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Calling All Independents and Republicans Who "Don't Want Hillary"
January 14, 2008 4:40 PM
In Reno, a precinct captain for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., trying to drum up support for his man for Saturday's Nevada Caucus, distributed fliers targeted at non-Democrats.
"YOU CAN BE A DEMOCRAT FOR ONE DAY," said one side of the flier distributed by Reno High School precinct captain Bob Buchanan.
"VOTE FOR OBAMA AND THEN RETURN TO YOUR VOTING STATUS AS YOU CHOSE."
On the other side of the flier it read:
INDEPENDENTS
EVERYONE
YOU CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
IF YOU THINK A DEMOCRAT WILL WIN IN NOVEMBER
AND
YOU DON'T WANT HILLARY
BECAUSE SHE VOTED FOR THE WAR WHEN IT WAS POPULAR
BECAUSE SHE HAS TAKEN MONEY FROM THE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
BECAUSE HER NOMINATION WILL CONTINUE TO POLARIZE THE COUNTRY
IF YOU WANT TO SEE, NOT JUST A CHANGE IN
WASHINGTON, BUT THE POLITICS OF WASHINGTON
CHANGE
YOU CAN COME TO THE DEMOCRATIC
CAUCUS AND VOTE FOR
FOR (sic)
Buchanan told ABC News that after leaving about 100 of the fliers in mail slots and doors yesterday he realized the message he was sending was "negative."
"This is not Obama," he says he thought to himself.
So today he changed the second side of the flier to make it instead positive things about Obama, he says, instead of negative about Clinton. "It says, 'Obama spoke against the war when it wasn't popular,' rather than focus on Hillary."
He distributed more than 100 of the new flier today, he says, still targeting independents and Republicans. "Here in Nevada, we've never had a caucus before. So a lot of independents and Republicans didn't know that they could vote."
Buchanan says the Obama campaign didn't know about his flier. "I've been trying to reach them today, but Obama's in Reno today so it's been tough to reach them," he says.
Neither the Obama nor Clinton campaigns commented to ABC News.
-- jpt
UPDATE: The Clinton campaign set up a conference call to bring attention to Buchanan's flier, featuring former Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa -- Clinton's Northern Nevada campaign co-chair -- and Nevada Hispanic Leadership Council Member and former Chair of the Nevada Democratic Party Adriana Martinez.
Del Papa said "this type of flier to me seems like junior high school stuff."
Martinez said "our caucus is for Democrats ...not for Republicans trying to game the system and trying to become Democrats for a day."
Members of the national press corps pressed the proper buttons to ask questions, but the Clinton campaign only accepted calls from Nevada media.
These local reporters -- all women, incidentally -- seemed rather skeptical of the whole deal. One asked when it was, exactly, that the Clinton campaign started caring about the integrity of the caucus system, since Sen. Clinton has been questioning its validity since she lost Iowa.
Del Papa said she had never heard that.
Another asked if there was any evidence that this flier was the result of anything other than one lone precinct captain.
"We have been told that they have dealt with this issue," Martinez said.
Who? The Obama campaign?
No, the precinct captain, Martinez sheepishly acknowledged. "The person distributing these fliers has backed away from this flier," she said. "We're hoping that this just isn't one of many, we're hoping that this doesn't continue," she added.
January 14, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (37)
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I just checked the Nevada Secretary of State's website to confirm the details of the flier.
The website has the following for the Democratic Caucus: "Open to all registered Democrats. If you are not already registered but eligible to vote, you may complete a registration form and participate on the day of the caucus. If you will be 18 by November 4, 2008 and are otherwise eligible to vote, you may participate in the caucus."
The website has the following for the Republican Caucus: "Open to all Republicans who are registered as a Republican at least 30 days prior to the caucus. If you will be 18 by November 4, 2008 and are otherwise registered and eligible to vote, you may participate in the caucus."
So according to this information registered Republicans and registered Independents cannot re-register in order to vote in the Democratic Caucus.
Posted by: James Danley | Jan 14, 2008 6:08:35 PM
I urge all Michigan Democrats/independents that are truly against the war in Iraq, vote for Ron Paul. He has been againast the invasion with out a debate and especially since we invaded because of UN resolustions and not a declaration of War....
Posted by: judarama | Jan 14, 2008 6:08:25 PM
Obama is a fraud. He was for the war and he knows it and is playing Mr Opportunist to lure in the gullible voters.
Posted by: Obama Sucks | Jan 14, 2008 6:03:39 PM
"Barack Obama TOOK A STAND against the IRAQ INVASION when it MATTERED."
Barack Hussein Obama took a stand against the Iraq invasion when his vote doesn't count and abruptly changed his tune when it already counted.
"Hillary Clinton PLAYED politics when it MATTERED."
Hillary voted according to the information she was given and voted on principle. Obama voted for political gain and lies right now for political gain.
Posted by: Ralph | Jan 14, 2008 6:00:24 PM
Obama voted consistently against the war all through the years.
He voted for funding, to get the troops out of harms way, since Bush appeared sincere to help the troops.
He stopped voting to fund the war when he knew Bush was not sincere.
So Obama's voting to get the troops out of harms way is consistent with earlier stance: voting aginst it.
Posted by: I love America | Jan 14, 2008 5:51:14 PM
Bush is behind this. It's his fault.
Posted by: Sinecure | Jan 14, 2008 5:41:08 PM
This is another example of Axelrod's dirty tricks. Next, they will deny to know anything about it and Obama will keep quite and silent. Same trick they used in Iowa.
Obama promises of hope and change are bogus ans a lies.
Obama go away and take Axelrod with you back to Chicago!
Posted by: Obama tricks | Jan 14, 2008 5:36:04 PM
Hilary Voted for the war clearly for political gain. As a woman running for president she wanted to 'look tough'.
* By the way Who would not vote to support troops in the middle of a war ?????????????
* Even I was smart enought to see there was no case made for invading Iraq.
* Is it just me or is anyone else forgetting that 19 out of the 20 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia? Wre couldn't say anything to them because of oil and Sadam was used as a scape goat to show our aggression because no one can defend him
Posted by: truth_shotta | Jan 14, 2008 5:31:36 PM
Ralph:
You say she voted based on information?
The woman didn't even take the time to read the whole NIE. (Bill Nelson, who had planned to vote for the war, did read it...and ended up NOT voting.)
Too bad she was busy raising money from lobbyists rather than doing work that would have saved the lives of thousands of our bravest men and women.
Posted by: David | Jan 14, 2008 5:30:33 PM
Obama's now-famous 2002 speech was made at a local anti-war rally. He was a state senator in a district that was very anti-war. His sponsor was anti-war. It would have been risky for him NOT to go along with his consituents and the local bosses.
No sooner had Obama's U.S. Senate campaign been declared "viable" by the corporate media, than the speech disappeared from Obama's web site.
Once in the Senate, he backed off and began voting for the war. Later he told the New Yorker and other media that if he had BEEN in the US Senate in 2002, he might have voted for the 2002 bill himself.
Posted by: Old Democrat | Jan 14, 2008 5:26:07 PM
This is the perfect way to broadcast this to the entire media while at the same time disavowing any involvement. Obama is a dirty and sneaky politician. This is the "politics of hope" that he promised. Add this to the race-baiting that the MSM is completely lapping up despite the its lack of merit and you have the perfect recipe for filth - OBAMA-style.
He is utterly despicable!!!
Posted by: Ralph | Jan 14, 2008 5:25:33 PM
Here it is again: The totally positive, hope spreading unyfing campain of Obama. We are so proud of it. Will we vote for it? Well, only if we have a very low IQ I guess. Obama was against the war when it was convenient to get elected to the state and was for the war and funded it when it was convenient in the senate. He is dividing the democratic party for his own egoism by spreading race BS about the clintons. This is the truth and I cant see any change compared to other politicians. He can only offer rethoric, no achievements, no substance. Where is the beef????
Posted by: GimmehopeObama | Jan 14, 2008 5:24:16 PM
Obama's Illinois constituency was largely anti-war. The local paper had been running anti-war headlines. Obama did not take a politically courageous stand on the national stage - he took a politically advantageous stand for the local race he was running at the time.
His opposition conveniently vanished again until his presidential run, and his US Senate voting record on Iraq is almost exactly Clinton's. She at least has introduced legislation to prevent permanent bases in Iraq, and has pressured Bush for a withdrawal plan, while he has been silent.
Obama is a political opportunist, nothing more, nothing less.
Posted by: MPinSC | Jan 14, 2008 5:23:31 PM
Hillary voted according to the information she was given and voted on principle. Obama voted for political gain and lies right now for political gain.
Posted by: Ralph | Jan 14, 2008 5:21:03 PM
Alice Palmer and Obama. Google them to see the truth about his "vision" of change.
Posted by: Kathy Sammons | Jan 14, 2008 5:19:21 PM
This is just one more example of how scurrilous and anti-Democratic the Obama campaign is. The guy is inviting other parties to influence our nominee in this race - and no, no one believes that the campaign didn't know about this and isn't encouraging this message. This is no different than the mailers that went out in Illinois (under the pretext of encouraging all those late teen/twenty-somethings who would rather live in Iowa than Chicago and we know how many of them those are) advertising just how easy it is to participate in an Iowa caucus - you just have to tell 'em you live there and that you're 18,
You just have to wonder at what point his attacks on the Democratic party and the progressive movement as a whole will finally register with his, er, upright supporters.
Posted by: lorelynn | Jan 14, 2008 5:18:28 PM
when it mattered? yeah, right. he wasn't even in the senate then. when it mattered? where was he after he entered the senate on iraq, where it really mattered? um, i don't remember, do you? show it to me.
Posted by: patrioticgrl | Jan 14, 2008 5:14:32 PM
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