A harsh letter from DraftClark.com

[cjbuchanan]

This is not flame bait but...

...have you seen the letter on the front of DraftClark.com (http://www.draftclark.com/archives/004484.shtml)?

---
Part of the letter:

By the time you read these words, the bell will be tolling for Wesley Clark's candidacy. It will be clear across the country that the campaign of Wesley Clark is nothing more than the Gore campaign with a better candidate - this will mean that activists, the people who can create a field organization that can win Iowa and New Hampshire, will know that this campaign is nothing more than a media creation.

This is the defining moment for the Clark Campaign. Either he will show he can take charge, or he will be forever branded a tool of insiders, unable to understand the enormity of the task. A man who cannot fill a campaign, cannot fill a cabinet. A man who cannot run a campaign, cannot run the government. A man who cannot obey the law, cannot uphold the law.
---

These are some very public growing pains. Do you think Clark can pull his campaign back together? Is this letter just an emotional response or might the Clark campaign be breaking the law?

[La_Serpiente]

1. Wow...

The Clark campaign has already hit the emotional point

[LuminousX]

2. Really, really sour grapes

I know very little about the Clark internal mechanisms but something this bitter, this harsh doesn't come from a very logical place. This is coming from a person with a personal vendetta. Maybe it is legitimate. Maybe it isn't. It is too laden with emotional detritus for me to take it as a serious critique of the Clark campaign (the Gore campaign with a better candidate - sounds like a formula for success... campaigning isn't about having the most unique fun campaing, it is about having the most successful campaign).

[cjbuchanan]

3. More information from the cheif blogger at DraftClark.com

He also has a blog called Clark Sphere. Here is a piece he wrote for it.
http://theclarksphere.com/archives/000323.html#000323

You think this is anything big?

Again, this is not flam bait; I'm just shocked by it and want to know what others think.

[11cents]

4. Pompous control freak

...with a history of making a very public display of stomping off when things aren't following his script -- and why he thinks they should follow his script is a mystery. The two most public people in the Draft Clark movement, Hlinko and Margulies, are in Little Rock working on the campaign. (I believe Hlinko's in charge of the internet campaign.)

[Vis Numar]

41. "You think this is anything big?"

I think the press will make it big, that's for sure...

[Pez]

6. i always get a chuckle...

...when one (maybe more) person claims seer status and predict bloody defeat. apparently the catalyst for clark campaign success is the writer; since s/he is not involved, clark is doomed to failure. har har har, meow meow meow.

while i'm sure there are some clark supporters out there who deserve more credit than they are getting for their role in his campaign, i don't think that letter is the best way to go about... whatever it is they want.

[qb]

5. This letter reads like a Freeper post

rambling every which way with no context. These guys need an editor who is detached from the emotional side to turn this letter into a coherent statement.

edited for coherence :)

[veganwitch]

7. personally i think the campaign is a fraud

he waits and waits and waits, and after all the "grassroots" (and those are questionable) push, he finally says ok, if youre going to pull my leg. then we find he has all these former clinton folk in the wings before he even has any policies.

[KittyWampus]

12. Maybe Those "Clinton Folks"

Were smart enough to see a winner in Clinton... and helped lead him to two terms....
and are smart enough to see a winner in Clark.

There is nothing "questionable" about the grassroots campaign to draft Clark- some of the people involved post here regularly.

And it's ironic that some DU'ers question whether Clark was actually debating entering the Presidential race and yet slam him because apparently his Campaign is still emerging. They fail to see the logical fallacy behind that. If he was secretly plotting to enter the race the whole time... WHY WASN'T THE CAMPAIGN BORN FULLY GROWN?

It's only been a couple of weeks... the other candidates had YEARS!

[kang]

8. Disturbing

to see people flip so drastically. It seems to suggest a certain unbalanced nature. I went to see Clark at a rally in Dover, NH, but only briefly shook his hand. It's not important to me that I become a close personal friend of his, or that I become some shot-caller in the campaign. I JUST WANT HIM TO BEAT BUSH!!! As much respect as I have for him, if I didn't think he could do it I'd support somebody else.

I think some of my internet compatriots had some unrealistic expectations about how campaigns operate. We must keep our eyes on the prize and not lose focus because of hurt pride or other pettiness. Gen. Clark isn't a bad man, nor is he going to be a perfect campaigner in his first months of the campaign.

But if he can weather the storm, put out some solid policy ideas, and really formulate his message(which I admit, in some areas are lacking for my tastes), we'll have a real Democratic challenger for Bush. A guy who's committed his life to serving this country as opposed to one who's spent his life being a loser-boy who gets a free pass because of his daddy. We'll have a leader who's won a war to stop a criminal regime and we'll have a candidate that champions the idea that working hard to unify international will behind any cause is a strength, not a weakness.

[Kahuna]

21. The author of that letter has always given me the creeps..

He always appeared to take himself so seriously. He always seemed to be obsessive about his efforts. I picture him living alone in one filthy room with a cat and his computer. Really creepy.

[Bucky]

9. Red meat to the pissants

The GOP attack machine will be all over this like fat on a walrus. This is the most undisciplined, unprofessional thing that a campaign staffer can do--taking an internal dispute public.

Apparently he's overly invested in this squabble and sees fit to "take his ball and run home" when the game isn't going to his liking. Clark needs to whip those troops in line. Being a volunteer doesn't mean you're a free agent.

That website represents Clark to the public and, by going off half cocked and using Clark's PR machinery to do so, this guy is clearly making it harder for Clark to do his job. What a jerk. On the other hoof, what a great opportunity for Clark to show his talent at damage control--an essential skill for any president.

[eileen_d]

10. Well said.

Hanging one's own dirty laundry out like this will not help anyone, certainly not the author and definitely not the Clark campaign.

[11cents]

15. He's not a campaign staffer

And it's his own website, so he can say what he wants on it, but the fact that he is just one guy speaking for himself is what makes the oracular tone of his "open letter" so ludicrous. This guy has been very invested in a particular theory of how the campaign should go, but it's his theory, nobody else's -- nobody signed on to it. But he's pissed because he believes things aren't playing out according to his specifications.

[DemCam]

25. Not only the GOP...Democracy Now

was all over it today.

I find the letter absurdly childish. But...I enjoyed a lot of the responses to it on the site.

[Kahuna]

30. He's not a staffer. That's why he's pissed.

Oh how great things would be if only.... :puke:

[bicentennial_baby]

11. 2 Draft Clark movements

Originally, there were 2 major Draft Clark groups, Draft Wesley Clark and Draft Clark 2004. People from Draft Wesley Clark are working on the campaign, like John Hlinko, Maya Israel, etc. Stirling Newberry was the founder of Draft Clark 2004, and was not made part of the campaign...

[Kahuna]

23. I didn't know Stirling was the founder of the other group...

I see now. John Hlinko is very personable and telegenic. Stirling seems kinda creepy to me.

[madaboutharry]

13. I also think

that the rambling and emotional tone of this letter gives a window into what may have caused this person to be sidelined. There is no room for this kind of thing in a matter as serious as a presidential campaign.

[Tinoire]

14. Jesus. The entire Clark Campaign has been a fraud from the beginning

Enough proof of that was posted here but people seethed like snakes at the mere suggestion and said it was all Rove spin.

I feel sorry for the sincere people who got suckered in to that illusion of a Draft movement. I do not feel sorry for the shills who kept shouting everyone down and will still keep doing it even as more evidence comes forth.

I'm beginning to think we're only getting what we deserve for being so willing to believe the DLC spin time after time after time.

[eileen_d]

17. We'll get what we deserve

What's that? A Democrat in the White House in 2004?

Come on. The Clark campaign isn't a fraud; it's just not what you want it to be.

[Tinoire]

33. I can point you to posts I made at DU months ago

pointing out all the things that made the entire "Draft movement" a fraud and a front. Innocent people got suckered in thinking they were doing something noble when in fact they were only being used. The writing was there on the floor for all to see and right now it's on the walls and ceiling.


I phrased that incorrectly--- the title should have accurately read "the entire DRAFT Clark Campaign" because there is plenty of information available about the involvment of Chris Kofinis who worked with the DLC at creating this entire illusion. There was nothing grass-roots about it except the appearance engineered by manipulating a few people.

Of course they're angry now. This isn't the first person who's been pissed off and it won't be the last.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[veganwitch]

22. if i remember correctly

tinoire is a kucinich supporter.

or i could be wrong. its been a long day.

[KittyWampus]

24. Sorry For Getting Snippy Dean Supporters

I should just go have some chocolate. :)

[veganwitch]

27. i agree with you though

dean's policies simply band-aid a gaping wound and are not aimed at the fundamental problem, that too much (money, attention, power etc.) is given to too few. kucinich's views are positive and progressive (in all senses of the word). their is a sense of hope in them for the people of this country to fight for something better. they strike the heart of the problem and i know he will be a great president. the reason why he continues to be elected even in a heavily republican district is that, while they may not agree with his politics, the people KNOW he will fight and work for them no matter what.

i might just be being to idealistic, but my ideals are the only thing that keep me from getting totally disgusted with this country's political process.

[bicentennial_baby]

16. Well I hope Stirling's happy

Cause he's famous now:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99504,00.html


:grr: :mad:

[Kahuna]

31. The joke is on him. They referred to him as "unnamed"..

LOL! :bounce:

[bicentennial_baby]

34. LOL

Good point, he won't like that at all! :P

[stickdog]

35. But the rest of us are laughing at the pathetic boiler room insiders. (NT)

[DrFunkenstein]

18. This Guy Could Have Claimed A Part In Political History

Now he's a bitter little footnote.

This points out a real difference from the Dean campaign. Trippi encourages the grassroots to feel part of the team, but makes the line very clear where the professional politicians belong and where the internet kids belong while still presenting the illusion of a decentralized "outsider" campaign.

Clark's campaign suffered early on because they failed to let the internet people understand exactly what their role was to be. Apparently, this Fowler guy had watched one too many episodes of West Wing and went off the deep end. Real campaigns require massive organization managers and strict discipline. Fowler mistook himself for an organization manager and violated the golden rule of internal discipline.

[GOPBasher]

20. "The Gore campaign with a better candidate"

May I ask what's wrong with that? Gore won. A better candidate would win more easily. No?

[DemCam]

26. One can hope.

Now...when do we hear from the General about this...or do we?

[LuminousX]

28. He shouldn't respond

It would only feed the fire that is the writer's ego. Clark has more important things to respond to, let one of the interns address this.

[stickdog]

36. We can do a lot better. (NT)

[jumptheshadow]

29. The bell will be tolling for the Clark campaign?

For Pete's sake, isn't that a little histrionic?

[Kahuna]

32. Sounds a little melodramic. Sounds like..

old Stirling is on the rag. :wow: Did I say that? :silly:

[catforclark2004]

37. Response from majority of Clarkies was: Newberry,

are you running for something?..cause the last time we checked, you were not our candidate.

Many supporters went on the Clarksphere site...and commented by dogging this Newberry guy out! So did I.

He was calling for a mutiny; instead he's getting a blog trashing!

The news made the UK Guardian.
Boy that Wes sure can generate press, national and international

.....on some "piece-of-no-shit-news" such as an open unsigned letter on one of nine candidates' blog.

Meantime, we got a visit from Senator Pryor on the BLog.....they are going to spoil us now...

Maybe it's all good!

[bicentennial_baby]

38. LOL

Yeah, Stirling's hissy fit did'nt go over too well with the Clarkies, that's for damn sure! I'm not surprised though, he's been getting increasingly negative ever since the campaign officially began. He probably had his psychotic break after the Fowler flap.

[yelladawg]

39. What bothers me

Is that Clark hired this flake in the first place. He was a four star general, I would think he could hire better people than this. This guy is also very thin skinned for someone to be in such a position.

[bicentennial_baby]

40. Newberry?

He was'nt working for Clark's campaign, he was part of one of the Draft Clark groups.

[yelladawg]

43. Question

If he wasn't working for Clark. Then why all the hubbub? Who was paying this guy? Wasn't the Draft Clark people all volunteers? That's what I remember them saying. Are the Draft Clark groups keeping the money they raised? This sounds like a bunch of greeding people collecting money under Clark's name, then demanding positions in the campaign staff. Am I all wet about this or is this the way it is? Someone please help if you know.

[Eurobabe]

45. probably WHY he wasn't hired

flake alert

[yelladawg]

46. huh?

Who was paying him? That would answer some questions.

I thought he was working for Clark. Here at DU people are saying he wasn't on the staff.

So, who was paying him?

[stickdog]

42. Boilerroom Clarkies are nothing if not goose-stepping bullies.

Can't have any independent thought leaking out of Clark's campaign.

No, sir.

Must close ranks and court martial the querulous soldier.

Yes, sir.

[mmonk]

44. Open debate encouraged

by Wes Clark. One of the reasons he's running is there was no debate about the war. Anti-Clark people love their mischaracterizations. I don't know if its because he was in the military, they suspect DLC is in charge, or they listen to what they have been told by opponents. Any of you that dislike Clark, which of these is it, seriously? I was wondering because we get disparaged alot by people who troll our blog. Anyway, be nice if you want support should your candidate get the nomination. The real opponent is the Bush administration