Clinton files a formal complaint about illegal Obama tactics in NV

[mckeown1128]

I did a post earlier about complaints made by Obama so in order to be fair here are Clinton's complaints that just became released.

http://www.politico.com/static/PPM43_080123_nevadastateletter.html


Here is my original post and analysis of Obama's complaints:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4174058&mesg_id=4174058

I don't like any of this. I don't know what to think about the complaints from Hillary. This is the first I have heard about her complaints. Part of me thinks that she just rushed this out in response to Obama's complaints. But you guys and gals can fight it out for your selves.

[Adelante]

1. Whatever happened on either side, the party should look into it

Our elections have got to have integrity or we're sunk.

[LisaM]

2. Perhaps the state should simply have held a PRIMARY

I don't like the caucus system. What's more, it's clear that Nevada wasn't quite ready for the big time.

[adapa]

5. +1 on the 'not quite prime time' thingy, it's not easy going in the first group!

[Alexander]

9. A Hillary supporter made Nevada a one-time caucus.

Presumably knowing that Hillary would benefit.

[Nashyra]

16. 116,000

caucus goers say we are. We were consistently told we were not ready and we rose to the challenge! BOTH campaigns took advantage of the massive and unexpected turnout and BOTH campaigns built their own precinct captains and gave them instructions that did not jibe with the party and BOTH campaigns knew what was right and what was wrong. I have heard the complaints from BOTH campaigns about volunteers, I have only heard about paid staffers interfering from the Hillary campaign, I have also heard from the temp chairs of the paid Obama staff stepping in where they knew they had no business. BOTH campaigns should move on lest the folks of NV not want to continue to work for the candidate in NOV. NV did a great job!

[Lucinda]

3. Clinton and Edwards people were posting complaints on caucus day

You must have missed them

[adapa]

4. self delete

[Fresh_Start]

6. How about ballot primaries to eliminate at least some of

this BS?

There are NO innocent politicians.

[Nashyra]

7. Complaints from both campaigns

There is more than enough complaints about both campaigns. I will not let you know who I received the most from, the Obama campaign had paid staffers breaking the rules in Douglas County, both campaigns tried to get a leg up and both campaigns took advantage of the massive crowds. They are both making NV look bad, we were not as prepared as we should have been, however we spent a year asking folks to volunteers for caucus day, most or many could not bother. Then both campaigns had precinct captains that did not step up to volunteer as temporary chairs for caucus day but wanted to be let in early which there was NEVER any consideration in the state rules to let these captains in early. More Hillary supporters did eventually volunteer but I did not have any problems with them. MOST of the problems were caucused by folks who were not eligible to caucus and were supposed to be observers.

Maybe if we had more volunteers come forth sooner so that they could be trained earlier and more intensely we would not be having this discussion.

Both campaigns should just move on. I do not see a new kind of candidate in Obama going this route. The state of NV worked very hard to try and pull this off, this was the first caucus anyone ever paid attention to. From 9000 in 2004 to 116,000 in 2008. Both these campaigns are guilty of the same things they are accusing each other of.

I trained the majority of the temp chairs in the rurals. These folks who did their best, are friends and neighbors, the folks who did not get overly involved with the campaigns but volunteered more for the party and the central committees have reported that things actually went well with the exception of running out of materials.

Cindy Trigg
Rural Organizer NSDP

[Tom Rinaldo]

13. Thank you Cindy for your report, and for all of your hard efforts

Truly it was a thankless task so let me at least sincerely thank you for all the hard work you put into it.

[LisaM]

18. I'm sure you worked hard and everyone appreciates those efforts

But I think it's quite clear that Edwards, who was polling well in Nevada, got squeezed out in the caucus (we have caucuses in our state, and I am not a fan). In particular, with the unique nature of Nevada's workforce, many of whom work nights and weekends, a primary (where people could additionally have voted absentee) would have been, IMHO, a far better fit. I think this caucus system needs to be done away with.

[ursi]

8. I will never respect Bill and Hillary Clinton. There sense of entitlement is appalling.

[Barack_America]

10. What, were the cocktail waitresses hitting on Bill during the caucus?

Or vice versa?

'Cause, you know, he was in the casinos interfereing with the caucus and all.

Ha ha?

[Tom Rinaldo]

11. The Clinton campaign immediately noted that night that they had many reports of complaints

When asked about complaints being registered about the caucuses from the Obama campaign they said they had large numbers of reports of irregularities coming in also that did not favor Clinton. The Clinton campaign at the time chose not to dwell on those complaints in public. They noted them but chose to thank the people of Nevada for their support instead.

However with the Obama campaign now filing formal complaints it does not surprise me in the slightest that the Clinton campaign felt they had no choice but to file their complaints also. They were ready for this possibility.

[cooolandrew]

12. Police say an honest person will tell the truth instantly. Im biased but I am liable to believeObama

[Tom Rinaldo]

15. The Clinton campaign did tell the truth instantly.

They immediately noted when the results came in that they knew of numerous irregularities also, and said they were collecting data on them. What they did not chose to do initially is file a formal complaint about them. The Obama campaign is not challenging the results of the caucus, and neither did the Clinton campaign.

But formally filing a complaint rather than working internally with the Nevada Democratic Party to trouble shoot how to prevent such irregularities in the future was a political choice, a perfectly legal one, that the Obama campaign chose to make. In light of that the Clinton campaign had little choice but to literally follow suit, otherwise the press releases and media play would all have been one sided focusing on systematic irregularities from one partisan perspective only.

[Abacus]

14. Hmmm

Looks like a copy and paste of the stuff I've been reading from the Obama supporters this week only with the names switched. Whatever has happened, I hope it will be resolved soon and for good.

[Andy823]

17. This is bad

Boths sides need to be investigated and if they did what was claimed, they should punished in some way. How can either of them claim to be for "honesty" in politics if they pull crap like this?