOVIE'"

BillCosby

The clintons know whats best........................ FOr them..........

What is good for the clintons is good for the party..... Is good for the country.... & good for the earth.........

We shall do bad that good may come about........

__________________
Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror

chrisbb

how did this thread get an ad that says, "antichrist revealed"?

ThetaBurst

Consider it previews of coming attractions.

Why anyone in America would want to return this nonsense to the White House is beyond me.

poetrychic

because it has clinton's name attached to it?

what a bitch, she really must have karl rove on her staff, it was rather interesting when he left the white house since he really didn't need to...

BillCosby

Returning to change........

__________________
Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror