Leahy: Clinton “Ought to Withdraw and She Ought to Be Backing Senator Obama”

[monicaaida]

http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/79888/


http://thepage.time.com/

[DemVet]

1. Leahy, there will be "Hell to pay!"

Where the fuck do all these Senators and bigwigs get off trying to end the Nomination process before some states have even voted?

IF a candidate withdraws voluntarily, fine, but these people have NO BUSINESS telling a candidate what they should do.

[adoraz]

4. when it is mathematically impossible to win

they have every right to.

Hillary lost and can only win by dividing the party. Those are the facts.

edit: and please don't start with the "pledged delegates can go to another person" or "pledged delegates don't mean everything, Supers can overturn them". You should know that even though those facts are true, they won't happen and Obama will win the race.

If Hillary becomes the nominee, I'll leave here forever. That is how positive I am that Obama will win. The Supers wouldn't be stupid enough to divide the party.

[jasmine621]

19. It is not impossible for Hillary to win. Pledged delegates may change

and super delegates ARE NOT obligated to vote for anyone except whom they want to vote for. Richardson certainly has not voted for the people's choice of his state nor has Ted Kennedy so they all need to shut up about the supers having to vote for the will of the people. That is not their purpose, never has been. They are free to vote their choice.

[Arkansas Granny]

25. Not only are they free to vote their choice, the original purpose for appointing

"superdelegates" was so they could have an effect on what was good for the Democratic party. One way or another, it will be resolved and we will have a candidate. Then it will be up to all of us to get behind him/her and elect a Democratic President.

[cascadiance]

26. In other words you are saying they and you don't support the tenets of democracy...

... and representative rules, where they represent who WE vote for as voters and decide for themselves what is the more valuable approach... NICE! That's a real winning combination to draw in independents and disgruntled Republicans who've seen too much of that same attitude in the Republican Party of late.

Kennedy, Leahy, and Richardson, etc. should be able to come out and support the candidate of their choice, and give us good and hopefully heart felt reasons why they are doing so. The Superdelegate process in a sense stands in the way of this, as their votes that are delegate level instead of citizen level make them more "god-like" in their power there, which either allows them into warping the vote totals towards their personal preference, or locks them out of being able be a part of campaigns as other citizens do.

The super delegate system is what is screwing us this time around. If we didn't have it, I think the writing on the wall would be a lot clearer and allow more people (not involved in the super delegate counts) to provide useful advice about when to call the race over.

Some may say that it isn't fair that we aren't considering Pennsylvania's and other states wishes still to come. Well that is even more the case for Republicans now isn't it? That's the problem with our current primary system that we should at a later time deal with if we want to fix. We should focus now on resolving this primary battle so that we can win the war in November, and hopefully start rebuilding this country in 2009.

[DemVet]

40. Hey, 'dems da rules...

[cascadiance]

46. And it is those UNDEMOCRATIC rules that will keep independents away and have us LOSE in November!

Those that are intelligent super delegates that don't compromise their votes in this area realize that this super delegate set of rules is a messed up part of this party and that they shouldn't be using them to override what the people voted for. Those who advocate they do are going to SINK our party AND our country come November!

Say what you want, but Hillary's staying in the race and trying to win by winnning over the super delegates and NOT the people's vote, is pure opportunistic power mongering, and the general election voter will make us pay for that if we allow her to do this.

[adoraz]

27. thanks for reading my post.

Its impossible. If you think they will divide the party, you are crazy.

[DemVet]

42. No, it's not impossible for Hillary to win.

It's both unlikely that either Clinton or Obama will reach 2025 delegates without superdelegates. When superdelegates come into play, she has just as much chance as she does.

[Spider Jerusalem]

45. Pledged delegates may change, sure...after no nominee on the first ballot at the convention

but they WON'T change, because Hillary is UNELECTABLE.

[leftofcool]

5. He doesn't have much clout

[cali]

13. lol

yeah, Leahy is just a little known back bencher in the Senate. He's not really one of the most powerful people on the Hill according to practically all pundits and every list. He really isn't one of the most senior dems in the entire Senate, having served as a Senator for 34 years. And he reallly doesn't chair one of the most powerful committees.

[Coexist]

23. Patrick who?

;)

Judiciary committee? Whats that? Are they in charge of procuring fruit baskets for newly elected officials?

He was important enough to frustrate Cheney into dropping a very public f-bomb on!

I love Leahy.

[cascadiance]

38. Yup, if we had more like him, Feingold, and Wellstone, we wouldn't have the Telecomm act we have now

that has allowed the media to consolidate to a point that we no longer have an adequate press that keep us properly informed. They were amongst the handful of senators that opposed that then and actually lead that opposition group then. Clinton should have vetoed it.

[0007]

16. ......and neither do you.

[cali]

9. Leahy has every right

to say whatever the fuck he wants. And he never says something without due consideration. Like it or not he's one of the most senior and important dems in the party. And that's why this is news.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

12. Hillary keeps saying the superdelegates have a right to vote as they wish

And now they're doing just that.

[SoonerPride]

14. They have NO RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH??? Who the hell are YOU!?!?

This is still America, deary.

FU and F that noise.

They can speak out, endorse, ridicule, cajole, plead, or do whatever the HELL they want.

This is AMERICA!!

[0007]

20. The folks in Vermont believe in Leahy. And I do too!

It is Senator Leahy business and opinion and RIGHT to say what he likes about the drama queen.

If you want to register your bitch do it here.......send a message to Patrick Leahy.

http://leahy.senate.gov/contact.cfm

[Hepburn]

32. Blah, blah, blah...

...did you EVER stop to think that they are aware ~~ as are most real Dems ~~ of the damage that Hillary is causing?

:eyes:

[Colobo]

2. Go Leahy! Gobama!

[0007]

11. Right on! Go Leahy! Gobama!

[Perky]

3. Whoa...That is very important language,

He is the first real play I have heard tell Hillary to stand down.

[Algorem]

6. Who made Leahy Dicktater?I thought that was Bush's job.

[OzarkDem]

7. I have zero faith in Obama

I don't think he will win the GE and if, by some miracle he does, he will govern poorly and will cater to corporate interests.

His tendency to not become educated on important issues and delegate decisions to others will result in great chaos. It will be a huge embarrassment to Dems and will result in big losses at the next midterms.

Our leaders in Congress have shown their weakness and lack of judgement since they won the majority. I don't feel like indulging them now.

[cali]

10. another completely pathetic prognostication

from the poster who insisted that no one showed up at a certain Obama rally and who boasts about living in a gated community that "keeps the riff raff out". Leahy's words are a lot more important than any of the stupid shit you spew.

[0007]

15. Leahy is a Senator not a Congressman, I can understand why you're

confused this morning.

Perhaps you think there is no difference between the two?

[cali]

22. Actually, Leahy is most certainly a member of Congress

Congress is comprised of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

[cascadiance]

29. Perhaps he's noting that the Senate that the Dems don't have a clear majority...

Even though they have "control" over it, they certainly don't have a voting majority to follow through on legislation, which a reasonably dedicated and unified majority in the House could accomplish when they aren't blocked by fillibusters, etc. that the Senate is.

[cascadiance]

17. And this ISN'T catering to corporate interests?...

As an Edwards supporter, I have some concerns about Obama. But what you say here is not really substantiated by facts, and could arguably be used to critique Senator Clinton as well. The important thing as other posters have been starting to say, is for her to find a "win" without necessarily "winning" the nomination, and work together with Obama to beat McCain. Anything else is selfishness that will bring down our party and America in general as the Republicans seek to finish the job they've already started of destroying the middle class and making us into a third world country.

[Hepburn]

35. Tell ya, what....

...when you get yourself in a position similar to that of Pat Leahy, then I will think about what you have to say. Until then, you are just another rampant, uninformed Hillbot on a message board.

See the difference?

[sniffa]

8. I agree

Thank you Senator Leahy for speaking truth to sour. :patriot:

[Tesha]

21. Where's that "Recommend reply" button gotten to... (NT)

[Bonobo]

18. Hillary's political future is rapidly diminishing to a single point.

She is making enemies, enemies, enemies.

My schadenfreude over her self-inflicted political wounds will be something to see.

[jasmine621]

24. Hillary has not made enemies, the press and the haters have made the enemies

for her. She has every right to run to the end of the race. If she loses, I am sure she will be more gracious in a loss than would Obama. I have seen a snake-like quality rear its head in Obama. I no longer feel the same way I did about him months ago. He should not expect that the party owes him the nomination...he really has not done that much for the party to earn it. Kerry and Gore both registered historic numbers of new voters...for that matter, so did Jesse Jackson. That alone does not earn you the right to the nomination.

[Bullet1987]

28. I don't think she's making enemies...I just think people are becoming

annoyed by her antics and divisive nature.

[TwilightGardener]

34. It was the Sniper Fire. I think that was the last straw. The GOP will

never let that go--never.

[Hepburn]

36. Oh, brother....

...Hillary Clinton is a PROVEN lying piece of shit. And you think the press did this to her? Care to give all of us some info on how they created, for example, the lies she spewed about her landing at Bosnia?

Sheesh......:eyes:

[cali]

37. Actually, she and bill have made enemies within the dem party

Why do you think people like Pat Leahy are supporting Obama and asking her to get out?

[blogslut]

30. The Batman

has spoken:

[Hepburn]

31. Wooooooot!!!! K&R

Thank you Sen. Leahy! :applause:

[Justitia]

33. He's probably watching Bill Clinton talking up our opponent on the campaign trail!

What I have seen on TV this morning from our former Democratic President is incredible!

Perhaps Leahy is seeing what I saw and realizes we need to shut this crap down FAST!

[Tarheel_Dem]

39. I could be wrong, but I've had this sneaking suspicion that Hillary

is applying for the Veep spot with McCain. She knows the numbers just don't add up for her, and I can't think of any other reason for Bill & Hill to be promoting McCain on the campaign trail while simultaneously making Obama unelectable. They are both, along with their surrorages, doing the rightwing talk show circuit, and that just makes my stomach queezy.

I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility for her to pull a Joe Liebermann, if she doesn't get the nod.

[DemVet]

41. Leahy ought to STFU

He ought to let the people decide the Nomineed, not him. He'll get his chance at the Convention when all the other superdelegates vote.

[MadHound]

43. The people HAVE decided

It's all over but the shouting. Obama has the lead in pledged delegates, and unless Hillary can pull some sort miracle, winning everything from here on with seventy percent or more, Obama will continue to have the most delegates. Obama also leads in the popular vote by seven hundred thousand votes. Again, Hillary needs a miracle. Obama is picking up more superdelegates on a daily basis, while Hillary is losing them on a daily basis.

By any measure that you can think of, the people have spoken and stated clearly that they want Obama for their nominee. All that Hillary can do by continuing on this path is insure that McCain wins the election in the fall. She can't win the nomination, all she can be at this point is a spoiler.

It's time for her to hang it up and go home.

[EFerrari]

44. Spoken like a true Democrat.

"People I don't agree with should shut the fuck up!"