Right Wing Govt in Canada Meddling in US Primaries

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

CROSS-BORDER PARTISANSHIP

Harper meddling in U.S. primaries, Democrats say

BRIAN LAGHI OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF March 3, 2008

...Democrats appearing on a nationwide U.S. political program accused the Harper government yesterday of interfering in the primary campaigns to help the Republican Party candidate in the coming campaign.

"You've got a right-wing government in Canada that is trying to help the Republicans and is out there actively interfering in this campaign," Bob Shrum told the popular program, Meet the Press. Mr. Shrum is a top-level Democrat adviser who has had key roles in the presidential campaigns of Al Gore and John Kerry.

...Opposition MPs said it appears obvious to them that the Harper Tories want the Republicans to win and that they have taken steps to help them to do so.

...The Canadian embassy says on its website that "at no time has any member of a Presidential campaign called the Canadian Ambassador or any official at the Embassy to discuss NAFTA." Mr. Harper's communications director, Sandra Buckler, said Mr. Brodie also doesn't remember such a conversation.

read more at the link

[AtomicKitten]

1. Hillary is clinging to this bullshit because she was exposed on national TV for lying about NAFTA.

[bluestateguy]

2. And Hillary voters are eating it all up

But then again, the exit polls show her to be polling best with voters who have the least education, so they are more likely to be manipulated by this kind of stuff.

[StevieM]

3. Well I'm a college graduate who loves Hillary. But I guess like all of Barack's opponents I must be

an awful human being. So I'm sure he won't mind winning in November without my vote.

Steve

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

8. Just like Hillary, you care nothing for the Democratic Party

nor for what is best for the voters.

Its scratch scratch scratch, claw claw claw.

You will tear down the democratic party to serve her ego.

[StevieM]

9. Well then Barack should be happy to win without me. But here are a list of Democrats who

I would be happty to vote for, who are not Hillary Clinton: John Edwards, Al Gore, Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, Martin O'Malley, even Russ Feingold. But why should I vote for a man whose whole campaign is based on smearing a fellow Democrat?

Steve

[stillcool]

11. I remember...

Memories, light the corners of my mind. Misty water-colored memories of the way we were

Clinton Surrogate Compares Obama Ad to Nazi March
http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20080201/cm_thenation/45278988_1
Fri Feb 1, 2:23 PM ET

The Nation -- On a media conference call organized by the Hillary Clinton campaign today, Clinton surrogate Len Nichols compared an Obama health care ad to Nazis.
----------

Accusing political opponents of Nazism is an outrageous smear. Raising the specter of a Nazi march in response to a health care mailer that evokes the insurance industry is so absurd, it would be hard to take the attack seriously, were it not launched from a high profile national campaign conference call in this crucial stretch of the presidential race. And political observers know, of course, that the Clinton Campaign regularly arranges opportunities for surrogates to launch these kind of smears, which are later followed up with apologies. (See: Bob Johnson, Bill Shaheen, Bob Kerrey, and Francine Torge, to name the most recent offenders.) For his part, Nichols did not immediately return a call requesting further comment.
-------------------------
Len Nichols, Director of New America's Health Policy Program, stated, "For nearly 17 years I have worked tirelessly to reform our nation's struggling health system. Today my passion overwhelmed me. I chose an analogy that was wholly inappropriate. I am deeply sorry for any offense that my unfortunate comments may have caused. I made unfortunate comments that do not accurately reflect my bipartisan conviction, political philosophy, or most importantly, my opinions about Senator Obama and his historic campaign for the United States presidency."

Clinton adviser steps down after drug use comments
Earlier Thursday, Clinton personally apologized to rival Obama for Shaheen's remarks.
Obama accepted her apology, according to David Axelrod, the top political strategist for the Obama campaign.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/13/clinton.obama/index.html

January 6, 2008, 5:18 pm
Edwards: No Conscience in Clinton Campaign
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/edwards-no-conscience-in-clinton-campaign/
By Julie Bosman
KEENE, N.H. – John Edwards angrily took on Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton at two news conferences in a row on Sunday, saying that her campaign “doesn’t seem to have a conscience.”

COMPTON, Calif. (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton and her campaign tried to mend ties to black voters Thursday when a key supporter apologized to her chief rival, Barack Obama, for comments that hinted at Obama's drug use as a teenager. The candidate herself, meanwhile, praised the Rev. Martin Luther King and promised to assist with the rebirth of this troubled, largely black city.

Bob Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, apologized for comments he made at a Clinton campaign rally in South Carolina on Sunday that hinted at Obama's use of drugs as a teenager.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-01-17-johnson-apology_N.htm?csp=34

December 10, 2007
Third Clinton Volunteer Knew Of Smear E-Mail

A third volunteer for Hillary Clinton's campaign was aware of a propaganda e-mail alleging that Barack Obama is a Muslim who plans on "destroying the U.S. from the inside out."

"Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential Candidacy," the email reads. "Please forward to everyone you know. The Muslims have said they Plan on destroying the U.S. from the inside out, what better way to start than at The highest level."

Two Clinton volunteers, Linda Olson and Judy Rose, have already been asked to resign from the campaign for their roles in forwarding the e-mail. The AP reported yesterday that Olson, a volunteer coordinator in Iowa County, sent a version of the e-mail to 11 people, including Ben Young, a regional field director for Chris Dodd's campaign. Young passed it on to the AP.
http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/12/third_clinton_v.html

Hillary: Sorry for Any Offense Campaign (Bill) Has Caused
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB65wJ6Rcfs

Bill Clinton Asks for a Second Chance
By Liz Halloran
Posted February 11, 2008

The morning after his wife, Hillary, was routed in three state contests by Sen. Barack Obama in their dead-heat battle for the Democratic nomination, former President Bill Clinton made his case for her before a packed Sunday service at one of the largest black churches in Washington, D.C.
But first he offered an apology of sorts for racially tinged comments he made about Obama and his candidacy that have triggered a backlash in the black community and among many other Democrats.

Clinton invoked his "worship of a God of second chances" in pronouncing himself glad to be at the Temple of Praise, which claims nearly 15,000 members. His invocation of second chances echoed comments he made early last week at black churches in California, where he campaigned for his wife before that state's Super Tuesday primary, which she won.
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/02/11/bill-clinton-asks-for-a-second-chance.html

Bill Clinton To Apologize At LA Black Churches
Once again, Bill Clinton is ready to repent.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/02/bill-clinton-to-apologize_n_84573.html
On Sunday the former president is scheduled to visit black churches in South Central Los Angeles, where he's expected to offer a mea culpa to those who "dearly loved him" when he was their president, Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) says.

Watson, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who has endorsed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), tells us she'll usher the former president to more than half a dozen churches in her district where she says he needs to "renew his relationship" with congregants who were turned off by his racially tinged comments in the days leading up to and following the South Carolina primary. (Such as when Clinton compared Sen. Barack Obama's landslide victory to Jesse Jackson's wins in 1984 and 1988.)

http://graphics.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20080112_nevada_lawsuit.pdf
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/a-feisty-bill-clinton-defends-nevada-lawsuit/
CLINTON ALLIES SUPPRESS THE VOTE IN NEVADA...
On Meet the Press on Sunday, Hillary Clinton said her campaign had nothing to do with a lawsuit--written about by Nation Editor Katrina vanden Heuvel--that threatens to prevent thousands of workers from voting in the Nevada caucus on Saturday.
Back in March, the Nevada Democratic Party agreed to set up caucus locations on the Vegas strip for low-income shift workers, many of them members of the state's influential Culinary Union, who commute long distances to work and wouldn't be able to get home in time to caucus. It was an uncontroversial idea until the Culinary Union endorsed Barack Obama and the Nevada State Education Association, whose top officials support Clinton, sued to shut down the caucus sites.
The Clinton camp played dumb until yesterday, when President Clinton came out in favor of the lawsuit.
Clinton's comments drew a heated response from D. Taylor, the head of Nevada's Culinary Union, on MSNBC's Hardball. "He is in support of disenfranchising thousands upon thousands of workers, not even just our members," Taylor said of Clinton. "The teachers union is just being used here. We understand that This is the Clinton campaign. They tried to disenfranchise students in Iowa. Now they're trying to disenfranchise people here in Nevada, who are union members and people of color and women."
Rank-and-file members of Nevada's teachers union also come out against the lawsuit filed by their leadership. "We never thought our union and Senator Clinton would put politics ahead of what's right for our students, but that's exactly what they're doing," the letter stated. "As teachers, and proud Democrats, we hope they will drop this undemocratic lawsuit and help all Nevadans caucus, no matter which candidate they support."
The lawsuit's opponents make a persuasive point. Creating obstacles to voting is what the GOP does to Democrats, not what Democrats should be doing to other Democrats.

If we had the chance to do it all again tell me, would we? Could we? Memories, may be beautiful and yet What's too painful to remember we simply choose to forget

[yourguide]

4. Canadian embassy issues APOLOGY & RETRACTION

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0308/Canadians_regret.html#comments



Canadians regret...

There's lots of grist for Canadian political reporters right now, as the Canadian Embassy issues an apology and a sort of recantation -- though not really a denial -- of the Goolsbee story. This happens even as their superiors in Ottawa seem determined to cause trouble in the Democratic primary.

The Canadian Embassy and our Consulates General regularly contact those involved in all of the Presidential campaigns and, periodically, report on these contacts to interested officials. In the recent report produced by the Consulate General in Chicago, there was no intention to convey, in any way, that Senator Obama and his campaign team were taking a different position in public from views expressed in private, including about NAFTA. We deeply regret any inference that may have been drawn to that effect.

The people of the United States are in the process of choosing a new President and are fortunate to have strong and impressive candidates from both political parties. Canada will not interfere in this electoral process. We look forward, however, to working with the choice of the American people in further building an unparalleled relationship with a close friend and partner.

So they're not disputing the text of the memo, just what it's words intended to convey. Perhaps it's the language barrier, but I'm not sure there's a clear alternative reading.

Anyway, the dread specter of Canadian interference has now been raised.

A side story, as Noam Scheiber writes: "What's shocking is that a foreign government would leak it to the press. That seems like a pretty egregious breach of protocol--more like a dirty trick by an operative in a conservative government than anything else. I can't imagine it'll bode well for U.S.-Canadian relations if Obama makes it to the White House ...."

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

5. it seems the real story - Right wing in Canada at work - is not getting enough attn

the real story is the right wingers, but it may not get in the MSM in time.

[redqueen]

6. Of course it won't...

the real question is - will it matter?

[Iceburg]

7. Canada is Clinton friendly -- always has been and always will be

Bill Clinton speaks at Toronto fundraiser
Updated Sat. Mar. 1 2008 10:26 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Former president Bill Clinton addressed a Toronto fundraising crowd Saturday night, briefly leaving his wife's campaign to discuss his latest foreign aid initiative.

He started the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative (CGSGI) in June 2007, as a way to create sustainable development in Latin American countries where natural resources dominate the economy.

"The world is bedeviled by three great crises: persistent and growing inequality in economic opportunity, education and healthcare; the insecurity caused by our interdependence, making us all vulnerable to terrorism and weapons of mass destruction; and, the unsustainability of our current developmental course because of the threat of global warming," Clinton told an audience at the city's Westin Harbour Castle Convention Centre.

"Ironically, addressing the problem of inequality will help us to deal with the other two crises. It will remove the resentments and hatreds and divisions that fuel so much of the violence in the world. And if we have a truly sustainable economic process, it will reduce the threat of climate change."
... more (+video of his speech)

[catgirl]

10. Yup. And they're repaying favors to Bill

Yuck.