Hillary Clinton’s Florida Campaign
I don’t know what will be Florida’s results for the Republicans. I’m not in the business of making guesses. In fact, I’m not in any business at the moment. (The tip jars are to the right, thanks.)
I am interested in Sen. Clinton’s quasi-campaigning in Florida. Due to Democratic Party rules the state has been stripped of its delegates for moving its primary before 02.05. Yet she’s done enough to hack off the Union Leader in New Hampshire:
“I will try to persuade my delegates to seat the delegates from Michigan and Florida,” Clinton said last week, after the New Hampshire primaries and Iowa caucuses were safely over.
Clinton coldly and knowingly lied to New Hampshire and Iowa. Her promise was not a vague statement. It was a signed pledge with a clear and unequivocal meaning.
She signed it thinking that keeping the other candidates out of Michigan and Florida was to her advantage, but knowing she would break it if that proved beneficial later on. It did, and she did.
New Hampshire voters, you were played for suckers.
(Let me ignore the sense of entitlement I’ve noticed from New Hampshire voters and pundits.)
Sen. Clinton attended two Florida fundraisers right after her South Carolina drubbing. That has Sen. Obama’s people crying foul. She did get close to crossing the ethical line. That’s not a surprise since she is married to Bill.
Sen. Clinton will get even closer to crossing the line tonight when she attends a rally in Miami after the polls close.
Yuval Levin notes the small print on the invitation:
My favorite thing about that poster (courtesy of Marc Ambinder) is the line at the bottom that reads: “Florida for Hillary is not affiliated with Hillary Clinton for President.” Ah huh. We probably have John McCain to thank for this kind of preposterous charade so common in our politics now. Straight talk it’s not.
A lying, dishonest political machine versus an empty suit who has less substance than Casper the Friendly ghost. And I thought the Republicans had a hard choice for their nominee.
[...] If you think that’s flimsy, then so be it. There were still the two fundraisers in Florida she held as pointed out over at the American Mind blog. [...]