McAuliffe ambushing Dean?

[dalloway]

Cross-posted at DailyKos here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/3/15/8222/89130/817/477167

I've been concerned for a while that the Obama/Clinton contest is becoming a surrogate battle between the Dean and McAuliffe wings of the DNC. It is a battle between those that believe in the "important states" vs. "the other 40", between DLCers and DFAers, between an addiction to corporate/special interest money and those that believe that small donors in vast numbers are democracy at its most powerful.

What I read in the NYT today, makes me concerned that McAuliffe and those that he represents are trying to ambush Dean using Clinton donors.

The NetRoots helped Dean get where he is today. With the DNC coffers very low right now, he is under attack. He needs us.

Today, the NYT has run a piece about Clinton donors complaining to the DNC about how they are handling the FL delegate dispute with at least one large donor demanding his donation be returned. Behind the ambush is none other than McAuliffe:

"About 250 top fund-raisers for Mrs. Clinton met Wednesday in Washington. Terry McAuliffe, the Clinton campaign’s chairman and a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, encouraged the donors to pick up the phone and call party leaders, as did Mrs. Clinton.

As we all know, money talks and the Clinton donors are leveraging their donations to settle this dispute in a way that can help their candidate:

Pushing to seat the Florida delegates, at least one top Clinton fund-raiser, Paul Cejas, a Miami businessman who has given the Democratic National Committee $63,500 since 2003, has demanded Democratic officials return his 2007 contribution of $28,500, which they have agreed to do....

Christopher Korge, a Florida real estate developer who is another top fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton, held an event last year in his home that brought in about $140,000 for the national party, which was set aside in a special account for the general election battle in Florida. But he told committee officials this week that if Florida’s delegate conundrum was not settled satisfactorily he would be asking for the money back.

The Clinton/McAuliffe wing of the party would like nothing more than to see Dean removed from the DNC, and frankly I see them using the fight over the seating of Michigan and FL delegates to be part of their attempt to bring him down in an fight about whose really has the power to make the rules in the Democratic Party.

When Dean first came to the power at the DNC, the NetRoots supported him with money bombs everytime he came under attack and when he stood up for the principles so many of us progressives believe in.

I believe it is time to shower Howard with some love once again in a language even McAuliffe understands.

Show Dean we have his back: Today, the NYT has run a piece about Clinton donors complaining to the DNC about how they are handling the FL delegate dispute with at least one large donor demanding his donation be returned. Behind the ambush is none other than McAuliffe:

About 250 top fund-raisers for Mrs. Clinton met Wednesday in Washington. Terry McAuliffe, the Clinton campaign’s chairman and a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, encouraged the donors to pick up the phone and call party leaders, as did Mrs. Clinton.

As we all know, money talks and the Clinton donors are leveraging their donations to settle this dispute in a way that can help their candidate:

Pushing to seat the Florida delegates, at least one top Clinton fund-raiser, Paul Cejas, a Miami businessman who has given the Democratic National Committee $63,500 since 2003, has demanded Democratic officials return his 2007 contribution of $28,500, which they have agreed to do....

Christopher Korge, a Florida real estate developer who is another top fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton, held an event last year in his home that brought in about $140,000 for the national party, which was set aside in a special account for the general election battle in Florida. But he told committee officials this week that if Florida’s delegate conundrum was not settled satisfactorily he would be asking for the money back.

The Clinton/McAuliffe wing of the party would like nothing more than to see Dean removed from the DNC, and frankly I see them using the fight over the seating of Michigan and FL delegates to be part of their attempt to bring him down in an fight about whose really has the power to make the rules in the Democratic Party.

When Dean first came to power at the DNC, the NetRoots supported him with money bombs everytime he came under attack and when he stood up for the principles so many of us progressives believe in.

I believe it is time to shower Howard with some love once again in a language even McAuliffe understands.

Show Dean we have his back: http://www.actblue.com/page/glindthegoodwitch

Post your support of Dean in the thread (and in true dkos fashion, be sure to add on .01 to any donations so Dean knows where his support is coming from.