For Clinton, Millions in Campaign Debt and Limited Options

[Pirate Smile]

Source: New York Times


Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, at a fund-raiser in May at a home in Fort Mitchell, Ky. She lent $11.4 million of her own money to her unsuccessful campaign.

By MICHAEL LUO
Published: June 10, 2008

With her campaign now officially suspended, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is confronting still another challenge: whittling down what is believed to be the largest presidential campaign debt in history.

Besides the $11.4 million of her own money that Mrs. Clinton lent her campaign, she had about $9.5 million in unpaid bills to vendors at the end of April, according to her most recent filing with the Federal Election Commission.

It is unclear how much debt she will ultimately report, because the campaign is still adding up the figures for May, which it must file to the commission by June 20. But Mo Elleithee, a campaign spokesman, said, “We don’t expect the debt number to look significantly different than it did on our last report.”

-snip-
What makes Mrs. Clinton’s situation unusual is the combination of unpaid bills and her own personal loan. Records show that other unsuccessful candidates owed less than half to their vendors than what she owes to businesses. “It’s unprecedented,” said Jan Baran, a campaign finance lawyer with Wiley Rein.

-snip-
Even as Mrs. Clinton must raise money to pay her bills, her campaign must liquidate more than $23 million in contributions set aside for the general election. They can do it by either returning it to donors or designating it for her Senate re-election campaign in 2012, provided she obtains permission from her donors to do so.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/10/us/politics/10clinton.html

[gateley]

1. Could her donors let her use the GE funds to help pay off her debt?

I'd think they would like their money to help her out of this. If the regulations don't allow it, they should.

[mcg]

2. A donor could request money be returned, then donate to reduce the debt,

I would think, if regulations don't allow it directly. That would make more sense then designating it for her Senate re-election later (which may not even happen depending on what happens).

[gateley]

5. That would be a good idea! nt

[Zhade]

21. In this economy, I'm not sure that would work.

A lot of people who she's turned off since voting for her might just spend it more wisely, like on groceries.

[swag]

3. I believe that she has crossed the Debtor in Chief threshold.

How very responsible.

She owes tens of thousand to Oregon's not-too-well-funded Public Schools among other entities.

Why did she take on obligations she could not pay for?

[gateley]

6. Wow -- Willamette isn't too Happy with Hillary -

which is understandable. I hope she can get these vendors paid off soon - it's really too bad that happened.

[rainbow4321]

23. All they had to do was pull up her frigging FEC list from the beginning of the year

School districts, Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA's, sign language interpretors....ALL were stiffed at one point or another, ending up on her DEBT list section of her FEC pages.

If the everyday American were to try and get credit or to rent a facility with an IOU and had HRC's credit history, we would have had the doors slammed in our face. At some point towards the end of her campaign could school districts just tell her people "NO, we have seen your debt list and our district cannot afford to not be paid promptly"?

[lapfog_1]

4. I won't mind if Obama retires her $9.5M small vendor debts

But only if she does more to short circuit the "PUMA" types...

[Psephos]

7. Grifter's lament

She and Bill have put a HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS in their bank account in the past eight years, and she doesn't know how she's going to pay off these debts that SHE RAN UP?

WRITE the 'effin check already and pay off the small business people you left holding the bag, Hillary. I know this will leave you and Bill with only eighty million, but somehow, you'll survive, if you cut back on non-essentials.

And this woman claimed she was ready to run the world's largest economy???!!! ROFLMAO She makes even Leona Helmsley look frugal and fair with "the little people."

[Baby Snooks]

10. Maybe the Federal Reserve can loan her something...

I have little sympathy for her just as I've had little sympathy for quite a few others who faced with the fact that the money wasn't pouring into their campaigns decided to pour their own money in as a loan.

That should have signalled to her that there was a problem. If the people aren't sending the money in, why would you think they would vote for you?

Let them eat it the way everyone else in this country is having to. They have plenty of money. Write the loan off as bad debt and take a tax deduction.

I shudder at the thought of Barack Obama giving in and putting her on the ticket.

[ryanmuegge]

8. These people have made a ton of money. They don't need welfare.

Let them have some of that rugged individualism of which they are such ardent proponents. Pull yourselves up by the bootstraps, like those poor, black single mothers who had their welfare taken from them from Clinton and the Republican Congress.

I'm not a major Clinton hater, but I think this idea is absurd when most people can barely get by.

[saigon68]

11. Well put

"WELFARE REFORM" under Her husband's Reign wrought havoc upon the poor and lower classes.

One only need to see Bowling for Columbine to see the result.

A poor black woman forced to ride a bus for 90 minutes to a low wage job at Dick Clark's Carbo restaurant, while her children went unsupervised.

[okieinpain]

13. I don't believe in welfare, I know there are good stories but I know

a lot of bad ones. wish they would just do away with it and offer free education.

[arikara]

16. Yah, I like seeing people shiver and starve in the streets too

/sarcasm

Sorry, I do agree about education but unless people are able to access nutritious food, have a roof over their heads and clean clothes, free education isn't going to help.

[jasmine621]

20. They haven't even made as much a top baseball or basketball player.

Give it a break! The money you are talking about came over more than 6 years. Start counting how much Obama made in one year, how much Cheney and others make in one year and a few failing CEO golden parachutes. Get a little perspective in your life.

[Zhade]

22. Hear, hear - let them be hoisted on their own petard!

Besides, they're rich. They can handle the debt.

[Kaleko]

9. Hey kids, sell your stuff and donate the money to Clinton.

It's the right thing to do in an upside down world.

[Lost4words]

12. Just ask Mark Penn for a loan Hillary!

[leftchick]

14. cry me a fucking river

send your lunatic husband out on a speaking tour for a week. There are more than enough idiots that would pony up the big bucks for the 'big dog'. :eyes:

[Veronica.Franco]

15. Not any more ...

I'm afraid they spent all their political collateral on this campaign run and he's hurt himself too many times ... hoof in mouth disease .... his speaking tour income may have all but dried up ...

[krkaufman]

17. Well, for starters, Hillary should sue Mark Penn for professional incompetence.

That'd net her at least the $5 million she currently owes him.

[cliss]

18. Who could have guessed

That such a big Ego Trip could have costed so much.

Well I hope it was worth it Hillary.

[Voltaire99]

19. Pay up, big spenda!

Time to send the old fat racist out to shake down some more colleges for millions in lecture fees?