Saturday, November 10, 2007

Hillary campaign being smeared for planting a reporter

Ok we have been getting a lot of e-mails at Vote For Hillary Online about this supposed scandal where Hillary had planted reporters asking questions during a press conference.

Take a look at this hit piece right here.

Here's an excerpt:

Hillary Clinton stopped at a bio-diesel plant in Newton, Iowa earlier this week to see alternative fuels in the making and drive home the week's campaign theme of her energy plan. After a tour, the candidate took questions from the crowd.

She called on a young woman. "As a young person," said the well-spoken Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff, "I'm worried about the long-term effects of global warming. How does your plan combat climate change?"

"Well, you should be worried," Clinton replied. "You know, I find as I travel around Iowa that it's usually young people that ask me about global warming."

There's a good reason for that, too. The question was a plant, totally rigged in advance, like a late-night infomercial. Just before the public forum a Clinton staffer had chosen the young woman, a student at Grinnell College, and asked her to ask that specific question.

Trouble is, the young woman told others and today her account showed up on the Grinnell website, including mention that the staffer signaled Clinton who to call on.


There is a lot of misinformation going around today about this story. People claim that Hillary herself planted this reporter, others say she had no knowledge of it, but it was a member of her campaign staff. It is the opinion of the staff of Vote for Hillary Online that these are minor details and everyone is missing the big picture: It is not illegal to plant reporters or have people ask certain questions during a press conference. There is nothing wrong at all in doing this. Hillary wanted to make her point on climate change clear, and a good way to do this was to have someone else bring this up. There is nothing wrong with this - please do not allow yourself to become brainwashed by the mainstream media that there is something unethical going on here.

Look, running a presidential campaign, quick frankly, can be a dirty business. Sometimes it will appear that something unethical is going on. But you cannot allow yourself to be brainwashed by the competition. You must keep focused on the message of Hillary Clinton, and let others worry about the silly tricks going on. Hillary Clinton is the only candidate that will take back America and breathe new life into it. We can't let these smears effect our morale. Focus on the big picture.

I have a message to all the Hillary Clinton supporters who e-mailed me about this story: if you were out doing grassroots campaign work, you wouldn't have even heard of this story so the fact that you had the time to e-mail us shows you're not working hard enough. I got an e-mail from Greg Thompson last night and he spent 10 hours in the parking lot of a popular shopping mall, putting bumper stickers on cars, spreading the good word. You think he gets all worked up over silly stories like this? Again, I must stress - focus on the big picture, which is taking back America. Hope, prosperity, patriotism. I want to be proud to be an American again. I think we all do. Let's see how much we can promote Hillary today. Remember - nothing happens without a grassroots effort.

If you haven't already, make Vote for Hillary Online the homepage on your browser.


4 comments:

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Just because something isn't illegal doesn't mean it's not unethical and wrong. I'd hate to be in your position and many others who are staunch supporters for someone who will continually require you to cover up their problems or wish they had never happened.

What are you gaining by supporting a campaign that's known for these types of dishonest tactics? Has America fallen away this much that people really don't see anything wrong with this? Do you really enjoy having to post the same comment on numerous blogs trying to downplay this event?

And in my opinion (in response to your comments on other blogs) nothing has been overblown. It's a story and it's being reported. Would you rather people ignore it? I guess the American people have no right to know when these things happen.

Tombo said...

WOW - If Hillary wants to make a point, then make a speech, release a press statement, but planting someone to raise the issue to awareness?

Come on, if it is someone posing as a reporter, then for sure it is unethical. In fact, didn't a senior staffer at FEMA just get into trouble for this? (Click the link if you need a refresher)

But in the greater context, the message I'm hearing here and was actually posted as a comment on my blog by a Hillary supporter is "Even if the Clinton camp did lie, so what?" Again, it proves my point, trying to win at all costs, even if that includes the truth.

And in conclusion, I would certainly say that global warming is a large issue, but surely Hillary would prefer to hear what her constituents think the issues are? Right? So she can represent them, not dictate to them.

Georg Felis said...

Most people do not mind Hillary planting reporters, what really irks them is she fails to plant them deep enough. You see, if you only plant them to the six foot line as she has done, they tend to come clawing back to the surface and stagger back into town, moaning about how John Kerry is not running this year and how the military has not been stricken from the budget and the money used for important things such as the tragedy of elderly pet care.

I’m quite sure if she were just to plant them a few feet deeper and perhaps throw in a handful of flower seeds, the people would once again love her and cheer her innovative use of carbon sequestration.