Posted on 03/28/2007 6:18:52 AM PDT by Gopher Broke
Hillary Clinton to Pay Vilsack's $400,000 Campaign Debt
Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton has agreed to help one-time candidate Tom Vilsack, who endorsed her on Monday, as he seeks to retire a campaign debt of more than $400,000.
Clinton spokesman Mark Daley said he was uncertain how Clinton would go about raising money for Vilsack, but he conceded that at some point, she would have to contact her supporters. "Someone in her shop is going to have to reach out," Daley said.
Vilsack and his wife, Christie, endorsed Clinton in her bid for the Democratic nomination at an Iowa news conference on Monday. Daley said there was no connection between the fundraising and the endorsement.
"There was no quid pro quo," Daley said. "They have a long history and if she could be helpful she wants to be helpful."
The help for Vilsack comes as one of Clinton's top supporters in New Hampshire disputed reports of another promise in exchange for an endorsement. Bill Shaheen, in an interview with The Associated Press, said suggestions that he withheld his endorsement of Clinton until he was promised an ambassadorship were wrong.
"Did she promise (an ambassadorship)? No," Shaheen said. "That's not how I work. I don't think Senator Clinton is thinking that far down the road and I would be disappointed if she was."
Shaheen joined the Clinton campaign last week as co-chairman of her national and state campaigns. After the endorsement, Shaheen met with bloggers and told them if Clinton wins the White House, he wants to be part of her team negotiating peace in the Middle East.
Last month, a key black Democratic leader in South Carolina negotiated a $10,000 per month consulting contract with Clinton's campaign, a development that came to light when state Sen. Darrell Jackson endorsed the presidential hopeful.
The campaign denied there was any deal made for Jackson's endorsement.
Vilsack announced he would run for president on Nov. 30, about a month before the end of his second term as governor. He ended his campaign Feb. 23, citing an inability to raise enough money.
The Vilsacks became among the most high-profile backers of Clinton's bid. Christie Vilsack said is was a natural decision because her ties to Clinton date to the 1970s. At that time, Christie Vilsack's late brother, Tom, was a lawyer who worked with Clinton during the Watergate-driven impeachment investigation.
In a letter to his backers in Iowa, Vilsack said he will go all out for Clinton.
"Christie and I plan on spending the next 10 months helping Hillary win the Iowa caucuses and the other states necessary to win the Democratic nomination - and after that the White House in 2008," Vilsack said.
Hopefully it's money well misspent.
You can say it. That doesn't mean anyone believes it.
Nothing wrong here, democrats have been buying votes for years in the inner city.
If this was a republican they would be screaming for a criminal investigation.
This is the beginning of "THE GREAT PAYDAY" that Democrats have been salivating over for YEARS...
You don't think those mansions, limos, and private jets come CHEAP, do you?
And HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS more of it is coming, and a lot of it from NON-US sources via 527's...
Tom; you sold too cheap.
Politics as usual. It's no different for Ballsack and Her Heinous.
She has to BUY her supporters!! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH!! PATHETIC!
Walkin'around money.
***She has to BUY her supporters!! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH!! PATHETIC!***
True.
And I'm wondering how a state senator can collect $10,000 a month to shill for Hitlery AND still collect his pay as senator. I can understand a senator endorsing a candidate, for NOT FOR PAY.
This smells so bad that I have to go open the windows.
The reason his candidacy went nowhere was because no one could say his last name without giggling like a 7th grader.
Huh huuh..he said Vilsack...huh huh huh
No good deed for a Clinton ever goes unpunished.
Welcome to the Dark Side, Vilsack.
A Vilsack endorsement is worth maybe $40. Certainly not $400,000. After all, when he pulled out, his polling power in his home state of Iowa was nothing short of a disaster.
If I recall correctly, he fared no better than 4th place in Iowa, trailing the Breck Girl, Mrs. Clinton, and the clean-and-articulate Obama. Vilsack was in a virtual dead-heat with "Undecided"—in his home state!
Any potential Hillary contributor ought to be having second thoughts. Why give any of your hard earned money to her campaign, if it's going to be used to bail out a useless loser like Vilsack? Might as well give it to the nutjob Kucinich!
So, I don't get this story at all. I'm dumbfounded that any serious candidate would commit any serious money to bailing out the joke that was the Vilsack campaign.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.