Hillary Clinton Fact Check: Ambinder: Clinton's "Nuclear Option" More Of A Conventional Weapon?

Ambinder: Clinton's "Nuclear Option" More Of A Conventional Weapon?

Ambinder:

06 May 2008 11:12 am

Wikipedia's history of the phrase "a nuclear option" would
make Sen. Bill Frist proud, but in so far as historical references go, it's
weaker than an aged dog. I more prefer the context of annihilation and
obliteration over procedural gimmickry, but the latter is more apropos for
today's politics. On Friday, Tom Edsall headlined his story about the upcoming
rules and bylaws committee meeting of the Democratic Party, "Clinton Camp Says
It Will Use The Nuclear Option."

THE OPTION Edsall refers to is an
unspecified plan to somehow use the campaign's leverage on the committee to seat
delegates from Florida and Michigan, thereby reducing the pledged delegate gap
with Barack Obama by 55. Edsall's implication, derived, I assume, from his
conversations with Clinton campaign allies, is that the Clinton campaign is
currently debating whether to play this trump card; the "nuclear option" lingo
makes it clear that Edsall believes that the card is improperly played -- that
the process of delegation challenges does not comport with a spirit of fair
play.


IN FAIRNESS TO the Clinton campaign, they've made no secret
about their desire to seat the delegations from Florida and Michigan. And,
absent new, DNC-approved delegate selection contests in those states, the RBC
and then the credentials committee are the "legal" and appropriate forums to
hear those challenges under DNC rules. RBC meetings are open and above-board;
the challenges set to be argued will be argued. The Obama campaign does not
believe that a majority of the RBC's members are Clinton supporters; the Clinton
campaign is surely counting votes, but they're also not certain of the outcome.
It seems indecent to suggest that RBC members, many of whom have the equivalent
of tenure on the committee and are sticklers for DNC rules, would so eagerly and
quickly jettison sound judgment in favor of politics. Some will, some won't. It
further seems unfair to lump the cases of Florida and Michigan together,
especially when it comes to what's fair and what's foul. In Florida, Clinton and
Obama both appeared on the ballot; in Michigan, Obama's name (by his own choice,
yes) did not.

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Audio: Hillary Did Not Commit To Lifting Teamsters Consent Decree

Audio: Hillary Did Not Commit To Lifting Teamsters Consent Decree

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This morning's Wall Street Journal revealed that Sen. Obama unequivocally supports lifting the teamsters federal consent decree:

Sen. Barack Obama won the endorsement of the Teamsters earlier this year
after privately telling the union he supported ending the strict federal
oversight imposed to root out corruption, according to officials from the union
and the Obama campaign.

…Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor confirmed the candidate's position in a
statement to The Wall Street Journal, saying that Sen. Obama believes that the
board "has run its course," because "organized crime influence in the union has
drastically declined." Mr. Vietor said Sen. Obama took that position last
year.

This morning on Good Morning America, Sen. Obama contradicted his campaign and said he had not made a commitment.

Today, the Politico published audio of Hillary speaking to the Teamsters. Hillary says that she'd be open to "looking at" the status of the consent decree but made no commitments.

This is consistent with what the Hillary campaign and the Teamsters said publicly before this audio was released. Phil Singer told the Wall Street Journal: "Sen. Clinton is making no promises about lifting the consent decree." The Teamsters described Hillary's position as "wishy-washy."

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Fact Check: Hillary and the Windfall Profits Tax

Did you vote for your candidate on my poll...send your friends here also!!!

Today 5/4/08, on Meet the Press, Sen. Obama claimed Hillary was using the same windfall profits tax to pay for two proposals:

Now, Senator Clinton says that she's going to use the windfall profits tax to
fill it. First of all, she's already said she's going to use that for something
else, as I have, and that is to invest in clean energy and, and-- other
important measures. So, that money she's already spending twice.

This is false and misleading.{new kind of politics...huh}

To pay for the gas tax holiday, Hillary is calling for a windfall tax on the oil companies' 2008 profits. It's an immediate proposal. Hillary has never proposed a tax on 2008 profits previously.

Hillary would continue the windfall tax on 2009 profits and beyond, and that revenue would go to her strategic energy fund and for renewable energy.

5/4/2008 10:18:42 AM # Check more facts


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