January 27th, 2008
04:15 PM ET
15 years ago
Scenes from the trail: Sen. Clinton arrives in Florida
Sen. Hillary Clinton arrived in Sarasota, Florida Sunday for a fundraiser. Democratic presidential candidates have pledged not to campaign in Florida this primary season because of national party penalties on the state for its early primary date, but they are allowed to attend fundraisers there.(Photo Credit: Mike Roselli/CNN)
Related: Sen. Clinton to be in Florida Tuesday for primary results
Every votes should count especially on the tight races. The DNC rules is not fare for people in Michigan and Florida. We are 51, not 49 states!!! And this 2 states will become a future history to show how the media play a big roles in winning the vote for Obama and finally Republican !!!
I really do think a woman President would be good for this country.
BUT NOT THIS WOMAN...............She is the Republicans dream come true. They have done there home work ...........AS SHOULD YOU THAT SUPPORT HER.
SCANDAL ' S Lots of them.
she is desperate am sure she is ready to campaign even in hell if it will give her momentum.
OK. First of all, Edwards and Obama are on the ballot in Florida.
Second of all, the pledge they all three signed allowed them to do fundraisers in Florida, which all of them have done.
Thirdly, it was Barack Obama who broke the pledge by advertising in Florida, which was something the pledge specifically forbid. I know the Obama camp say that they asked SC's permission and that they had to do a national buy (right) but nonetheless, the Obama campaign is the only campaign that has broken the rules of the pledge.
And most importantly, the Democratic candidates, all three of them, should be calling on the party to reinstate the Florida delegates. The Republicans can't win without Florida (they have not won without FL since 1924) so why on earth would the Democratic candidates put party rules over the chance to recapture the White House? By going to FL immediately after the polls close, Clinton, at least, is saying to Florida that she as a Democratic nominee cares about Florida and Floridians. I hope the other candidates spend time there after Tuesday as well.
Did half of you read the article? All candidates are allowed to have fund raisers there. And in point of fact, none of them are supposed to be running ads according to the agreement they made, yet Obamba is doing so. I don't see anyone reporting on that.
I agree that by ignoring Florida the Dems are risking alienating some of their constituency. And the candidate who is supposed to do the right thing no matter what (Obamba) is quoted as saying "Florida is just a beauty contest". So he is all about equality... as long as you are equally for him?
And Hillary sock puppets...please show me the last time Obama was in Florida...he HAS NOT visited the state since the pledge was signed.
I bet if Obama was coming down here and he was leading in the polls here the story would be totally different!! Hillary is going to win Florida in a landslide!!! GET OVER IT!!!!
HILLARY 08!!!!!!!!!!!!
WARNING WARNING WARNING!!!! Deception of the Highest Caliber Will Robinson!!! Watch this now Guys if the Delegate count stays close all the way to Convention time in August Hilliary will try to have the Rules changed.How you say to get the Florida and Michigan Delegates reinstated which would presumably vote for Hilliary!!!!!SHAME!!!!The CLINTONS are up to there same old DIRTY Tricks
I will support OBAMA me being a bonified Republican!!!
Hey Mark, just to let you know, both Barack Obama and John Edwards are on the Ballot down here. They were not on Michigans Ballot. See, you people just dont have your facts straight, it cracks me up!!
HILLARY 08!!!!!!!!!!!!!
they should kick the Clintons out of the democratic party after this race. why would you basically try to destroy your own party just to further yourself in power. Bill Clinton seems to be so power hungry!
Didn't anybody out there read the rules of what the DNC laid out?
They said the candidates can't CAMPAIGN in Florida, but they ARE allowed to ATTEND FUNDRAISERS in Florida. Big difference....That's exactly what Hillary is doing! She's smart to go there and get any funds she can!
Get with the program, Ok. If Obama and Edwards don't want the money, well, they just lose out. That's their fault!
OK for all you Billary supporters im going to say this once.
HILLARY AGREED WHEN THE RULES WHERE MADE WAY BEFORE THAT SHE JUST LIKE OBAMA AND EDWARDS SAID THAT FLORIDA AND MICH. ARE NOT GOING TO COUNT BECAUSE OF THEM BREAKING THE RULES THEMSELF!!
SHE AGREED!!! AGREED!!AGREEED!!! MEANING SHE SAID YES SHE WOULD COMPLY WITH THE RULES...AND THIS LEADS ME TO MY SECOND POINT..WHERE WAS THE VOICES OF MICH AND FLORIDA PEOPLE NEEDING TO BE HEARD IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!
EXACTLY!!
So ya dont give me that junk about her caring about what people in Mich and FL. think. Give me a break!! THIS IS THE BIGGEST FAIRYTALE I HAVE EVER SEEN!!
LOOOL
Obama 08
Don't tell me this is not a gender and race election.
How can she call herself a Democratic candidate when she breaks the Democratic Party rule? She did the same thing in Michigan. She is desparate.
Ew.
Why would anyone want Hillary as president, she's really ugly.
I mean like...we don't want an ugly woman representing us.
Hillary for the lose.
Barack for the win.
Obama didn't break any pledges. The accusation is utter crap. He bought NATIONAL ads, which means ads on MSNBC and CNN, and other cable channels. Any play in Florida was unavoidable, and was not an attempt to campaign there. Hillary just wants some excuse to break a promise.
Of course she will do anything to win. But don't let that surprise you. Every last one of the candidates from all sides will do the exact same thing. They are all politicians, and will do anything to win. Show me a politician who won't do anything to win, and I will show you someone who will never be President. Think about it... You know it's true.
This thread has turned into "idiots on parade." Obama has no interest in talking about Florida because Clinton has a 2-1 lead in the polls there. Yes she agreed to NOT CAMPAIGN there and she is not (except somebody tell Obama he is not supposed to be running TV ads...oops, right he's the media darling no-one wants to pick on).
All the candidates agreed to FUNDRAISING there and that is what she is doing. She is also drawing attention to Florida because a.) she will do well there (duh) and b.) Why would you want to disenfranchise an entire state of voters who will be absolutlely critical to winning the general election in November? That has to be the dumbest thing the DNC has done in a long, long time. If Gore had won Florida (some say he did) we proabably wouldn't be in the mess we are in today – yet the DNC penalizes Florida and Michigan (two critical states) and arbitrarily allows Iowa, Nevada, SC, and New Hamphshire to move up their dates without penalty.
The voters of Florida are the losers, the Democratic Party is the loser if Clinton doesn't make an effort to let Florida voters feel like they have a voice. Obama, if e were really the bigger man, would do the same despite being down 2 to 1 in polls there (that has nothing to do with who is on the ballot THEY ARE ALL ON THE BALLOT).
Hillary didn't your mother ever tell you that "Cheaters Never Prosper"?
Have you no shame? Will you stop at nothing to win? I hope that you actually lose in a race against no one. In fact I encourage every Florida voter to write in Anybody But Clinton for a vote and when she loses a one person race she will finally realize that America has had enough of the Clintons.
I can see that a bunch of republicans are in here posting blogs against Hillary again....just goes to show who theyre afraid of in november.
GOOOOO HILLARY 08!!!!
Now that I see Ted Kennedy is Supporting Obama, I have to now say I am voting for Hillary Clinton. I thought Obama was running on Change and New Ideas???? He sure does take those endorsements from the big "INSIDERS" though. I am glad I am not falling for it anymore. Vote Hillary!!
Bill is tied in with the skull and bones guys you would imagine that hillary is too.. wait so is bush... wait are some of you mindless women voters actually fooled b y this? around around we go, using the minds of the women this time instead of the mid-westerners. do your homework women..... or well be stuck with another 8 years of maddness.
THE NAMES OF ALL THREE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES ARE ON THE BALLOT IN FLORIDA!!
IT'S NOT AGAINST THE RULES FOR ANY OF THE CANDIDATES TO ATTEND FUNDRAISERS!! Clinton is attending a fund-raiser for ALL the democratic candidates!!! Edwards and Obama should probably be thanking her for helping them fill their coffers!
CLINTON ABSOLUTELY IS NOT BREAKING ANY RULES! She is not campaigning for herself. She isn't even advertising there.
Oh wait. By way of television ads he's running there, it looks like IT'S OBAMA WHO'S THE CHEAT!
Everyone else has been able to make nationwide ad buys that exclude Florida. What's his problem with doing the same?
Where, oh where are his high-flown values now?? And where's all that "change" he keeps talking about? Advertising when he promised not to campaign there looks like some of that ol' time politicking to me.
What is Hillary doing in Florida?? Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't this whole thing go down like this:
Iowa and Nevada have non-binding agreements as "caucus states" and therefore can hold early primaries. They *legally" held early voting.
This year states such as Michigan and Florida decided to make their own rules, announcing they would hold early primaries, even though this was against party rules. They didn't wait for an answer because lets face it, Florida knows it's a powerful state. It wanted to throw it's weight around and be a big player early in the race.
Both party committees moved to penalize Florida for it's decision, based on the idea that rules and regulations are meant to keep order in the political process. What happens when other states follow their lead? The DNC had to come down on them, it had no choice. I don't see this as a simple matter of "let people hear Florida's voice!" Florida couldn't wait their turn and gave up their voice. It stinks but they made their bed and now they have to sleep in it. It's a lesson for us all.
The candidates agreed to not campaign in Florida, honoring the rules of their party. This was a collective agreement between the candidates and their party leaders to stand for order and rule abiding leadership. This is when Society shines. This is when it's people can have faith in the mechanisms that hold society together, keep order in a place that is threatening to always unwind.
Hillary has broken her promise and marched right into Florida. On the record it's a fundraising mission, and off the record it's a campaign for votes. The Clintons seek to tally these empty votes and publicize the winnings so that the rest of the country will see that they have support of another big state before they go into Super Tuesday. It's too tempting.
Hillary gets the senior vote every time and she can't resist. Its like the cookies your Mom told you not to touch and you can go along with Mom right up until the point you become really hungry, and there they are, sitting there in that cookie jar, just there for the taking.
Problem is, it would seem that Hillary is not a kid any more. She's the mother in this story, and her obligation is to set a sterling example for the country. After the Bush / Rove years, isn't anyone else ready for a new era where rules actually stick?
I think Hillary is "Bush-lite" in more ways than just the Iraq vote.
Please correct me with sound reasoning if any of this sounds wrong.
I'm ready to vote for integrity on Feb 5th.
I think a lot of good will come out of that foundation.
obama 08 for getting things done on a bi-partisan level for all Americans, and replacing the politics of fear, with hope for a better day in America!