-Caveat Lector-
http://www.vote.com/magazine/columns/dickmorris/column1275.phtml
Hillary may not run
BY DICK MORRIS
Before the summer, Hillary Clinton said she would announce her candidacy
for the Senate in October. As she asked New York Congresswoman Nita Lowey
to pull out, she promised that she would jump in during the fall. Now,
during an upstate tour recently, she suddenly delayed a decision until
"sometime next year."
While her flip-flop passed without journalistic or political comment, it
deserves closer scrutiny. Hillary hopes to placate her New York supporters
by saying that she is leaning toward running, once even saying if she leaned
any more she would fall over. But the fact remains that she hasn't
announced. When a candidate delays announcing her candidacy, something is
going on.
There's no political reason for Hillary not to announce her candidacy.
She doesn't benefit from her current half-in, half-out status. Her refusal
to announce her candidacy is taxing the patience of some of her most
formerly avid followers. Manhattan Congressman Charles Rangel, one of
Hillary's most ardent suitors in seeking to persuade her to run in New York,
has said what many of her backers are thinking: fish or cut bait.
So why the procrastination?
It might be that her poll numbers are tanking. In August, New York's
most accurate pollster, John Zogby, put Hillary in a statistical tie with
New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. By September, she was 4 behind. In
October, she had slipped to 11 points back. The welcome mat New Yorkers
seemed to lay out for the First Lady seems to be wearing thin. (Generally,
the polls that show a tighter race, like Qunnipiac, are flawed since they
survey all voters, not likely voters).
Clearly, the FLN terrorist clemency, the shenanigans about her
mortgage,and her ambiguous position on the Brooklyn Art Museum exhibition
seem to be cutting into Hillary's popularity. But the more likely
explanation for her exanding deficit is the growth of Giuliani positives.
Polls now give the New York Mayor his highest approval ratings of the year.
As upstate voters learn more about Rudy's record in New York City, his
capacity to win votes seems to grow. In Zogby's polling, Rudy's gains
upstate are impressive. In the City, Rudy gets 35% of the vote, well above
what a Republican needs to win statewide.
The First Lady, never one to charge blindly into a losing fight, may be
reconsidering squandering her political prospects on an uphill race, during
a Republican year, against a popular moderate Republican.
But another explanation for her reluctance to jump into the fray may be
the appointment of a new federal Special Prosecutor Robert Ray to succeed
Kenneth Starr as the Clintons' inquisitor. Unlike his discredited
predecessor, Ray cannot be counted on to self-destruct. Starr's image was
destroyed by his seemingly mindless obsession with the Lewinsky sex scandal.
Ray doesn't have Starr's baggage. He can follow the evidence in examining
the First Lady's role in the fraudulent Castle Grande Land Deal and the
Travel Office firings whereever it leads.
The Administration fears Ray. It reacted quickly to tarnish him as soon
as he was appointed. Led by James Carville (and sounding like a broken
record), they excoriated the new Special Prosecutor as "politically
motivated." They tried to claim that Ray has a bias because Guiliani's
office hired him as an assistant prosecutor during Rudy's last days as
United States Attorney. This charge is ridiculous. Ray began his job after
Giuliani left office and, since when does a U.S. Attorney personally do his
own hiring? But it is significant that Clinton felt it necessary to begin
the process of discrediting Starr's successor.
Hillary does not want to be in the middle of a serious investigation
while her candidacy hangs in the balance in New York. As long as Starr was
her only threat, she could count on his poor reputation to protect her. She
knew he would issue a nasty report, but that would have been a one-day
story. Ray might have a more detailed and serious investigation in mind.
One struggles to find an innocuous reason for Hillary's delay of an
announcement. She is in the thick of the race right now whether she
announces or not. Each day's give and take between the First Lady and the
Mayor has an intensity most campaigns don't reach until right before
election day.
But consider what not announcing is costing her. Beyond the impatience
of many of her supporters, it stops her from advertising on television. It
might undermine the willingness of people to give her money. Already
accused of opportunism as she moves to run in a state in which she has never
lived, she only heightens the negative by delaying her entry into the race.
Where she should show a passionate commitment, she only shows political
caution as she carefully weighs her options.
Meanwhile, as she raises money, her donors would do well to remember
that should she decide not to run, she can keep their money and spend it on
any political purpose she wishes, in any state she wants.
Why won't Hillary honor her original October deadline for making a
decision? My bet is that she will take the money -- and not run.
This column first appeared in the New York Post.
�1999 VOTE.COM. All rights reserved.
-----Original Message-----
From: Bard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Sunday, October 31, 1999 4:05 PM
Subject: [CTRL] new Website by Dick Morris: VOTE.COM [a must]
> -Caveat Lector-
>
>http://www.vote.com/
>
>WHAT IS VOTE.COM?
>
>Vote.com is a fully interactive web site designed to give Internet users a
>voice on important public issues and other topics. The Internet is filled
>with chances for us to listen and read. This site gives us a chance to
speak
>out and to be heard. When you vote on a topic listed on our site, we'll
send
>an immediate e-mail to significant decision makers like your congressional
>representative, your Senators, and the President telling them how you feel.
>
>When the polls close, we will send each a tally of the votes in his
>district. Then, when your congressional representative votes on the issue,
>we will e-mail you to tell you how he or she voted. Right before election
>day, we'll send you a report card listing how they voted on all the topics
>you voted on -- so you can see if they agree with you.
>
>WHO IS BEHIND VOTE.COM?
>
>Dick Morris and his wife Eileen McGann. The funding for the site comes from
>Dick Scruggs and Steve Bozeman, two of the nation's leading anti-tobacco
>lawyers.
>
>WHY DID THEY SET IT UP?
>
>Morris' entire career has been in polling -- finding out what voters think.
>Now he and his wife want to set up a way for voters to speak out. Morris
>says, "I trust the voters a whole lot more than the politicians. I guess I
>know the politicians too well."
>
>IS IT FREE?
>
>Absolutely. We get our money from advertisers on the site.
>
>IS IT LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE?
>
>Neither. It's a ballot box. And it's not Democrat or Republican either. It
>has no point of view. It wants to bring your point of view to the attention
>of those in power.
>
>WHAT IS THE FIFTH ESTATE?
>
>That's an online magazine published on our site. It is irreverent, probing
>and investigative. It will publish stories that will make news and shake
>things up. Edmund Burke, a British statesman, called journalism the Fourth
>Estate during the French Revolution. We think the Internet is replacing the
>media, so we call it the Fifth Estate. (The other three Estates were in the
>French parliament under the king -- the first was the clergy, the second
was
>the nobility, and the third was the merchant class).
>
>ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS POLITICAL?
>
>No way. We will get your opinions on who should be in the Hall of Fame and
>e-mail it to the sportswriter's committee. We'll ask you who should win the
>Oscars and e-mail the results to the group that makes the decision.
>
>IS MY VOTE SECRET?
>
>You bet. The computer knows how you vote, but we don't. Your vote is
>encrypted so that even the staff people at Vote.com cannot access that
>information.
>
>
>WHAT IS VOTE.COM?
>
>Vote.com is a fully interactive web site designed to give Internet users a
>voice on important public issues and other topics. The Internet is filled
>with chances for us to listen and read. This site gives us a chance to
speak
>out and to be heard. When you vote on a topic listed on our site, we'll
send
>an immediate e-mail to significant decision makers like your congressional
>representative, your Senators, and the President telling them how you feel.
>
>When the polls close, we will send each a tally of the votes in his
>district. Then, when your congressional representative votes on the issue,
>we will e-mail you to tell you how he or she voted. Right before election
>day, we'll send you a report card listing how they voted on all the topics
>you voted on -- so you can see if they agree with you.
>
>WHO IS BEHIND VOTE.COM?
>
>Dick Morris and his wife Eileen McGann. The funding for the site comes from
>Dick Scruggs and Steve Bozeman, two of the nation's leading anti-tobacco
>lawyers.
>
>WHY DID THEY SET IT UP?
>
>Morris' entire career has been in polling -- finding out what voters think.
>Now he and his wife want to set up a way for voters to speak out. Morris
>says, "I trust the voters a whole lot more than the politicians. I guess I
>know the politicians too well."
>
>IS IT FREE?
>
>Absolutely. We get our money from advertisers on the site.
>
>IS IT LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE?
>
>Neither. It's a ballot box. And it's not Democrat or Republican either. It
>has no point of view. It wants to bring your point of view to the attention
>of those in power.
>
>WHAT IS THE FIFTH ESTATE?
>
>That's an online magazine published on our site. It is irreverent, probing
>and investigative. It will publish stories that will make news and shake
>things up. Edmund Burke, a British statesman, called journalism the Fourth
>Estate during the French Revolution. We think the Internet is replacing the
>media, so we call it the Fifth Estate. (The other three Estates were in the
>French parliament under the king -- the first was the clergy, the second
was
>the nobility, and the third was the merchant class).
>
>ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS POLITICAL?
>
>No way. We will get your opinions on who should be in the Hall of Fame and
>e-mail it to the sportswriter's committee. We'll ask you who should win the
>Oscars and e-mail the results to the group that makes the decision.
>
>IS MY VOTE SECRET?
>
>You bet. The computer knows how you vote, but we don't. Your vote is
>encrypted so that even the staff people at Vote.com cannot access that
>information.
>
>WILL I GET A LOT OF SPAM MAIL?
>
>Nope. We will tell you about referenda you might find interesting (based on
>the ones you have already voted in). And, if you tell us, we won't send you
>anything.
>
>HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU EXPECT TO PARTICIPATE?
>
>Hopefully, millions of people will want to vote. It will give us all a
>chance to be heard so our voice gets loud enough to drown out the special
>interests that run Congress.
>
>WHAT IS THE BOOK, VOTE.COM?
>
>Its a book Dick Morris wrote about how the Internet is taking over
politics.
>It will be sold in bookstores and on the Vote.com site. It says that the
>Internet is taking the place of television in politics, that money will
>matter less and less because the Internet is free, and that special
>interests are losing their grip over Congress.
>
>WHO ARE DICK MORRIS, EILEEN McGANN, DICK SCRUGGS AND STEVE BOZEMAN?
>
>Dick Morris, the President of Vote.com, was President Clinton's chief
>strategist and advisor in the 1996 campaign. He has handled the campaigns
of
>a large number of American politicians including Trent Lott, William Weld,
>Pete Wilson and a whole lot of others. He's now a commentator on the Fox
>News Channel and writes a weekly column in the New York Post. He has
written
>three recent books: Behind the Oval Office, The New Prince, and Vote.com.
>
>Eileen McGann, Morris' wife, is an attorney and former public interest
>lobbyist. She serves as the CEO of Vote.com.
>
>Dick Scruggs and Steve Bozeman are Vice Presidents and partners in
Vote.com.
>They were the pioneers of the anti-tobacco litigation. They represented the
>states of Mississippi, Texas, Florida and a number of others in their
>lawsuit against the tobacco companies. They negotiated the settlement where
>big tobacco had to shell out over $200 billion. They also represented
>Jeffrey Wigand, the whistle blower who is the hero of a new movie, The
>Insider.
>
>WHO ELSE IS INVOLVED?
>
>Frances Cerra Whittelsey is Editor of the magazine, the Fifth Estate. She
is
>an award-winning former consumer reporter for The New York Times and
>Newsday. She wrote the book, "Women Pay More," about gender-based pricing,
>at the request of Ralph Nader. She and Fifth Estate Senior Editor, Kathy
>Jones, created the ground-breaking SIS web site, the first and only
>non-profit, ad-free web site devoted to women consumers.
>
>Joel Morton is formerly with Fox News Channel and is Vice President in
>charge of Voting Operations.
>
>Miguel Sal is from Bologna, Italy, and is the Creative Director for
>Vote.com.
>
>Paul McGann is in charge of operations.
>
>Environments.com and SenseNet helped design and build the site. GTE is our
>server.
>
>HOW CAN I CONTACT VOTE.COM?
>
>E-mail us at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
> Ban Handgun Sales to Kids Under 21?
>
> Should patients be able to sue HMOs?
>
> Protect Gays from Hate Crimes?
>
> Vouchers for Schools?
>
>
>http://www.vote.com/
>
>
>
>Bard
>
>We don't need a 3rd party; we need a 2nd Party.
>
>The DNC and the GOP defined:
> Two wings of the same bird of prey,
>The National Socialist DemocRatic Republican Party.
>
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DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
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