The White House’s “official” version is supposed to be released at 5pm, but many have details now. Strangely, the WH memo itself doesn’t actually exonerate the Gang from Chicago. Which means it’s still got to be laden with spin, and the situation is likely much worse than presented. I mean, really, they thought offering Sestak an “unpaid” Presidential Board position would be enough to make him not run for the PA senate seat? And why send Bill Clinton for such a ridiculous offer? Why not use someone like Durbin? Unless, of course, it was more serious than that. The use of Clinton sends a message that this was a serious attempt by the White House to gain political favor by offering a position. Billy Jeff hadn’t even gone rogue; all was arranged by Rahm Emanuel.
White House asked Bill Clinton to talk to Joe Sestak about Senate run
Senior White House advisers asked former President Bill Clinton to talk to Joe Sestak about whether he was serious about running for Senate, and to feel out whether he’d be open to other alternatives, according to sources familiar with the situation.
But the White House maintains that the Clinton-Sestak discussions were informal, according to the sources. The White House, under pressure to divulge the specifics of its interactions with Sestak, will release a formal statement later today outlining their version of events, including Clinton’s involvement.
According to the sources, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel asked Clinton and his longtime adviser, lawyer Doug Band, to talk to Sestak about the race. It’s unclear right now whether the White House will say that Clinton was asked to suggest specific administration positions for Sestak, whether Clinton floated positions on his own, whether Clinton discussed other options not related to the adminstration, or whether employment even came up at all in the talks.
But the news that Clinton is at the center of this whole story is noteworthy on its own because of the former president’s stature, and underscores how heavily invested the White House was in dissuading Sestak from running…
As Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air notes, if all of this was on the up-and-up, why did Emanuel send Clinton instead of making the offer himself? Why was Sestak so cagey about what actually transpired? It’s obvious via the WH memo they were desperate to keep Sestak from running and were actively engaged in tampering with the PA Democratic primary. Liberals are desperate for there to be no “there” there. The fact that they’re even in this position indicates “there” is.
I believe Sestak’s first inclination to tell the truth when he said he was offered a “job” by the WH, not an “unpaid Advisory Board position.” The question becomes, who are we inclined to believe? Sestak’s first statements, or the Obama administration spin, and Sestak’s statements now that he’s the nominee?
Sestak confirms what the White House released:
Last summer, I received a phone call from President Clinton. During the course of the conversation, he expressed concern over my prospects if I were to enter the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and the value of having me stay in the House of Representatives because of my military background. He said that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had spoken with him about my being on a Presidential Board while remaining in the House of Representatives. I said no. I told President Clinton that my only consideration in getting into the Senate race or not was whether it was the right thing to do for Pennsylvania working families and not any offer. The former President said he knew I’d say that, and the conversation moved on to other subjects.
There are many important challenges facing Pennsylvania and the rest of the country. I intend to remain focused on those issues and continue my fight on behalf of working families.
Throwing Bubba under the bus?
This is the story they’ve decided that they’re going to stick with – it should be enough. If you were a supporter of either Clinton or Obama, you’re likely to believe anything.
These blatant lies and corruption is as obvious as day is day and night is night, but : “And they will tell you black is really white and the Moon is just the Sun at night.” Dio RIP
Aw, this is really a Jungian unveiling. The subtext, the substory (i.e. the Truth) wills itself out in this strange conflagration of events: Katrina Oil Spill, Press “Con”ference, Sestack spin.
Urkle made some blackmailer’s deal with the Clintons to get in office. He knows stuff on the Clintons, the Clinton’s know stuff about Urkle.
Now that the “I” word (Impeachment) is being broached, Urkel must go to his power source: the Clintons to get out of this mess.
The real story is what do the Clintons know about Obama and what does Obama know about the Clintons that formed this alliance?
The crack in the Clinton/Obama alliance came with the Carvel rant on the oil spill.
Obama has to circle the wagons with the Clintons or this Presidency will unravel. Carvell going off the rails a few days ago was a sign of great danger for the O.
Who believes this new fairy tale? I mean, really.
I worked on a Gary Coleman movie of the week with Cecily Tyson when I was in college. It was quite a backstage drama with the parents and with Gary’s adult demeanor in a child’s body. Very very sad. The parents were intent on making as much out of Gary until his hormones belied his childlike appearance (I was stunned when little Gary whispered some indecency in my ear one day when I was taking him somewhere… I was really shocked that he was making a pass!) and Gary knew he had to play the child as long as he could. Rest in peace, Gary.
Sounds like a great idea to go to the Memorial Day ceremony.
If Toomey can’t win the seat with all this going on I don’t know what to say. Sestak is a lying d bag.
Obama doesn’t have the political instincts that the MSM has credited him with (but of course we all know, already, that Obama doesn’t have any of the strengths the MSM has credited him with) to involve a disbarred and impeached perjurer in his cover-up. I wonder, was Hillary involved in the decision for Bill to get involved in this mess? Did Bill come up with this on his own? What’s Bill’s payoff? If Hillary said, yes, do it, what’s Hillary’s payoff? The last question, will the MSM go after this ridiculous cover-up story? Of course not. The media is involved in cover-up for Obama on a daily basis.
The thing that’s surprised me about recent events is I’d sort of expected Bill and Hillary to subtly distance themselves from Obama. Then they’d be well-positioned to step up to the plate when Obama flamed out. I wasn’t expecting them to blatantly denounce Obama, but they could move away from the disaster and promise a return to better days. That’s the way the Clintons were remembered, rightly or wrongly. For example, a while back, Hillary said she wouldn’t stay on as Sec’y of State for Obama’s full eight years. But instead, while other Democrats are starting to peel away, the Clintons have tied themselves to Obama’s fate. Does this make sense?
Not a bit of sense to me either, Maynard. There were more than a few hard feelings involved on both sides after the Presidential campaign. So you have to wonder, what’s the payoff? What are the Clintons (plural) getting in payment, or what is Bill getting in payment? What does Bill Clinton gain from this? There has to be something, because Bill is not altruistic.
Maynard, sure it makes sense, considering some of Bill’s blunders on Hillary’s campaign trail. He just can’t help himself.
I don’t think an EX president (and an impeached one at that) has the power/authority to offer the position of Secretary of the Navy. And if it were a lesser (unpaid) position (which is now being thrust forward) why would Sestak take it knowing he had a great shot at winning the Senate (highly paid) seat? Has BJ even confirmed he was the one who made an offer of ANY kind – or others simply pointing the finger his way (recall Scarecrow from WOO)?
I am shocked there is gambling in the casino!
You have to laugh at the blatant mistakes the political pros are making in the primary races this year. We all know that the smoked filled rooms still exist in politics, even if they have banned the smoke. This is politics as it has been for years. The deals are brokered, threats and promises are made, and everyone knows the rules.
We will help you get elected Mr. Sestak, to the House of Representatives in 2006 because you are part of our plan to flood Congress with Democrats. We may not like some of your positions, but that D after your name is what we need.
Listen you Republicans who don’t want Bush to endorse Spector in his 2006 primary fight, we know he isn’t always a reliable vote, but the R after his name, and his years of seniority are more important than those conservative principles you’re concerned about. Besides, Spector promised he would not let us down.
Who knows what the Dems promised Spector when he switched parties. He thought he was using them, they thought they were using him. Prior to the switch Democrats had to be looking for a strong candidate to challenge Spector in the general election. Were they grooming Sestak? Filling his head with sugerplum dreams of how he really could defeat the long-time Senator Spector? Convincing him it was worth the battle? I don’t know, but when miracle of miracles Spector made the switch, the Democrats probably couldn’t believe their luck. That opened a totally new avenue. Now they needed to convince Sestak to stay in the House (why risk losing that seat), and while in most cases a phone call from the leadership would suffice, Sestak and his campaign would see the Spector change of R to D as a power ploy. If Sestak was preparing to beat Spector in a general election, he had to have enough information to re-work it into beating him in a primary. After all, everyone knew that Spector had switched mainly to avoid a bloody Republican primary which he would probably lose. Sestak’s plan to paint Spector as a D in name only, was one part of the victory, but over 45% of the vote went to Spector, and had it not rained in Philly, that percentage might have been higher. Everything must have pointed to the re-election of Spector if he didn’t have to fight in a primary.
After the mess in New York filling Hilary’s seat (remember Caroline Kennedy?), lots of phone calls went out to prevent wannbe’s from challenging Gillibrand in what would have been a very expensive, and bloody primary. Sestak must have known this. And the Democrats must have known that even a call from BHO would not stop Sestak. He would have told BHO that he was running because he was the true Democrat, he was the one who would uphold Democrat principles, while Spector was merely a political opportunist, who would turn on the party if it was in his best personal interest. Besides Democrats were complaining that Spector wanted to keep his seniority in the Senate even though he was technically a “freshman Democrat”.
Sestak must have been feeling betrayed. He was to fall on his sword, and concede to the enemy he had been prepared to defeat. To actually welcome and embrace him. That is a very hard political pill to swallow. When the Democrats continued to work against him, even pulling in the one man they thought might convince him, Bill Clinton, it must have infuriated him. I am sure that during the conversation Bill, in his folksy way, must have chuckled as he told Sestak the purpose of the call, and urged Sestak to be pragmatic and look to the future. I am also sure that Bill asked him, in one way or another, what would it take to step down. The sky was really the limit, and with Sestak’s experience, even the Secretary of the Navy was possible. Neither man had any illusions. Both understood that the needs of the Party had to be met ahead of any personal goals. Hadn’t Clinton waited for Cuomo to bow out of the primary before he announced his bid for the Presidency? Sestak has made two important mistakes.
The first was not listening to Clinton. He forced the Party to have an expensive primary, and show their weakness by having someone other than their candidate win. The weakness in their political machine has been exposed, and if the Republicans are smart, they will learn how to exploit it in the future. Second, he publicly acknowledged that he was offered a deal to step down. Now if you talk to the many Democrats in New York who were salivating over running for Hilary’s seat, they will say they believe they can be most effective remaining where they are, they may even acknowledge having discussions with party leaders, even a call from BHO, to thank them for be loyal team players. None of them will admit that they are gambling on a future surge of support when an opening occurs elsewhere. They would be shocked if you broached the topic. Maybe Sestak was tired, maybe he was fed up, but regardless of why he said it, he committed his second, and probably most fatal error, when he acknowledged the deal. Now he has placed himself in the position of being owned by the Party. He has already signed off on the White House statement of what has happened. And once you begin down this path, it is hard not to get in deeper. If he expects to win in November, he knows he is owned by the party. One misstep, one independent position and he is done.
Sestak has sold his soul. The people of Pennsylvania better realize that. He is no longer a voice for them. He can never again stand up for his principles, he is a tool of the Democrat Party. And they will use him ruthlessly, and discard him without a thought if they can.. They own him and now the real tragedy begins as we watch his future play out. Hardball politics, shocking isn’t it?
Tammy – instead of ‘we ain’t gonna take it’ by Twisted Sister (suggested during your show to run while DumBO speaks) may I suggest the final number from the Who’s Rock Opera ‘Tommy’. To remind, the story is of a messianic figure requiring followers to shut their sensory input and believe in him. See me, feel me sounds every bit as vapid as hope and change – and, yes, we ain’t going to take it.