An Offer Kerry Can’t Refuse

The American Spectator ^ | 2/17/2004

[Utah Girl]

It isn't for nothing that Bill Clinton has Wesley Clark on his speed dial. What with Clinton running his campaign and all.

No sooner had Clark pulled the plug on his presidential run last Tuesday night -- and started the firestorm surrounding stories of Kerry and his extramarital affairs -- than Clinton was on the horn telling him to shut his mouth and get in line behind Kerry.

Clinton is thought to have once wanted Clark to at least be on the bottom of a Democratic ticket. But as the campaign wore on, doubts arose. "All of the reasons Clark was pushed out of the Army hierarchy were made clear to Clinton during the campaign," says a former Clark staffer now advising John Edwards. "Clark was just not someone who focused well day to day. It was frustrating. That last night, where he's caught mouthing off about Kerry, is the kind of stuff we were dealing with all the time."

Now, according to several sources inside the Clinton camp, as well as DNC insiders, Bill Clinton is looking for a way to push wife Hillary Rodham Clinton onto the bottom of the ticket. One big reason: money. Kerry will need a lot more of it. Clinton can facilitate his getting it.

"You look at who is lining up with the cash to keep Kerry viable for the next few months and it's all the people who are beholden to Clinton: organized labor," says a DNC fundraiser. "We as a party won't be able to compete with Bush's millions. It's our partners, AFSCME, SEIU, the 527s, that are going to keep Kerry in the news, on the airwaves."

For example, AFSCME president Gerald McEntee -- who once was thought to be one of Kerry's biggest backers until he jumped to Howie Dean's campaign -- was a key early supporter of Bill Clinton in the run-up to the 1992 presidential campaign. After McEntee climbed on Clinton's back, he was dubbed the "Kingmaker" for plucking the struggling Arkansas governor from the pack and touting him.

Clinton rewarded McEntee by making him a key player in national Democratic politics and by encouraging labor laws that gave unions like AFSCME greater flexibility and membership opportunities through state and local governments.

"If Bill wants Hillary on the bottom of the ticket, all he has to do is make a few phone calls -- Kerry would have little to say in the matter if it got that far," says a DNC fundraiser. "Kerry may think he's going to be running things, but he's in for a rude awakening."

Kerry is pulling in more money now than he was a month ago, to be sure. But by conservative estimates, he will have about $40 million to spend between now and the convention. That is about a third of what the Bush campaign has to spend over the same period.

"The only way Kerry keeps up is with the help of guys like McEntee and the 527s, which are also funded by organized labor," says a Democratic pollster in Washington. "That money from those groups puts Kerry at about the same level as Bush. Without that money, Kerry isn't in the race for very long. He doesn't know it yet, but he has already been bought by the Clinton wing of the Democratic Party."

In fact, according to one AFSCME House lobbyist, "I wouldn't be surprised if McEntee expects a seat at the table when picking the candidate. This is going to be a presidential race unlike any other, given the cooperative effort involved. And by that I mean, Kerry cooperates with all the folks who are paying the tab to get him into the White House. If they want Hillary, he will probably have to take Hillary."

The strategizing to put the New York Senator on the bottom of the ticket now takes center stage because of the early missteps of the Bush campaign in tamping down the National Guard story and the ongoing unrest in Iraq. Those issues, combined with Kerry's momentum, have given Democrats a sense that they can actually win a presidential race.

"A Kerry presidency, with say someone like [Indiana Sen.] Evan Bayh on the bottom of the ticket, automatically give Bayh the edge eight years from now to run for president," says a DNC insider. "Eight years from now, Hillary probably can't run for president. The Clintons have been mapping this thing out for '08. Now they are looking at a different situation. A Kerry win with someone else on the ticket makes it harder for her to run."

Just how influential the Clintons will be in the Kerry campaign was made clear on Sunday when Rep. Charles Rangel took the seat across from NBC Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert and threw his support behind Kerry in the same way his former candidate, Clark, did. Rangel used talking points provided him by Clinton supporters in New York. "Rangel was just one more favor the Clintons are providing the Kerry campaign," says a DNC staffer in Washington.

[NYCVirago]

A Kerry/Clark ticket with Clark quitting for health reasons early in the term and having Hillary!™ appointed as veep. That way she doesn't have to stand any electoral scrutiny.

Doesn't Congress have to approve the VP choice? I thought they did with Ford and Rockefeller.

[jocon307]

"Doesn't Congress have to approve the VP choice? I thought they did with Ford and Rockefeller."

Yes you are right, but I don't think it's much more than a rubber stamp. Hillary! having legitimized herself as an elected Senator from the great state of NY would surely pass muster.

[NYCVirago]

Yes you are right, but I don't think it's much more than a rubber stamp. Hillary! having legitimized herself as an elected Senator from the great state of NY would surely pass muster.

I was just about to write that there's no way the Republican Senate would approve her, but then I remembered that I was assuming they had a spine!

[null and void]

Yes you are right, but I don't think it's much more than a rubber stamp. Hillary! having legitimized herself as an elected Senator from the great state of NY would surely pass muster.

And there's always those pesky FBI files to pry the fence sitters off to the "proper" side...

[kcvl]

I don't understand why unions support the Clintons. Bill Clinton is not even using union labor to build his ugly-*ss library.

[mabelkitty]

So, let me get this straight.
Clark leaks intern story (by accident) he got from Clinton.
Kerry and Polier don't respond.
Videotape of her is supposedly in possession of a news outlet (or was it a Clintonista posing as one?)
Strong denials come out on Monday, at the same time Clinton is pushing for a Clark VP spot.
They plan to take Kerry out either before the General Election by releasing the tape after Clark is already VP (so Clark can make Hillary his VP) or they plan to push for his impeachment so she gets in.

This is where Kerry needs Terayza - she can beat them back like nobody's business.

[mabelkitty]

You forgot one - she has Kofi change the rules for the UN Secretary General (they have the goods on Oil for Food since she is on the Intelligence Comm) and seats her husband as Kofi's replacement.

[kcvl]

http://votehillary.org/SpecialThanks.html

[mewzilla]

Maybe this whole Polier thing was a shot across Hanoi John's bow. Do as you're told...or else.

[mabelkitty]

Not if we get that criminal Judicial Memo investigation going.
Or
We just fillibuster a vote according to "Senate Rules".

[null and void]

Just when I think my nightmare couldn't get worse...

[InvisibleChurch]

xxxlinton's an idiot; let them run hillary and she'll get squashed... they got lucky once and have gone downhill since 92 .... yes, the thought of hillary is frightening, but politically, she and bill are complete oafs ... have some faith in the inherent goodness of the American people

[InvisibleChurch]

also don't forget about perot; george would have won w/out his meddling; heck, perot might have won had he not meddled in his own campaign

[kcvl]

Did you know that John Kerry's Senior Political Advisor, Michael Meehan, is on leave from NARAL? No "special interest" for John F. Kerry?

NARAL Plans Extensive 2004 Election Effort

Washington, DC -- Seeking to increase its elections efforts in the 2004 election cycle and to stay a key player in the Democratic party's presidential nomination process, NARAL Pro-Choice America has hired veteran Democratic operative Michael Meehan to oversee its vastly expanded soft-money fundraising operation.

Meehan -- a top political adviser to pro-abortion Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) --will serve as vice president for politics, campaigns and strategy, essentially overseeing all of the organization's political operations. Both the field and political directors at NARAL Pro-Choice America will report directly to him.

In addition to his advisory duties for Daschle, Meehan is coming off a stint as the message and polling director at the Democratic National Committee during the 2002 cycle.

[null and void]

have some faith in the inherent goodness of the American people

Faith. Belief in the absence of evidence...

[InvisibleChurch]

... and a third thing, if hillary cared so ding dang much about her country and believed her ideas are the best for the United States, then she should just go ahead and run for president... she's such a coward and knows that her ideas are opposite of what most Americans believe... why else would she try to back-in into the presidency via vp? if she WAS vp, does anyone honestly believe that that she would sit and wait to run an honest campaign in 4 or 8 years? remember, she was part of the watergate investigation and understands that there are other ways to ascend to the presidency besides the electoral college... the libs have done a great job of bringing fellow dems down, blaming it on the republicans, and getting away with it

i'm not on your case, it's just that you hit one of my hot-buttons regarding these buffoons

[InvisibleChurch]

Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Kerry

I thank you for your service,
Way back in Viet Nam.
But that is no free ticket,
To let you pull this scam.
You spit upon our nation,
Betrayed our young brave men.
You called them baby killers,
It’s not true now, nor then.
You sir are just low life scum,
You prey upon rich chicks.
I hope Teresa sees the light,
And dumps your bag of tricks.
I’ll vote for Bush this coming fall,
And pray that you don’t win.
For if you win, we all will lose,
Our freedom will cave in.

Conspiracy Guy 2/16/4

[Viking2002]

You knew that pig would figure into this somehow. Be afraid. Be very afraid. This country will come apart at the seams if that fat-kneed moonbat gets her claws into the White House machine.

[Utah Girl]

I have nightmares about Hillary! being in the White House again. And this time, she would have all the real power. And Bill, the lecher, roaming the halls, trolling for women. No thanks.