Caught on Tape: Hillary Clinton and John Edwards Discuss Purging Democratic Rivals From Presidential Debates
July 13th, 2007 by Nick Rivera
I realize that Joe already covered this story in a previous post, but I think that the post-debate exchange that took place between Edwards and Clinton and was—unbeknownst to them— picked up by microphones bears posting for everyone at TMV to see:
EDWARDS:…at some point…(unintelligible)…maybe the Fall. We should try to have…a more serious and a smaller group.
CLINTON: (nodding head) Well…we…we’ve got to cut the number…because they are…because they are just being trivialized.
EDWARDS:…and they’re…they’re not serious. They’re not serious.
CLINTON: No…you know…I…I…I think there was an effort by our campaigns to do that. It got…it got somehow…detoured. We’ve got to get back to it…because that’s all we’re going to do between now and then…is that.
CLINTON: (turns to Obama and shakes hand) Thanks Barack.
CLINTON: (turns back to Edwards) So…we…us…
CLINTON: (turns to Kucinich and shakes hand) Thanks Dennis.
CLINTON: (turns back to Edwards) Our guys should talk.
When it comes to democracy, more voices means more choices.
But apparently that’s not what Clinton and Edwards want.
I suppose the real surprise here isn’t that John Edwards and Hillary Clinton want to sabotage the “lower tier†candidates’ attempts to have their messages heard by the American people but rather that they’d be dumb enough to let themselves be overheard saying such a thing.
I never had any intention of voting for John Edwards or Hillary Clinton in the first place, but this news confirms that they are every bit the political hacks that I thought they were.
Edwards and Clinton do not represent change; they represent the status quo. They do not represent the common man; they represent the Democratic Establishment and special interest groups.
There’s something incredibly perverse about the Mainstream Media devoting so much of their coverage to how much the “top tier†candidates are raising. As if their fundraising didn’t give them enough of an advantage over the “lower tier†candidates, the media seems intent on padding their advantage by giving them nearly limitless coverage free of charge.
Let’s not forget the Edwards and Clinton initially supported the Iraq War without even bothering to read the National Intelligence Estimate report that came out in 2002. And let’s also not forget that Edwards and Clinton voted in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act. Yet like the panderers that they are, they changed their tune on both of these issues when it become political unfeasable for them to continue to support these misguided policies.
In contrast, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel had opposed these measures from the start. Kucinich, inh particular, stood his ground on these issues even when it was politically unpopular to do so. Yet, as “lower tier†candidates, he and Gravel are the ones targeted for expulsion from furture debates.
I can hardly wait to hear Edwards and Clinton apologists defend them on this one.
UPDATE: Below are links to other articles discussing the Clinton-Edwards Post-Debate Exchange:
ABC News: Clinton, Edwards Talk of Limited Debates
Washington Post: Kucinich Lashes Out at Limiting Debates
The Boston Globe: Edwards, Clinton discuss limiting debates
AP: Clinton & Edwards overheard talking about excluding some rivals from debates
CNSNews.com: Kucinich Blasts Clinton, Edwards for Trying to Shut Him Out
The Caucus: Open Mike Moment Sparks Debate About Debates
Newsroom America: Clinton, Edwards Heard Discussing Excluding Rivals
The Raw Story: Kucinich: Clinton, Edwards are rigging the ‘08 election
San Diego Union-Tribune: Kucinich angrily reacts to Clinton-Edwards exchange on limiting debate participants
AOL News: Edwards, Clinton: Let’s Lose the Losers
This entry was posted on Friday, July 13th, 2007 at 5:59 pm and is filed under Democratic Party, Debates, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, 2008 Elections, Politics. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
