Drudge Retort: Red Meat for Yellow Dogs
Thursday, March 06, 2008

Hillary Clinton master flack Howard Wolfson went berserk today, comparing Barack Obama to Ken Starr. Why? Obama demanded her tax returns, cited delays in releasing her White House schedules, and even made reference to trades in cattle futures in the late 1970s that became a subject of allegations during the White House years.

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Get ready for the victimhood crying jag in four...three...two...one...

"ouch" me thinks bringing up Ken Starr is VERY VERY dodgy, that will open the flood gates for all the reasons there WAS a Ken Starr. Methinks Wolfson needs to get the bullet from his foot quick.

It's getting UGLY

"Methinks Wolfson needs to get the bullet from his foot quick."

Would that be the foot he's planted firmly in his mouth?

I think you're right: A prominent Clintonista mentioning the name "Ken Starr" is not at all clever. But if Howie wants to go down that road, how about next time he says something like this: "I can promise you that when Senator Clinton is president there will be no trips to a grand jury, no sex with interns, and no in all likelihood no impeachment. Guaranteed. Hundred percent. Cross my heart and hope to die."

If he makes that kind odd remark when the question of her tax returns comes up, is it no wonder people think she's hiding something?


-Cross my heart and hope to die."

Really?

www.drudge.com

I thought Clinton did a poor job of responding to Tim Russert's questions about her tax returns too. She came off as very defensive (and, oddly, unprepared for the question).

The Big Question: What will Clinton do if someone calls her at 3am, requesting a copy of her tax returns?

"Devil in a blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on"

Does the Clinton campaign really want to bring up Ken Starr?

I see a great commercial coming to your TV screens in the near future.

An unflattering picture of Hillary, fade to one newspaper headline after another; Hillary associate indicted, Missing billing records found, Hillary testifies, New questions about Hillary's commodity deals, etc., etc.

Fade to large text and the narrator saying, "Do we really want to do that again?"


The only question is, who will air it first? Obama or McCain?

MR. RUSSERT: Senator Clinton, an issue of accountability and credibility. You have loaned your campaign $5 million. You and your husband file a joint return. You refuse to release that joint return, even though former President Clinton has had significant overseas business dealings. Your chief supporter here in Ohio, Governor Strickland, made releasing his opponent's tax return one of the primary issues of the campaign, saying repeatedly, "Accountability, transparency." If he's not releasing, his campaign said, his tax return, what is he hiding? We should question what's going on. Why won't you release your tax return, so the voters of Ohio, Texas, Vermont, Rhode Island know exactly where you and your husband got your money, who might be in part bankrolling your campaign?

SEN. CLINTON: Well, the American people who support me are bankrolling my campaign. That's -- that's obvious. You can look and see the hundreds of thousands of contributions that I've gotten. And ever since I lent my campaign money, people have responded just so generously. I'm thrilled at so many people getting involved. And we're raising, on average, about a million dollars a day on the Internet. And if anybody's out there, wants to contribute, to be part of this campaign, just go to HillaryClinton.com, because that's who's funding my campaign. And I will release my tax returns. I have consistently said that. And I will.

MR. RUSSERT: Why not now?

SEN. CLINTON: Well, I will do it as others have done it: upon becoming the nominee, or even earlier, Tim, because I have been as open as I can be. You have -- the public has 20 years of records for me, and I have very extensive filings with the Senate where

MR. RUSSERT: So, before next Tuesday's primary?

SEN. CLINTON: Well, I can't get it together by then, but I will certainly work to get it together. I'm a little busy right now; I hardly have time to sleep. But I will certainly work toward releasing, and we will get that done and in the public domain.

taxprof.typepad.com

If there's nothing to hide, what's to get together? Hillary doesn't have a file in her home, at her office, or stuck away in a safety deposit box with xeroxes of her tax returns? Have they gone missing? Please, not again.

Flashback! HRC once thought taxes should be open

A trip down memory lane:

Eight years ago, when Hillary parachuted into NY to become our Senator, she and Howard Wolfson became completely obsessed with opponent Rick Lazio's tax returns, which he did not release until the end of August..

They talked about them at every opportunity. In early July, Hillary called it "frankly disturbing." A guy in an Uncle Sam outfit was dispatched to be a nuisance at various Lazio events in August. Howard himself showed up once to try to rattle Lazio by offering him a copy of some Chappaqua property tax receipt after Lazio said he'd release his state returns as soon as Hillary released hers (which didn't exist, because she had just moved up here).

This produced a lot of coverage. We've copied one of the stories after the jump, if you're interested. But obviously, what brings it to mind is the current discussions of when, if ever, Clinton and Wolfson will release her tax returns as she runs for president this year. Their attitude has been, basically, when they feel like it.

Pressed again today by the Obama campaign, Wolfson said: "Their tax returns since they left the White House will be made available on or around April 15."

Maybe a reporter could, like, actually risk getting Wolfson mad by trying to pin him down on whether "on or around April 15" will definitely be before the Pennsylvania primary on April 22, and why a 2001 return from a sitting NY senator can't be copied by, say, March 15?


Without being too cute here, the question is why Clinton and Wolfson were so obsessed by Lazio's returns that they were disrupting his events, but they now treat it as an irrelevancy when Hillary's returns are requested. There's occasionally the suggestion that different standards apply to a primary. But that makes no sense, especially when you're already an officeholder. Republicans are entitled to see Hillary's returns before making their decision, but not Dems?

No, it seems more like a reflection of the way Hillary and her team think. Principled people would reason as follows: "Since we made a huge fuss about Lazio's returns in 2000, to be consistent we should be very diligent about being just as transparent as Obama and releasing our own returns this year. Otherwise, we would be behaving like hypocrites."

But that's not what they're doing. So the reasoning is apparently this: "We acted like Lazio's tax returns were a big deal in 2000 because it was in our self-interest to do so, and this year we'll act like our returns aren't a big deal because it's in our self interest to do so. We don't act on principle, and we don't care about being consistent, and we don't care about being hypocritical."

weblogs.newsday.com

Clinton Library Sells Secret Donor List
November 19, 2007

Three years after the William J. Clinton Presidential Library opened its doors, the list of donors who helped the former president build his $165 million complex remains a secret from the public.

Yet the Blotter on ABCNews.com has learned that the Clinton Foundation sold portions of the list through a data company headed by a longtime friend and donor.

"The fact that they've sold the list and then turned around and said that these names must be kept anonymous completely undercuts their argument," said Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington, D.C.-based government watchdog group that tracks the influence of money in politics.

blogs.abcnews.com


Clintons' Charity Not Listed On Senate Disclosure Forms

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former president Bill Clinton have operated a family charity since 2001, but she failed to list it on annual Senate financial disclosure reports on five occasions.

The Ethics in Government Act requires members of Congress to disclose positions they hold with any outside entity, including nonprofit foundations. Hillary Clinton has served her family foundation as treasurer and secretary since it was established in December 2001, but none of her ethics reports since then have disclosed that fact.

The foundation has enabled the Clintons to write off more than $5 million from their taxable personal income since 2001, while dispensing $1.25 million in charitable contributions over that period.


Clinton's spokesman said her failure to report the existence of the family foundation and the senator's position as an officer was an oversight. Her office immediately amended her Senate ethics reports to add that information late yesterday after receiving inquiries from The Washington Post.


(There's more at:
www.washingtonpost.com)

Obama Memo on Clinton Tax Returns

TO: Interested Parties
FR: The Obama Campaign
RE: TAX RETURNS: What does Clinton have to hide?

DA: March 5, 2008

The Clinton campaign today maintained that "the vetting of Barack Obama has just begun." The truth is, more than a year into this campaign, some very simple vetting of Hillary Clinton has yet to start.

In the face of her unwillingness to release her tax returns, Hillary Clinton has made the false case in this campaign that she is more electable because she has been fully vetted. When it comes to her personal finances, Senator Clinton's refusal to release her taxes returns denies the media and the American people the opportunity to even begin that process. Though her campaign has tried to kick the issue down the road, Democratic voters deserve to know, right now, why it is she is hiding the information in her tax returns from last year.

The Clinton campaign has said that they have released copious amounts of financial information but there are many questions about their private dealings that could be answered in their tax returns but not in the information that is currently available. For example, here are eight pieces of information that could be learned from her tax returns, the accompanying schedules, and attachments:

Effective tax rate including whether or not any tax shelters were used to reduce it
Amount of income for spouses by source
Amount of stock gains and losses
Gross income for the couple
Amount earned from stock dividends
Amount of household employment taxes paid
Personal exemptions taken
Charitable contributions made

Senator Clinton has also claimed that she is too "busy" to release her tax returns. Given the fact she is able to loan her campaign $5 million, you would think the Clintons would be able to hire an accountant. The reality is that she wants to keep this information hidden from voters. The people of Wyoming, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and the rest of the country should wonder why.

Obama Memo on Clinton Tax Returns (continued)

The Clintons' record on releasing tax returns:

FEBRUARY 2008: Clinton Reiterated That She Would Not Release Her Tax Records Until She Is The Nominee And Not Before Mid-April. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton says she won't release her tax returns until she has the Democratic presidential nomination in hand, and not before tax filing time comes in mid-April. "I will release my tax returns," Clinton said during the debate. "I have consistently said I will do that once I become the nominee, or even earlier." Pressed about the timing of releasing her tax returns, campaign aides were more reticent Wednesday, indicating that Clinton would not release the sensitive financial data during a hotly contested primary, but only at tax filing time. [AP, 2/27/08 ]

JUNE 2007: Clinton Does Not Plan to Release Her Tax Returns Until Next Year. According to the Washington Post, Clinton said through a spokesman that, "like past presidential candidates," she will "release tax information in the election year." [Washington Post , 6/19/07]

APRIL 12, 1996: Clinton Released His Tax Returns. President Clinton and his wife earned $316,074 in 1995, including the president's $200,000 salary, according to tax returns released Friday by the White House. The public release of the tax returns, three days before the April 15 filing deadline, shows that Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton are owed a refund of $5,656 on the $81,093 they paid in taxes, and will apply that refund to their 1996 income taxes. [UPI, 4/12/96]

April 15, 1992: Bill Clinton Made His Tax Returns Public. APRIL 15, 1992: Bill Clinton made his tax returns made public. [Los Angeles Times, 4/16/93]

Bill Clinton Released His Tax Returns In 1992 But Refused To Release Their Tax Returns From Before 1980. During the 1992 campaign, the Clintons claimed to be coming clean by releasing their tax returns from 1980 forward. But they steadfastly refused to release their returns for prior years, and only later did we learn that 1978 and 1979 were the tax years when Mrs. Clinton reported her 10,000% cattle-futures trading profit. [WSJ, 2/22/08 ]
(Source for memo:
thepage.time.com)

"Clinton transparancy" is an oxymoron

What are they hiding?

My understanding is that Hillary won't release her tax returns from 2006. Tucker Carlson pressed one of Clinton's spokeswoman on why she has to wait until April 15 to release last year's return. She just changed the subject.

CARLSON: I got an e-mail from Clinton campaign today saying the Obama people are hitting us on this tax return business.

MCLEAN: Yes.

CARLSON: Were going to release returns on or about April 15th.

MCLEAN: Yes.

CARLSON: Why dont just release them now?

MCLEAN: Well, I have not been a part of their personal financial records. They may not quite be ready. Are your taxes done yet?

CARLSON: My taxes--were talking--were not talking about this year. Were talking about her previous tax returns.

MCLEAN: But are your taxes done yet?

CARLSON: For this year, theyre not. But were not talking about this year.

MCLEAN: Mine arent done either. Weve made it very clear.

CARLSON: But no, thats not.

MCLEAN: Tucker, Tucker.

CARLSON: Hold on. Youre not answering the question.


MCLEAN: Howard Wolfson answered this question on Sunday morning on a television show.

CARLSON: What did he say?

MCLEAN: He said that the tax returns will be ready to be released on or about April 15th. Its pretty clear. I think youre trying to make something out of nothing. Not to mention.

CARLSON: I just want to know why. I mean I dont know.

MCLEAN: Not to mention the fact that the Clintons have had their financial disclosure report, she is a senator out publicly for a long time, which by the way.

CARLSON: Which is not very specific. It tells us nothing about where the $5 million came from.

MCLEAN: Which, by the way, is a little different from the Obama campaign who hasnt put out any of their information on financial dealings with Rezko.

CARLSON: Well, I think they should. And I agree with you there.

MCLEAN: Good for you. Good for you.

CARLSON: I just wish I could get a straight answer.

MCLEAN: Good for you.

CARLSON: .and not be patronized.

Thank you so much.

MCLEAN: I never patronize you, always respect you, Tucker.

CARLSON: I appreciate that.


www.msnbc.msn.com

Request Hillary Clinton Release 2006 Federal Tax Return
To: Hillary Clinton
It is important that the best candidate is nominated for the Democratic Party. Barack Obama has released his 2006 Federal tax return for review by all, to show his openness and honesty to the people of the United States of America. At this time you refuse to do the same. This is a cause for concern.

We, the registered voters of the United States, petition you, Hillary Clinton to release your 2006 Federal tax return immediately. The origin of the $5,000,000.00 you recently donated to your campaign is of great interest. To have financial hardship while running a one-year campaign raise questions whether you can handle the finances of our great country.

We, the registered voters of the United States, want to be sure to nominate a trustworthy candidate to represent us.

Hillary Clinton should release the 2006 tax return BEFORE the Democratic nominee is chosen for the 2008 Presidential Election.

Barack and Michelle Obama 2006 Federal Tax Return
taxprof.typepad.com

Sincerely,

The Undersigned
www.petitiononline.com

CARLSON: Why dont just release them now?

MCLEAN: Well, I have not been a part of their personal financial records. They may not quite be ready. Are your taxes done yet?

CARLSON: My taxes--were talking--were not talking about this year. Were talking about her previous tax returns.

MCLEAN: But are your taxes done yet?


Priceless. Hey, Corky, you have a soulmate!

FF for Doc. That does sound a lot like our beloved little Corkster, doesn't it?


Montenessgadolcore!

Smoked any of Bubba's used cigars lately?

"Smoked any of Bubba's used cigars lately?"

Do you happen to have one concealed about your person?

Funny. I have my tax returns on file, and my accountant has copies too.

What's this "I've been a little busy" in response to why it will take her considerable time to release tax returns (already prepared and filed long ago like mine).

Also, turns out HILLARY's people APPROACHED the Canadians, while the Canadians pleaded with Obama's folks for a meeting. HER folks told them what she claimed Obama's had, while Obama's said exactly what Obama said at the Ohio debate.

Here's a couple of links. One debunking the Obama/NAFTA rumor, and the second reporting that HILLARY's people approached the Canadians - the ONLY candidate of the two to have done so:

Canadian Broadcasting Company: Obama story false

Harper Aide: Clinton Campaign Reassured Canada On NAFTA

Huh? Ken Starr? Did he really bring up Ken Starr?

Is that the same Ken Starr ( Time mag. "Man of the Year in 1998) that investigated the Clintons on such matters as Vince Fosters death, Whitewater, Monica, Paula Jones. And whose work led to Clinton's impeachment.

Wolfons' not reminding us of that Ken Starr is he.

What a colossal blunder.

This has got to be the greatest compliment for Obama that has come out of the Clinton camp all season.

I don't know who is worse--Penn or Wolfson--both are overpaid blowhards that cut Hillary's campaign a bit at a time.

What a couple of boneheads...geez.


As for the Tucker interview with the loon--it was hilarious--with "circle talkers" like that--you have to talk in a circle right back.

Murphy

Remind anyone of Atwater or Rove?

Yesterday Dean made it clear you don't change the rules in the middle of the game. Today, just like after "they" got to O'Neil, he sings a different tune.

The Oligarchy wants Clinton. They are becoming increasingly adept at fixing outcomes.

The public remains complacent in the face of stolen elections, fake wars, corruption till the cows won't go home, mind boggling deficits, our collapsing currency and housing crisis.

The Democrats have been compromised for a long time.

The Clinton's can get ugly. They make up the rules on the way and best yet! Obama was not in the long range plans and it will get worse.

NWO at stake now. BOOOOOOO!

I would love to see Obama mess things up. Kind of like Ross Pero did.

"Clinton's NAFTA-gate?
Posted: Thursday, March 06, 2008 3:37 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: 2008, Clinton, Obama

firstread.msnbc.msn.com

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Per the Toronto Globe and Mail, in a story that was the lead on the paper's front page today, that call to the Canadian embassy was actually from the Clinton campaign, not Obama's:

"Mr. [Ian] Brodie, [PM Harper's chief of staff], during the media lockup for the Feb. 26 budget, stopped to chat with several journalists, and was surrounded by a group from CTV. The conversation turned to the pledges to renegotiate the North American free-trade agreement made by the two Democratic contenders, Mr. Obama and New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

"Mr. Brodie, apparently seeking to play down the potential impact on Canada, told the reporters the threat was not serious, and that someone from Ms. Clinton's campaign had even contacted Canadian diplomats to tell them not to worry because the NAFTA threats were mostly political posturing. The Canadian Press cited an unnamed source last night as saying that several people overheard the remark.

"The news agency quoted that source as saying that Mr. Brodie said that someone from Ms. Clinton's campaign called and was telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt.'

Get ready for the victimhood crying jag in four...three...two...one...

Amen to that. Man, what is it with this woman and her constant cries of, "they won't stop picking on me!"

She better learn real fast that America hates a whiner. I suppose she'll never figure that out though or she already would have. It's one trait that people truly hate her for.

I would love to see Obama mess things up. Kind of like Ross Pero did.

Posted by Unclesam


Ross Perot lost. How is that messing things up? To mess things up, you steal the election. For more info, see: Bush, George W.

Clinton Advisor: Obama's Acting Like Ken Starr
Hillary Clinton master flack Howard Wolfson went berserk today, comparing Barack Obama to Ken Starr.


I heard the best comeback to this assertion tonight on Tucker Carlson. He had on long time CNN reporter Bob Franken, who cover all the Clinton scandals during the 90's. Franken said, "I know Ken Starr, and Barack Obama is no Ken Starr." I will give Wolfson the Hyperbole of the Day Award for his comment.

Actually, I hear that Brodie lied about it being Clinton, and that they met with a economics prof that is an Obama consultant AmericanUnity. Just fyi

BigJohn

It was the Canadians who were pleading for a meeting with Obama's folks. His advisor only repeated to them what Obama had said in the Ohio debate. The 'take it with a grain of salt' comment came from the Clinton people after they'd contacted the Canadian embassy and sent that message through back channels.

The CBC (Canada's top TV network) reported the charges against Obama are entirely false, and that the right wing Canadian Government may have tried to throw a U.S. election with false rumors and innuendo Video:

www.cbc.ca

Also:

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro

"Per the Toronto Globe and Mail, in a story that was the lead on the paper's front page today, that call to the Canadian embassy was actually from the Clinton campaign, not Obama's"

"The news agency quoted that source as saying that Mr. Brodie said that someone from Ms. Clinton's campaign called and was telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt.'

firstread.msnbc.msn.com


Hmmmmm?

"someone"from Mrs. Clinton's campaign?

How lame! You'd think they'd at least get a name.

This story sounds like the Canadian government is still trying to get it's tit out of the wringer.


and they're still acting like the clintons!

HRC and Bill are corrupt and we all know it-Nominate her and we lose-Wake up Dems

WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2007 - As Sen. Hillary Clinton grapples with the burgeoning scandal surrounding disgraced fund-raiser Norman Hsu, she can't quite shake a fund-raising controversy from her 2000 Senate campaign. Mrs. Clinton's entanglement with a thrice-convicted felon named Peter Paul is proof of how long campaign-finance problems can haunt a public official. Mr. Paul became a problem for Mrs. Clinton when his criminal past became public shortly after he helped organize and finance a gala Hollywood fund-raiser for her in August 2000.

www.peterfpaul.com

I haven't had so much fun since Joycelyn Elders was running around advocating teaching masturbation to children in school. What a trip. Back in those days our little leftist-socialist friends friends just looooooved Bill and Hillary and swooned every time one of them showed up on TV or in public. They would have killed you for bashing them at all. Now they've found a new idol...way to the left of the Clintons...and just look at how fast and how much they've turned on their formal idols. LOL...it looks like they are all involved in a "vast right wing conspiracy"...LOL

"HRC and Bill are corrupt and we all know it-Nominate her and we lose-Wake up Dems"

I don't believe it! Just when did they turn corrupt? When did you come to "know it?"

To Jestgettinallon-

In addition to the sourced link above please remember-ummm the 90's

The only president ever impeached on grounds of personal malfeasance
- Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates*
- Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation
- Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify
- Most number of witnesses to die suddenly
- First president sued for sexual harassment.
- First president accused of rape.
- First first lady to come under criminal investigation
- Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign contribution case
- First president to establish a legal defense fund.
- First president to be held in contempt of court
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions from abroad
- First president disbarred from the US Supreme Court and a state court

TurnTexas,


Despite all of the facts you've provided, many a DR lefty will proclaim that Team Bush is the most corrupt in our contry's history.

Truth is, neither Bush nor Clinton had as corrupt of an administration as did Harding.

"In addition to the sourced link above please remember-ummm the 90's"

Ah, yes, I remember well....the halcyon days when you and your little friends were admiring, defending, and adoring the only democrat adminstration to be elected since 1976. I bet a lot of the "liberals" here can't even remember another democrat president. I still think it's amusing how you have all turned on poor Bill and Hillary who were so persecuted by the "vast right wing conspiracy."

Frankly and sadly I have come to belive both W and the Clintons are two sides of the same coin. The two headed monster of the status quo in DC. What we are now seeing is the same type of Coup D'etat in the Dem primarys Bush pulled in the 2000 and 2004 general elections. Less votes, less delegates, less states won=the right to the nomination.? WTF? Oh ya, and I love how HRC has ranked Obama below McCain 4 times over the last couple days in "experience" So, I guess she prefers him as president if Obama gets the Nom?

I can confirm however that yes HRC did have tea and cookies in over 80 countries during the 90's

"Blah...blah...blah...Ken Star...blah...blah..."
Howard "Zinger" Wolfson
Clinton Campaign Flak





Give that man a cigar.

JEST

After George W Bush any future President with an IQ above 100 will look like Abraham Lincoln in comparison.

America has been hurt badly by the manchild the GOP holds in such high regard.

Hillary's acting like Karl Rove. I don't call women lying assholes often, but she certainly qualifies.

So the advisor for Obama who called Hillary a "monster" has resigned and apologized. I wonder when this advisor will resign.

Probably never, because we expect Hillary to play these games.

B--you are correct!

We'll never see Wolfson resign.

And besides Hillary is a monster--

Obama not much better--the invisible monster!


Murphy

Sign the petition asking Hillary to release her tax returns NOW. 6044 signatures right now and growing fast!

beertap.wordpress.com<>

For some reason the petition article link didn't work so we'll try again.

beertap.wordpress.com<>

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