AMERICAblog: Huff Post: Superdelegates Allegedy Turned Down $1 Million Offer From Clinton Donor
sittenpretty
· 1 year ago
jeebus,Hill must be rich
sittenpretty
· 1 year ago
is Haim an American?
Kirkland
· 1 year ago
YDA acted honorably, and took no money. All your hemming, hawing and hating at David Hardt was for nothing. He did nothing wrong.
Your throwing the kitchen sink at someone who did nothing wrong in this situation has really lowered the bar for bloggers, and that's saying something.
CitizenX
· 1 year ago
on another note...
"Saban is the nation's largest political campaign contributor over the last decade, FEC records show, giving nearly $13 million since 1999 to dozens of candidates, PACs, and Democratic campaign committees...."
You don't spread that much money around unless you expect something in return.
davidkc
· 1 year ago
Hillary has gone beyond desperation and is now bribing superdelegates for votes. She's sunk below the sink, through the garbage disposal and into the cesspool.
Nigel Elliott
· 1 year ago
Haim Saban is the guy responsible for bringing The Mighty Mutant Power Rangers to America. Now Saban is buying votes? He is definitely a Hilbot! :-)
RenoAnne
· 1 year ago
If we click on the Grampa McCain ads on this site, will it cost him money?
munjoyfan
· 1 year ago
Why, one must ask, would Clinton supporters be so interested in her presidency? The answer is, favors. There are persistent rumors that Bill has been currying support and donations in return for promises of favors and contracts after the election. Can anyone pursue this a little further? What are this guy's business interests?
blackwolf
· 1 year ago
Good question! I would love to be a part of a group that is able to track this kind of info, and then hold the parties accountable.
Tom3
· 1 year ago
I just KNEW the Hillbots would try to BRIBE the superdelegates. Now it has come to pass.
Hillary wants to win at any cost, even the destruction of the party.
That's because Hillary only cares about Hillary.
Hilary doesn't give a rat's ass about you or me.
Sound familiar? Like a certain Chimp we all know??
tbhull
· 1 year ago
Is Haim Saban an american citizen. Duel citizenship? If the latter, what other country?
tbhull
· 1 year ago
Fuck'haim.
michaelt
· 1 year ago
clutch the pearls.
TexasKid
· 1 year ago
There is a cloud of suspicion until Hardt, endorses Obama. We know this offer was turned down, but is David getting something to withhold his endorsement. Is there a side offer, will Hardt turn his back on YDA and endorse Hillary? and if he does, did he get another offer? its time to come clean.
Kirkland
· 1 year ago
Nonsense. First of all, what do you mean by "another offer"? Why would Hardt turn down $1 million for YDA and then take a different offer?
David Hardt has consistently said, for weeks, that he will not endorse until every young voter has had the chance to cast his or her ballot. He's showing the integrity and steady hand that the 93% of YDA members who voted for him in Dallas last July knew that he would show in this sort of situation.
He's done nothing wrong. More than that, he's clearly done something right by rejecting the offer to buy his vote. He deserves praise, not suspicion and accusations.
TexasKid
· 1 year ago
Well clearly this wasn't an offer made specifically to him, it was made to the group. Why is he withholding his endorsement, has he had separate offers? David needs to come clean.
Kirkland
· 1 year ago
He's said why he's not endorsing -- he's waiting for all young voters to vote, and is obeying the rules of YDA *which do not allow him to endorse.*
David is acting honorably and following the rules of the organization he was elected to lead. 93% of those of us who were in Dallas voted to elect David, and he's more than living up to our expectations.
He's routinely gone above and beyond the call of duty (and sometimes even common sense) to help build his local party, his state party and the Young Democrats organization. Democrats will win elections in November because of the work David has done for years to build the foundations of the Democratic Party.
He doesn't owe you anything. He's not beholden to you to announce his intended vote before the end of the primaries, particularly when doing so would violate the rules of YDA.
Those of you who are oh-so-concerned that David Hardt has the audacity to follow the rules of YDA need to get away from your keyboards and go do something useful for a change -- walk your precinct, contribute to a campaign, something -- and maybe, if you do that non-stop from now until election day, you'll have contributed 1/100th of what David Hardt has done for this party.
TexasKid
· 1 year ago
Hey Russel, I'm not saying he did anything wrong, but this is a public decision, and his actions cannot be shrouded in secrecy. He owes it to the 93 percent of people in YDA who supported him, the vast majority of whom support Obama, to be honest about this. His position as super delegate comes from representing them. You would know something about money for loyalty so maybe David needs a more credible surrogate. There is nothing that is going to happen in the next few contest to change who young people overwhelmingly support, so why wait?
Kirkland
· 1 year ago
Russel? My name is not Russel.
David hasn't shrouded himself with secrecy. He's obeying a very simple rule that says he cannot publicly endorse during the primaries. When the primaries are over, he will endorse. The fact that the next few primaries won't change anything isn't the issue -- the rule stands if 1% or 100% of the vote is yet to be cast: he can't endorse during the primary.
Not sure what that's supposed to mean. There's no one on that list named Russel, either.
TexasKid
· 1 year ago
alright mr mcpike
Kirkland
· 1 year ago
I never made a secret out of who I was. Look -- I'm even posting under my actual familiar name.
I'm just curious where "Russel" came from. I don't even *know* anyone in YDs named "Russel."
And where "You would know something about money for loyalty so maybe David needs a more credible surrogate" comes from. David and I have been close friends and political allies for years, and money has never been a factor in that.
Why do I get the feeling that you reside in either Travis or, more likely, Harris County, and have some stupid parochial beef with David and YDs from Dallas?
kevnburke
· 1 year ago
we all know David is well off, so I hope your aren't saying they offered him money, heck, David has given a ton of money himself. Clearly, according to YDA's rules, he has to call the Judicial council meeting that is going to repremand the other two superdelegates for endorsing a candidate, so why on earth would he endorse himself if he has to call the meeting to repremand himself. I think that would be worse for him to do, because then it would seam as if he doesn't supprt the rules and just because he's president, he can get around the rules. He is acting with nothing but respect for YDA's rules, even though the rules suck, he is honoring them. And he is a guy with a lot more integrity than me and probably most of us, becuase I sure as hell wouldn't have turned down the money.
KarenMrsLloydRichards
· 1 year ago
And yet the rosy glow of nostalgia is already washing over the pundits, Party insiders, and MSM for this despicable politician and her vile, unprincipled henchmen, as they fade into well-deserved oblivion. See Arianna's most recent post. And the constant praise for HRC "running a great campaign." (Claire McCaskill on MSNBC this AM). Maybe all this "make nice" is necessary for party unification, but I for one ain't ready to make nice.
blackwolf
· 1 year ago
This is the icing on the cake.
sputnik
· 1 year ago
Is Haim Saban an american citizen. Duel citizenship? If the latter, what other country?
From the wiki it's unclear as to his citizenship, but it's evident he's a big supporter of Israel:
"Later, in a 2006 interview for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz[1], Saban was asked to elaborate on his early statement:
You said once that you are a one-note person, and that note is Israel. Why?
"You can't explain love."
It's really love?
"More than love. Passion. A love that is passion."
Please explain.
"When we approach Israel I always ask the pilots of my plane to let me sit in the chair between them. We don't play 'Heveinu Shalom Aleichem,' but when I see the coast coming up my heart starts to go boom, boom, boom.""
Tom3
· 1 year ago
Haim Saban is a dual citizenship bastard. I hate these US-Israelis. They all support the brutal apartheid regime in Israel and all pushed us into Iraq.
If you're "Israel First" that means you're America Second. I don't trust these bastards.
And no, I'm not anti-Semitic because I don't like Israeli Neocons.
Tom3
· 1 year ago
It is not unclear in Wiki. it shows him has having dual citizenship. Also:
"Glenn Greenwald has criticized Saban for being "an Israeli-American neoconservative who was a 2004 supporter of George [W.] Bush, was a close associate of Ariel Sharon, and spent the 1990s persuading Bill Clinton (with millions of dollars in donations to the Democratic Party) to be more supportive of Israel."
Sage24
· 1 year ago
If these allegations are true, I guess we should not be surprised. Hillary and her gang, have tried every trick in the book, even Rovian, to win this nomination, so why not bribe the SD's too?
PeteWa
· 1 year ago
What a neocon scumbag. Sounds like a friend of Hillary, working from inside the Dem Party to destroy it.
Soundboy_jeff_meanie
· 1 year ago
Kirkland 41 minutes ago 1 point Please login to rate.
YDA acted honorably, and took no money. All your hemming, hawing and hating at David Hardt was for nothing. He did nothing wrong.
Your throwing the kitchen sink at someone who did nothing wrong in this situation has really lowered the bar for bloggers, and that's saying something. ----
you're entirely missing the point... the REAL story is that if this happened, IT HAPPENED. hillary supporters trying to bribe superdelegates that is.
so... I think John's point is, if it happened, Hardt needs to step up and say "this is unacceptable, they're trying to bribe us now" and blow this story WIDE open... otherwise, it'll end with Huffington report.
this needs attention. threats didn't work, now they're trying bribes.
I'd think ALL Democrats would be pissed off... she isn't getting the delegates, superdelegates OR popular vote... so they want to buy her into the office. AGAINST THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE.
now THAT'S a story. John's right, Hardt needs to speak up... preferably to all the majore MSM.
Kirkland
· 1 year ago
Hardt has responsibilities as President of YDA that are more important than delving into a bunch of melodramatic crap at the tail end of the primaries when the outcome is NO LONGER IN DOUBT.
David Hardt and YDA did the right thing and the only thing they were obligated to do when they turned down the idea. David has since been doing the right thing by following the rules of the organization he was elected to lead by not endorsing in the primary.
lucky hussein
· 1 year ago
This is nonsense! We don't 'buy' elections in the US! You can't get elected just because you have more money than someone else! Money has very little effect on the actual vote outcome! The wealthy elites that control the world have only all our best interests at heart! The outrage!
kevnburke
· 1 year ago
Why do you have to attack David for this, he and Crystal clearly did the right thing. And if there was some sort of "other offer" on the table, why would Crystal have endorsed Obama? Both David and Crystal and YDA did the right thing, in fact, we should all be sending money to them for turning down such a large amount of money. If it were me, i would have said yes, that woudl have paid for a lot of campaigning not matter who the nominee is. Send money to YDA, send a message that we support them for doing the right thing. www.yda.org
John Aravosis
· 1 year ago
Actually, we have no idea what David and Crystal did or didn't do because they appear to not be talking. We don't know what David's initial reaction was to the conversation.
Kirkland
· 1 year ago
After the crap you've written about him, why would David Hardt want to talk to you? Who do you think you are, anyway?
David is following the rules of YDA. You can accept that, or you can't. Obviously, rules mean nothing to you when they don't favor what you want, and you're going to continue to whine about it like a Hillary Clinton impersonator because the big mean superdelegates just won't do exactly what you want. Well, tough.
David didn't take any bribe. He's holding his vote in compliance with the rules of YDA. He's doing the right thing and following the rules in every single situation.
And yet you condemn him constantly. Pathetic.
kevnburke
· 1 year ago
he is quoted in the huffington post blog....and all you have to do is look at campaign finance reports to see that they haven't got shit from Hiam...huffington post reported that too. Obviously, huffington post did their homework and found out they turned it down, Crystal has since endorsed Obama and David has been saying that he will pledge after the last primary. And everyone in YDA has said he is unofficially already come out for Obama. Also, there is still the question of the Judicial council precedings at YDA's next national conference, where the two superdelegates who did pledge may face some sort of repremand. And according to the by-laws, David as president has to call the judicial council meeting, so if he pledges right now, he faces repremand, but he has to call the meeting where he would be repremanded. He's in a hard spot to be in, and I for one think he is doing the right thing on both fronts, turning down money, a LOT of money and keeping the peace within YDA. Kudos for David!
John Aravosis
· 1 year ago
David gave a statement last week or so about not supporting Obama because the race wasn't over. Now we read a story suggesting that David allegedly perceived that he was being offered a 1 million dollar grant in exchange for not endorsing Obama. I think everyone deserves an on-the-record explanation of exactly why David chose not to endorse Obama last week, and of exactly what did or didn't happen with regards to the allegations in this story. YDA's refusal to speak publicly is, in my view, indefensible.
Kirkland
· 1 year ago
David cannot endorse because of the rules of YDA. He is obeying the rules. You know. The rules? Like what you gripe at Clinton for breaking? Rules.
That's why David has not endorsed Obama. He has said it repeatedly, and to any credible media that has asked.
kevnburke
· 1 year ago
http://www.yda.org/news/309/statement-by-superd... I'm on YDA's email list, and we have been getting emails from David that clearly said hes is going to wait. At the last conference in California, he ask those of us who are members of YDA, to call, email and write to express our thoughts on whom he should support. And those of us who are members of YDA have been engaging back and forth with David on who we think he should support. But John, if you are not a meber of YDA, then don't try to force YDA's hand. He is doing what the members of YDA want him to do. So, let us, the members of YDA, determine what our rules are and how our leaders should act on those rules. Unlike you, we hold our members to a higher standard.
John Aravosis
· 1 year ago
I'll be very interested to see if YDA's members agree that it was okay for David and YDA's leadership to not disclose the fact that they allegedly believed someone tried to buy their vote at the same time that David clammed up about his endorsements. it's pointless for us to debate it. I think he should tell the truth, you agree with him that the YDA leadership should keep YDA's members in the dark about this matter. We simply disagree.
liberal_texan
· 1 year ago
YDA has absolutely no obligation to speak publicly about this, and allow the organization to be used as a pawn by those trying to push Clinton out in the waning days of the primary. YDA has an obligation to it's members and national committee to follow the rules, and raise the money necessary to fund our peer-to-peer programs this fall to get young voters out in record numbers to support Barack Obama and the Democratic ticket up and down the ballot. That's what David Hardt and the staff are doing, and they should continue to do so, and not let a few folks with an agenda distract them when there is no advantage to the organization to be dragged into this.
To the non-YDA members speaking out here suggesting that they know best what YDA should do, I would encourage you to get involved and attend our next national meeting in two weeks in Nashville - http://www.yda.org/events/275/ydas-2008-spring-...
Dumbo
· 1 year ago
If it were just YDA members involved, what you say might be true. But this involves DNC SUPERDELEGATES. Therefore, this is not a YDA internal affair, as you and the other parrots here are persistently trying to portray it. This is an insult to the membership of the Democratic Party at large which superdelegates represent, and to whom they MUST be accountable, YDA members or not.
Kevin Bondelli
· 1 year ago
I agree. The story is about YDA delegates turning down an alleged offer, yet John continues the attack on YDA. David made his statement, he wants to wait until all the young voters have cast their ballots before stating his intention to vote, and we should respect that.
Butch1
· 1 year ago
The Clinton's have reached a new low in politics. Now they are trying to buy her way into office offering a ton of money so one will vote for her? It's more than time for her to get out of this and take her underhanded ways with her. Is this not a crime?
Bush_Bites
· 1 year ago
How about that?
And I thought John was just giving the kid a hard time last week.
He knew something fishy was going on.
RenoAnne
· 1 year ago
Me too. Sorry John!
Kirkland
· 1 year ago
Except that David Hardt did nothing wrong. He's followed the rules every step of the way. How does that mean that he deserves "a hard time"? David has done nothing fishy.
He's an exemplary president for YDA and an outstanding Democratic activist who helped build his local party back up from next to nothing before running for YDA prexy.
I suppose, instead of doing that, he could have spent the last few years taking needless potshots at complete strangers who haven't done anything wrong, but thankfully for us, David Hardt chose to do something useful with his time, instead.
Soundboy_jeff_meanie
· 1 year ago
again... you've STILL missed the point.
you continue to harp on David Hardt's NON-involvement.
the REAL story is that they TRIED TO BRIBE HIM... by keeping silent, he deserves a little slamming... because without his voice, the MSM will never pick up on the REAL story of the ATTEMPTED BRIBE.
YES, he turned it down. THAT ISN'T THE POINT... he needs to speak up about it. This isn't the first time hillary's megabucks friends have tried to change the superdelegates' minds... first through threats, now bribes?
if the story is true, Hardt needs to speak to the MSM and get this story the attention it deserves.
.
Kirkland
· 1 year ago
That's not his job. His job is to lead YDA, and he is doing an exemplary job at that.
There are folks on both sides throwing around nasty threats at the superdelegates, and idiots like this Power Rangers guy trying to throw money at superdelegates. If the superdelegates were to spend all their time trying to right the wrongs done by candidate boosters, they'd never get anything done.
The morale of this story should be that the superdelegate system needs to be scrapped.
David is playing by the rules, and deserves credit for that.
zavlin
· 1 year ago
but he also hasnt endorsed a canidate. And this incident casts shadows as to why. He needs to speak up, whether its to just endorse a canidate or explain whats going on.
Kirkland
· 1 year ago
David has spoken up and explained why he isn't endorsing. He has done so repeatedly, and to the satisfaction of the only people he answers to -- the members of YDA. He is following the rules.
If you don't like it, come to Nashville and participate in the next YDA national meeting. Get your home state chapter to work to change YDA's rules. And if you're not of age to be in YDA, why should David care what you think?
Bush_Bites
· 1 year ago
Because he's having secret conversations about throwing his support to a candidate in return for donations.
To be clear, he's apparently not throwing his support to a candidate in return for donations, but that's exactly what the conversation was about and why he should get it out on the record.
Dumbo
· 1 year ago
"to the satisfaction of the only people he answers to -- the members of YDA".
Sorry. Not true. When he gained DNC superdelegate status, he became answerable to /all of us./ Why can't you see something this obvious?
Kirkland
· 1 year ago
Because it's not true. He doesn't answer to you. You cannot vote to remove him from office. You cannot challenge his status or position. You can't do anything to him. How does he answer to you? Just like the Congressman/Superdelegate from the district down the block from me doesn't answer to me, she answers to her constituents, David Hardt answers to his constituents -- the voters of YDA.
If they're unhappy with his actions, they can change the rules at the meeting in Nashville to compel him to announce support for a candidate. Or they can not re-elect him, should he choose to stand for a second term in 2009.
TxDem08
· 1 year ago
dumbo is a good name for you,,,it's very fitting!
TxDem08
· 1 year ago
everyone in YDA knows who he supports, and it is the members of YDA who talk to him and the other superdelegates about whom they should support. NOT you, NOT John or anyone else. So, unless you want to get active in YDA, leave these guys alone.
shrrrr
· 1 year ago
There are some pretty serious legal issues here and I suspect YDA is lining up all the ducks before talking. I'll bet we learn a whole lot later. First, they need legal council.
liberal_texan
· 1 year ago
I think that some of the commenters are confusing what is best for YDA and what is best for the Obama campaign. Clearly the purpose of this post is to make the Clinton campaign and Haim Saban look bad. Which is fine - I'm an Obama supporter myself. My guess is that if an offer was made, the YDA leadership discussed the best way to handle it internally by rejecting it, while also not angering their donors. I'm guessing that an Obama supporter in the leadership who knew about this then decided to leak the story. It might be helpful to the Obama campaign, but it's not helpful to YDA.
The best course of action for YDA was the one that they took. A bribe on this sort of thing is inappropriate, and it was rightfully declined. YDA has strong relationships with major donors that support Obama and major donors that support Clinton. The job of the YDA leadership should be to retain those relationships so that we can fully fund all of our programs this fall, while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the organization (i.e. not taking bribes). That's what David Hardt and the YDA staff did and they should be commended for it. He doesn't need to say a damn thing to the MSM about it. He needs to continue raising money for YDA so we can make sure that young people turn out and elect Democrats this fall.
Dumbo
· 1 year ago
In that case, the YDA leadership should never again have superdelegate status at any convention. They have their own agenda, and I can respect that, all other things being equal, but if their agenda conflicts with OUR agenda as Democrats and members of the Democratic Party, then they should not have such an enormous privilege and responsibility at the convention.
They better start thinking about more than themselves. This is a scandal. I can't help but wonder if it doesn't have something to do with the recent attempt to impeach the two YDA superdelegates who endorsed Obama last week.
liberal_texan
· 1 year ago
The agenda / mission of YDA is: "Engaging young people in the Democratic Party and creating a viable and reliable voting bloc of young people that are voting for Democrats and participating in the Party and serving communities as leaders for the long term." How does that conflict with your agenda? I guess getting young people involved in the process, funding peer-to-peer outreach programs that educate young people about the importance of voting and voting Democratic isn't your agenda. Fine. Don't join YDA then.
Also, your information is incorrect. One YDA superdelegate endorsed Clinton in January, another endorsed Obama last week, and a third is uncommitted.
TxDem08
· 1 year ago
actually dumbu, one super delegate from YDA pledged for Obama and one for Clinton.
Bush_Bites
· 1 year ago
Look.
If somebody proposes I do something unethical or illegal for cash, I don't quietly say "no thanks."
I say "this guy tried to bribe me."
Otherwise, it's just part of the dance: "no" "no" 'no" "um, maybe" "yes."
Several congressional sources confirmed that major donors to the Democratic Party have been lobbying Pelosi on behalf of Harman’s nomination to head the intelligence committee and that these attempts were not welcomed by the House Democratic leader.
The Time report names Haim Saban, a billionaire film producer of Israeli background and Aipac donor, as one of those who approached Pelosi on Harman’s behalf.
CeeHussein
· 1 year ago
Corruption everywhere. He's probaby kicked money to Israel too.
With Friends Like These… By Uri Avnery
LATELY WE are flooded with friends. The Great of the Earth, past and present, come here to flatter us, to fawn on us, to grovel at our feet.
“God, save me from my friends, my enemies I can deal with myself!” says an old prayer.
A smell of corruption has accompanied Olmert right from his beginnings in politics, 45 years ago. But this time, the smell is overpowering. The police has made it known that the American-Jewish billionaire Moshe Morris Talansky has been supplying him with cash-filled envelopes for years.
Oh come on people, how many of you are actually surprised by tactics like this?
Come on, quick show of hands, anyone?
tbhull
· 1 year ago
Dual Israeli-american citizenship raises questions if true. How many of the neocons that got us into Iraq were duel Israeli-American citizens? Libby? Perle? Wolfowitz? Feith?
Bush_Bites
· 1 year ago
How can we be sure Hillary didn't have a role in this?
tbhull
· 1 year ago
Maybe the same type of dynamic made Hillary swallow the failure of her vote on the Iraq war against her better judgment while dual citizen dipshits pounded the war drum to her ultimate defeat in the primary.
naschkatzehussein
· 1 year ago
I am so glad Robert Byrd endorsed Obama. According to Kos, Obama needs 112 more votes.
LeslieB
· 1 year ago
Oh my God! Why didn't Hardt report this?! Why didn't the others? How can we trust them? Just asking.
TxDem08
· 1 year ago
Um, are you just stupid Leslie? If he didn't report this, you wouldn't be reading this blog! Apparently Huffington Post did the reasearch and talked to the right folks, but John is such a dick to everyone, no one wants to talk to him!
TxDem08
· 1 year ago
I love how all these coments call David and Crystal "kids", those of us in YDA know they are not "kids". Crystal is in her late 20's and works for the State Party in Cali. David is in his early 30's, is the Chief Financial Officer of a company in Dallas, is a major donor to the Democratic Party and his Partner is also in his early 30's and is a powerful attorney in Dallas.
liberal_texan
· 1 year ago
I'm amused too. Until this week, a lot of people on here thought that they were college students. Knowing David and Crystal, that made me laugh.
Busboy
· 1 year ago
Busboy said this was going to happen months ago. Nobody listens to the Busboy :(.......
All Comments
Your throwing the kitchen sink at someone who did nothing wrong in this situation has really lowered the bar for bloggers, and that's saying something.
"Saban is the nation's largest political campaign contributor over the last decade, FEC records show, giving nearly $13 million since 1999 to dozens of candidates, PACs, and Democratic campaign committees...."
You don't spread that much money around unless you expect something in return.
Hillary wants to win at any cost, even the destruction of the party.
That's because Hillary only cares about Hillary.
Hilary doesn't give a rat's ass about you or me.
Sound familiar? Like a certain Chimp we all know??
David Hardt has consistently said, for weeks, that he will not endorse until every young voter has had the chance to cast his or her ballot. He's showing the integrity and steady hand that the 93% of YDA members who voted for him in Dallas last July knew that he would show in this sort of situation.
He's done nothing wrong. More than that, he's clearly done something right by rejecting the offer to buy his vote. He deserves praise, not suspicion and accusations.
David is acting honorably and following the rules of the organization he was elected to lead. 93% of those of us who were in Dallas voted to elect David, and he's more than living up to our expectations.
He's routinely gone above and beyond the call of duty (and sometimes even common sense) to help build his local party, his state party and the Young Democrats organization. Democrats will win elections in November because of the work David has done for years to build the foundations of the Democratic Party.
He doesn't owe you anything. He's not beholden to you to announce his intended vote before the end of the primaries, particularly when doing so would violate the rules of YDA.
Those of you who are oh-so-concerned that David Hardt has the audacity to follow the rules of YDA need to get away from your keyboards and go do something useful for a change -- walk your precinct, contribute to a campaign, something -- and maybe, if you do that non-stop from now until election day, you'll have contributed 1/100th of what David Hardt has done for this party.
David hasn't shrouded himself with secrecy. He's obeying a very simple rule that says he cannot publicly endorse during the primaries. When the primaries are over, he will endorse. The fact that the next few primaries won't change anything isn't the issue -- the rule stands if 1% or 100% of the vote is yet to be cast: he can't endorse during the primary.
I'm just curious where "Russel" came from. I don't even *know* anyone in YDs named "Russel."
And where "You would know something about money for loyalty so maybe David needs a more credible surrogate" comes from. David and I have been close friends and political allies for years, and money has never been a factor in that.
Why do I get the feeling that you reside in either Travis or, more likely, Harris County, and have some stupid parochial beef with David and YDs from Dallas?
Clearly, according to YDA's rules, he has to call the Judicial council meeting that is going to repremand the other two superdelegates for endorsing a candidate, so why on earth would he endorse himself if he has to call the meeting to repremand himself. I think that would be worse for him to do, because then it would seam as if he doesn't supprt the rules and just because he's president, he can get around the rules.
He is acting with nothing but respect for YDA's rules, even though the rules suck, he is honoring them. And he is a guy with a lot more integrity than me and probably most of us, becuase I sure as hell wouldn't have turned down the money.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haim_Saban
From the wiki it's unclear as to his citizenship, but it's evident he's a big supporter of Israel:
"Later, in a 2006 interview for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz[1], Saban was asked to elaborate on his early statement:
You said once that you are a one-note person, and that note is Israel. Why?
"You can't explain love."
It's really love?
"More than love. Passion. A love that is passion."
Please explain.
"When we approach Israel I always ask the pilots of my plane to let me sit in the chair between them. We don't play 'Heveinu Shalom Aleichem,' but when I see the coast coming up my heart starts to go boom, boom, boom.""
If you're "Israel First" that means you're America Second. I don't trust these bastards.
And no, I'm not anti-Semitic because I don't like Israeli Neocons.
"Glenn Greenwald has criticized Saban for being "an Israeli-American neoconservative who was a 2004 supporter of George [W.] Bush, was a close associate of Ariel Sharon, and spent the 1990s persuading Bill Clinton (with millions of dollars in donations to the Democratic Party) to be more supportive of Israel."
Hillary and her gang, have tried every trick in the book, even Rovian, to win this
nomination, so why not bribe the SD's too?
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YDA acted honorably, and took no money. All your hemming, hawing and hating at David Hardt was for nothing. He did nothing wrong.
Your throwing the kitchen sink at someone who did nothing wrong in this situation has really lowered the bar for bloggers, and that's saying something.
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you're entirely missing the point... the REAL story is that if this happened, IT HAPPENED. hillary supporters trying to bribe superdelegates that is.
so... I think John's point is, if it happened, Hardt needs to step up and say "this is unacceptable, they're trying to bribe us now" and blow this story WIDE open... otherwise, it'll end with Huffington report.
this needs attention. threats didn't work, now they're trying bribes.
I'd think ALL Democrats would be pissed off... she isn't getting the delegates, superdelegates OR popular vote... so they want to buy her into the office. AGAINST THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE.
now THAT'S a story. John's right, Hardt needs to speak up... preferably to all the majore MSM.
David Hardt and YDA did the right thing and the only thing they were obligated to do when they turned down the idea. David has since been doing the right thing by following the rules of the organization he was elected to lead by not endorsing in the primary.
Send money to YDA, send a message that we support them for doing the right thing. www.yda.org
David is following the rules of YDA. You can accept that, or you can't. Obviously, rules mean nothing to you when they don't favor what you want, and you're going to continue to whine about it like a Hillary Clinton impersonator because the big mean superdelegates just won't do exactly what you want. Well, tough.
David didn't take any bribe. He's holding his vote in compliance with the rules of YDA. He's doing the right thing and following the rules in every single situation.
And yet you condemn him constantly. Pathetic.
That's why David has not endorsed Obama. He has said it repeatedly, and to any credible media that has asked.
I'm on YDA's email list, and we have been getting emails from David that clearly said hes is going to wait.
At the last conference in California, he ask those of us who are members of YDA, to call, email and write to express our thoughts on whom he should support. And those of us who are members of YDA have been engaging back and forth with David on who we think he should support. But John, if you are not a meber of YDA, then don't try to force YDA's hand. He is doing what the members of YDA want him to do. So, let us, the members of YDA, determine what our rules are and how our leaders should act on those rules. Unlike you, we hold our members to a higher standard.
To the non-YDA members speaking out here suggesting that they know best what YDA should do, I would encourage you to get involved and attend our next national meeting in two weeks in Nashville - http://www.yda.org/events/275/ydas-2008-spring-...
And I thought John was just giving the kid a hard time last week.
He knew something fishy was going on.
He's an exemplary president for YDA and an outstanding Democratic activist who helped build his local party back up from next to nothing before running for YDA prexy.
I suppose, instead of doing that, he could have spent the last few years taking needless potshots at complete strangers who haven't done anything wrong, but thankfully for us, David Hardt chose to do something useful with his time, instead.
you continue to harp on David Hardt's NON-involvement.
the REAL story is that they TRIED TO BRIBE HIM... by keeping silent, he deserves a little slamming... because without his voice, the MSM will never pick up on the REAL story of the ATTEMPTED BRIBE.
YES, he turned it down. THAT ISN'T THE POINT... he needs to speak up about it. This isn't the first time hillary's megabucks friends have tried to change the superdelegates' minds... first through threats, now bribes?
if the story is true, Hardt needs to speak to the MSM and get this story the attention it deserves.
.
There are folks on both sides throwing around nasty threats at the superdelegates, and idiots like this Power Rangers guy trying to throw money at superdelegates. If the superdelegates were to spend all their time trying to right the wrongs done by candidate boosters, they'd never get anything done.
The morale of this story should be that the superdelegate system needs to be scrapped.
David is playing by the rules, and deserves credit for that.
If you don't like it, come to Nashville and participate in the next YDA national meeting. Get your home state chapter to work to change YDA's rules. And if you're not of age to be in YDA, why should David care what you think?
To be clear, he's apparently not throwing his support to a candidate in return for donations, but that's exactly what the conversation was about and why he should get it out on the record.
Sorry. Not true. When he gained DNC superdelegate status, he became answerable to /all of us./ Why can't you see something this obvious?
If they're unhappy with his actions, they can change the rules at the meeting in Nashville to compel him to announce support for a candidate. Or they can not re-elect him, should he choose to stand for a second term in 2009.
I'll bet we learn a whole lot later. First, they need legal council.
The best course of action for YDA was the one that they took. A bribe on this sort of thing is inappropriate, and it was rightfully declined. YDA has strong relationships with major donors that support Obama and major donors that support Clinton. The job of the YDA leadership should be to retain those relationships so that we can fully fund all of our programs this fall, while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the organization (i.e. not taking bribes). That's what David Hardt and the YDA staff did and they should be commended for it. He doesn't need to say a damn thing to the MSM about it. He needs to continue raising money for YDA so we can make sure that young people turn out and elect Democrats this fall.
They better start thinking about more than themselves. This is a scandal. I can't help but wonder if it doesn't have something to do with the recent attempt to impeach the two YDA superdelegates who endorsed Obama last week.
Also, your information is incorrect. One YDA superdelegate endorsed Clinton in January, another endorsed Obama last week, and a third is uncommitted.
If somebody proposes I do something unethical or illegal for cash, I don't quietly say "no thanks."
I say "this guy tried to bribe me."
Otherwise, it's just part of the dance: "no" "no" 'no" "um, maybe" "yes."
http://www.forward.com/articles/report-fbi-in-e...
Several congressional sources confirmed that major donors to the Democratic Party have been lobbying Pelosi on behalf of Harman’s nomination to head the intelligence committee and that these attempts were not welcomed by the House Democratic leader.
The Time report names Haim Saban, a billionaire film producer of Israeli background and Aipac donor, as one of those who approached Pelosi on Harman’s behalf.
With Friends Like These…
By Uri Avnery
LATELY WE are flooded with friends.
The Great of the Earth,
past and present, come here to flatter us, to fawn
on us, to grovel at our feet.
“God, save me from my friends, my enemies I can deal with myself!” says an old prayer.
A smell of corruption has accompanied Olmert right from his beginnings in politics, 45 years ago. But this time, the smell is overpowering. The police has made it known that the American-Jewish billionaire Moshe Morris Talansky has been supplying him with cash-filled envelopes for years.
http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2008/05/18/may...
Oh come on people, how many of you are actually surprised by tactics like this?
Come on, quick show of hands, anyone?