Democrats announce joint fund-raising effort

please explain. what exactly does this mean? do ALL past donations and/or donations going forward to either candidate go to a general fund for eventual nominee? or is this something else altogether? is this some loophole way of paying off Clinton's debt? what is this?

Honey,

This is a normal step. Although I am guessing this time it is a loophole because of the fact Hillary signed it also.

This is an idea I would not support.I want to know where my money is going and to whom.We are not like Republicans who know their nominee, so back off until we settle on one candidate.

This is a way for the DNC to try to boost its cash stash. In the heated Dem race, donations have been going to the candidates and not the party. Personally, I feel the party system is doing down the tubes. In this day and age of the internet, candidates do not need a party to support them. Everyone should just run as independents. It'd be a cleaner more effective race.

At last!!!! some type of unity.....Hillary also said today that It'd be 'terrible mistake' to pick McCain over Obama......vote democrat 08

I will not donate until Hillary drops out of the race. I have absolutely no interest in retiring the debt from her mismanaged campaign. Her management skills, judgement, and trustworthiness are sorely lacking and embarassments to the party. I am 100% for Obama. Let Hillary eat cake - after she pays for it from her millions.

I have always known politics to be swarmy...but this has to top the bill.

It has to be simply a way for Hilliary to have her bills paid and to reap benefits from Obama's contributors.

Well....by signing this he lost any $$$$ I would have sent. I will not give one DIME to either pay her bills or help her in any way.

How could Obama have signed this thing?

It has to be the stupidest thing he has done.

Yeah...right. Is the party secretly rewarding HRC for the sly campaign she has been running. Or is this a secret deal for ensuring that Clinton supports Obama in return for pay off her debts and allowing her to run wild piling up unpaid debts?

Folks bear in mind that it would be

1. By federal law, illegal for the Obama campaign to pay the debts of the Hillary campaign.

2. The DNC is not getting enough contributions because of the contributions to the two campaigns. The maximum contribution to any campaign is $2,300.00 to the primary and $2,300.00 to the general.

3. The agreement allows supporters of the two campaigns to contribute a maximum of $33,000.00 to the Victory Fund. So the Obama campaign can only get the maximums of $2,300 per primary and $2,300.00 per general. Anything above the individual maximums out of the $33,000.00 goes to the DNC. For example if 'x' contributes more than $4600 up to $33,000 as an Obama supporter, the Obama campaign will get the $4600 whilst the DNC gets the difference of $28,400. So this arrangement aims at those who want to contribute more than $4,600 to the presidential nomination race.

The same will apply to any Hillary supporters. Whether the DNC wants to help the Clinton campaign with its debt through Clinton supporters who want to pay more than $2,300 is a loophole possibility. The laws are not very clear on that.

So rest assured that the Obama campaign cannot pay off the the debts of the Clinton campaign. It would be a felony under the campaign finance laws!

Continue to contribute to the Obama campaign if you are a supporter!

I dunno - seems to me that this is a way to build some money for the campaign, no matter who wins.

Some people will give anyway, no matter who the candidate is. This is just a way to make that happen.

Hillary's campaign debt is mainly to herself and Bill, right?

I WANT MY MONEY TO GO TO THE DEMOCRATIC CANIDIATE THAT I AM SUPPORTING NOT TO PAY OFF HILARYS DEBT. WITH ALL THE NEGATIVE CAMPAIGNING, THE LIES, HALF TRUTHS, PANDERING TO EVERY GROUP, RACE, GENDER IMAGINABLE AND NOW THIS I MIGHT JUST VOTE FOR SENATOR McCAIN. THIS IS NO LONGER THE PARTY OF THE PEOPLE. THE DNC IS MADE UP OF PEOPLE WHO NO LONGER HAVE CONTACT WITH THE PEOPLE...TIME FOR A CHANGE THERE TOO.

Anything with Clinton's name on it can get along without me.

I will only donate to the Obama campaign until Clinton concedes and drops out of the race.

Funds donated directly to Obama's campaign cannot be used to pay off Clinton's debt. it is illegal for him to release money from his campaign coffers to Clinton, and as such I feel safe in continuing to donate directly to Obama's website.

I sent Dean an email about this a while ago, and my position has not changed.

Somewhat relieved by Joe Melts words..but stillllll

and it just looking more and more like Hilliary pulling something.

This thing about the $$$$ is troublesome.

But here I thought we had a great leader coming up in Obama and now with this money scheme and the talk about Hilliary running as an independent (as a threat or ploy? ) and his signing off on the money agreement..it smacks of a deal ..and that smells like an offer to Hilliary of VP...and that in my mind is just not acceptable.
Remember the year Perot got Clinton elected by taking away votes for the other party?

This is the deal that Hillary was looking for. She was looking for a way for Barack to pay her $20,000,000 debt without pissing off his supporters. It's not working here. We know she cannot raise enough money to pay her own bills so what benefit is it to Barack to enter into this scam? If you want to help that liar pay her bills and she has a lot of them go to her site and make a donation.

Her campaign focus was on problems and solutions. Here is the problem. She has $20,000,000 in unpaid debt, no one including her husband race bait Bill and her daughter Chelsa believes she can win, no one intentionally bets on a loser so her campaign money flow is down to whatever she is willing to loan herself. I will not charge a consultation fee for the solution. She couldn't pay me anyway. The soultion is pack it up, Hillary has already lost. Stop watching CNN and Fox the race is not close they are playing with your emotions. Unless she want to continue to bring race into the race it is over. Do the math.

When you find yourself in a hole STOP digging.

HRC and husband Bill have made tens of millions of dollars from sales of their books. She can easily payoff her campaign debts and not miss the money at all. Their situation is simialr to ex-candidate Romney.
As far as who is winning/losing.... what would Karl Rove and company think if the Republican nominees and won the Mass primary, but lost the Utah primary. Had one the Rhode Island primary but lost Idaho. What they'd think is that their nominee did not represent the Republican Party, and they'd be worried.

As I have already told the DNC, I will not contribute until and unless they seat FL and MI

I think Hillary needs to write off the loan she made her campaign as a loss, just as her campaign has resulted in a loss. She made some bad judgements all along the way, bad decisions and bad business decisions. She's lost money on other business deals through the years and this is an example. Luckily she and Bill won't be on the streets they still have $90 million or so left over from what they've "earned" (if you call it that) in the past 7 years.

I will give my contributions straight to the Obama website; and, no worry --most of his supporters are under the limits of $2300 anyway. Most of hers weren't, and many were PACs.

WHY NOT HAVE EVERYONE MATCH A DOLLAR FOR EVERY DOLLAR THAT HILLARY CONTRIBUTES? SOUNDS RIGHT TO ME!

Stephen (comment 4)
The party system may be flawed, but it is, unfortunately, the only way our country's presidential elections will work. Since the electoral college requires a MAJORITY and not just a plurality, it is impossible for a third party to be successful. In fact, when a third party takes away states from a major party, that's when the major party dissolves and then third party becomes a major party.

Unless the electoral college is changed, this will ALWAYS be a two-party system. Only in local (read: non-presidential) elections can independents really have a chance.

All those with negative comments about this new fund paying Clinton's campaign debts need to hold your tongues when you don't know what you're talking about.

According to the story, it merely allows the DNC to start raising money for the eventual nominee's campaign in advance, regardless of who the nominee is. It will only cover Clinton's primary debts if she turns out to be the nominee, which is certainly not likely.

Aahaa!!!!!!!! And now the backroom dealing and scheming begins. I smell a Clinton here. Gee, do you think any of that money will go to pay Clinton back? It never ends.

Sunday, May 18, 2008
To say this arrangement is troubling and that it smacks of the back-room dealings that Sen. Obama has been campaigning against is to be generous. My feelings towards Sen. Obama are of sadness yet I tell myself "it was expected"... there are few individuals who have not been corrupted and found themself willing to "go along" for the sake of moving ahead. I believe the sad reality is there is precious little moving forward but simply "the old politics at play"... compromise this to achieve that yet in the end it mearly reinforces the traditional political system. I allowed myself to sincerely believe Sen. Obama and to donate and work for "the change" only now to see and hear the "same old thing" over take him. Clearly as President more of the same will occur. I honestly don't fault Sen. Obama... men, forgive me, "human beings" are creatures full of wonder and flaws... they are easily taken or talked away from whatever "high ground" they may have held... it is our unfortunate nature"... Sen. Obama, with his youthfulness, both in age and experience, touched a rare spot in many of us... it is sad yet dare I say "not unexpected" that the "politics as usual" have taken down a "good man". My sadness is with so many younger people who I think were moved in a remarkable way... there will be sadness in their hearts and far worse, they have seen a "dream" turned into nothing more than something to kick around in the back rooms... the DNC, the Clintons and yes, Sen. Obama, have reinforced that which is not best in man... and but a few moments ago there had been a ground swell of what is best in man.
By the way, I'm 61 years old, been pretty liberal all my life, live in Canada but retain my United States citizenship... I felt a new wind blowing but damn if it's not the same old smell.
John Rosell