Daschle calls nuclear option 'disaster'

Posted: Monday, May 05, 2008 5:23 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: Norah O'Donnell

From MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell and Adam Verdugo
Tom Daschle, an Obama supporter, said in an interview today on MSNBC that undecided superdelegates would be more than "ticked" if the Clinton campaign tries to force the so-called "nuclear option" and encourages the Rules and Bylaws committee, which meets May 31st, to seat the Florida and Michigan delegates.

The former South Dakota senator said he was amazed at the number of undecided superdelegates that have called him in the last 24 hours saying that it would be an "absolute disaster."

Asked if the superdelegates would be "ticked" if the nuclear option were implemented he replied, "If we overturn what has happened in all these elections all over the country and do something like that, ticked is mild compared to the feeling I am getting from reports all over the country today."

EMAIL THIS

Comments

You tell them Mr Daschle!

Someone has to stop the Clintons!

They are so evil!

MR (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:27 PM)

Really? That's nothing. Just wait till you hear how ticked the voters would be. By the way, why hasn't anyone mentioned all of the independent voters that are for Obama? I never got to vote for him and I can't wait for the chance!

New Independent (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:28 PM)

Of course Daschle and the obamians don't want the MI and FL delegates seated that would be too much like making obama look like someone who thought that peoples votes counted and he wanted to empower them.
He can't have that! He has a reputation as an arrogant hypocrite to uphold!

rjs91157 (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:29 PM)

If Clinton gets away with the 'nuclear option', the Dem party will experience on a virtual NUCLEAR WINTER.

...A complete implosion of the party. African Americans aren't the only the ones that will be disenfranchised (although that's the emphasis of the press.)

jmp, northern mn (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:29 PM)

Well then get off your buns and endorse today! Simple enough, huh?

fortuna, Houston, TX (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:29 PM)

Here come the Supers for Obama!

Jay Rod, Morgantown, West Virginia (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:30 PM)

Hillary's gonna nuke everybody and everything. And i thought she was just gonna nuke Iran. She's worse than dubya!!!!!

Leslie (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:31 PM)

When Edwards saw that he was getting in the way of the two likely candidates Hillary and Obama. He stepped down from the race the let the better nominees go to Super Tuesday. We know now what Hillary will do in the same situation. She willingly would overturn the people and destroy the party to get nominated.

Hillary -- when the polls turn bad the claws come out.

MM (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:31 PM)

Hillary's gonna nuke everybody and everything. And i thought she was just gonna nuke Iran. She's worse than dubya!!!!!

Leslie (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:31 PM)

OH MY GOD! SHE IS WORST THAT SADAM HUSSEIN?

NOW SHE IS THREATENING OPEC!

YOU HAVE GOT TO READ THIS...SHE IS INSANE AND SOOOO SCARY!
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0508/Clinton_OPEC_can_no_longer_be_a_cartel.html

MR (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:32 PM)

Well then Obama won't have Michigan and Florida in NOvember and just give the white house back to the GOP. Daschle is an idiot. He knows that if Mi and Fl counts in some way, Hillary wins the popular vote, and cuts into Obama's delegate lead, and especially since most of the superdelegates from Mi and Fl were declared for Clinton.

Joe S. Raleigh, NC (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:32 PM)

I hate the Clintons!

true dem (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:33 PM)

Thanks Tom, I wish those Super Delegates would act Super and act now!

Susan, Cary, NC (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:34 PM)

Thanks Tom, I wish those Super Delegates would act Super and act now!

Susan, Cary, NC (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:34 PM)

To anyone saying they won't vote if their candidate doesn't succeed in the nomination, please remember that in November you can WRITE-IN the name of your preferred choice (HOPEFULLY OBAMA!). Do not sit back in what may be the most important election of this new century! Please write the name of your choice clearly on a piece of paper, take it into the booth to ensure you don't misspell, and excercise your constitutional right.

From now on, please follow the Paul vs Clinton trial. The selling of America at Clinton's bargain prices!

ObamaRican 08

Angel, Keyport, NJ (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:35 PM)

If supers overturn the elected delegates it will meen the end of the Democratic party and this country will be left with a single party system... a Republican system, which will meen the end of this country. Fortunately some people are smart enough to recognize this.

Robert Hussien Harris, Buckeye, AZ (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:36 PM)

How far would she go? Incredible.

Micah (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:37 PM)

Ok, I know y'all like process stuff, but can you please pay attention to the policy disaster that is Hillary Clinton? She's now threatening to break up OPEC.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0508/Clinton_OPEC_can_no_longer_be_a_cartel.html#comments

Now, that's the kind of thing that may sound good (like the gas tax boondoggle), but has really bad consequences. If gas prices by the barrel rise in the next week, it will likely be caused by market instability as a result of her threats. She either really cares less about what actually happens to the American people than she does about getting elected, or she's a policy idiot.

Rainie, Louisville (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:37 PM)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Black-Americans will make it “RAIN MCCAIN” in November ---if the super-delegates DARE DENY Obama the nomination.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Black-Americans will make it “RAIN MCCAIN” in November ---if the super-delegates DARE DENY Obama the nomination.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It will 'RAIN MCCAIN' in November if Obama is Denied.... (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:37 PM)

As an African-American male, if Hilary chooses to use the so-called "Nuclear Option" to win the nomination, not only will I leave the democratic party, I will register as an independent.

And Chuck Todd can you explain to me why you, Chris Matthews and some of his guest lied about how the Chicago news media is being obsessed with airing Rev. Wright here and in parts of Indiana. I live in Chicago and that's not the case. I couldn't believe how easily you and the rest on Hardball today lied with such ease. Are you trying to sway/scare voters in Indiana to vote for Hilary Clint.

This is why people are pissed off with MSM because you can't trust what they're reporting. Give me a call and I set the record straight with what's being reported here. Stop the lying!!!!

Richard, Chicago (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:37 PM)

And that isn't the only 'nuclear option' that would be an absolute disaster. Sen. Clinton's foreign policy ... Had Sen. Obama uttered anything anything in a similar vein regarding Iran as Sen. Clinton has pushed, critics would be coming high and low to call him naive.

I cannot believe how are nation, while in one breath be outraged that other countries pursue nuclear weapons and then in another breath talk about 'obliterating' previously said countries. It is difficult for me to think of a greater tragedy than errantly or whimsically using the 'nuclear option'. The Unitied States is the only country that has used nuclear weapons to kill to this date. And it disappoints me that this thought does not seem to have crossed America's collective.

Sen. Clinton has shown time and time and time again that she is very capable of creating a lot of bad policy. Sen. Obama, though not as much, not as detailed, thinks it over first to come up with smart policy.

Nicholas: Minnesota (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:38 PM)

What if these next two states go so bad for Obama that he needs Mi & Fl? Just asking.

Dave, Tn (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:38 PM)

Why not seat them? If the democrats don't count those votes, they are sure to loose them in the General Election.

Thomas, Louisiana (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:39 PM)

Yeah, there will be a nuclear reaction to the nuclear option. The Clintons will be "Obliterated"!

LOL!

Joy for Obama, Virginia (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:39 PM)

Saying we'll be ticked is putting it midly. We won't be ticked, we'll be Republcans come November.

Wayne Austin TX (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:40 PM)

You know MSBC, I've written at least 20 times over the past two weeks and not one of my comments has made it on your pages. Am I doing something wrong?

Anyway, if this one makes it, I just want to say how ticked I would be and any fair minded person would be to CHANGE the rules so late in the game, rules that Hillary & Co. AGREED upon. I just don't understand how anyone can suggest counting Michigan & Florida when everyone knew from the beginning what the deal was.

Hank, Sanford, FL (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:40 PM)

Tom Daschle, an Obama supporter....

what else can you expect from an Obama supporter.Obamas' supporters are all running scared. they know Obama is at risk of losing the nomination. In August when Hillary gets the nominations the Clinton "friends" will really regret abandoning her.

Patty,sd,ca (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:41 PM)

This proves it. The Clintons aren't Democrats and don't care much about being Americans either. They
belong to the Clintonian Party and are loyal only to the nation of Clintonia. Scorched earth is fine with them. If they can't have it, they are perfectly willing to blow up the party and put McCain in the White House. Who cares how much damage is done as long as HRC getrs another chance in 2012.

These people are toxic and we Dems don't need them for high roller fund-raising anymore. First Dean and now Obama have shown us a better, more democratic way to raise money from ordinary people that gives the grassroots the power to be heard. That's why young people are finally saying "Yes we can". Clinton is trying to show them "No you can't. The insiders will have their way no matter what".

With Clinton, we will lose a generation of formerly apathetic, newly energized voters. The pandering Clintons need to pack up their Karl Rove playbook and go home, back to the past where they belong. If Dems are smart we'll make sure they never have the power to bully the rest of the party, the real Democratic Party, again.

They are a big part of the reason the right has held its stranglehold all these years. From the first Clinton midterm election through Gore and Kerry they have been for the right what Bush has been for ElQaeda; the best rallying point anyone could want.

Older White Female (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:42 PM)

Damn skippy, Senator.

Shel, SLC UT (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:42 PM)

Hillary, and Bill are no more than a couple of terrorists. Their kitchen sink strategy made that crystal clear. They have made a pact to campaign to the death, even as suicide bombers if they have .

PA (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:42 PM)

talk about fear mongering.

Rev. Writght, Chicagoo, IL (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:42 PM)

It will also be an absolute disaster if Clinton wins the nom. But you and the SD's know this already.

OBAMA, 2008!

KJ, Dallas, TX (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:43 PM)

Clinton is a self-serving liar . . . she doesn't care if her personal quest destroys the party

Honestly, her lying is on-par with Bush's

The sooner the SDs grasp that simple fact, the better

Independent in TN (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:43 PM)

You cannot change the rule in the middle of the game. You lose or win you play by the rule. My kids understand this. The rule committee changes the rule to give it to Hillary. We should not cry about other countries election. We should accept Mugabe won the election in Zimbabwe. The world will be saying the same thing. You have one rule for privilege western democracy but for other we will tell you what the rule should be.

Hillary needs to accept defeat in honor wait for another time. After all it was her lose by not managing the company and underestimating Obama.

Long live democracy

abebe washington (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:44 PM)

HRC is a disaster....She is negative, nasty, and spiteful. We need to move on for her. I agree that FL and MI should have been seated, but they didn't follow the rules....Too bad. I think had she not entered this race on the belief that the rest of the candidates were no competition, she would be the nominee right now. SHE CAN"T CLOSE THE DEAL. Why doesn't the media react to that fact? It's a big deal if he can't win certain states. I am fed up and Hillary and Bill have lost my support for their behavior.

Lisa, Ar (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:44 PM)

Hillary is willing to do and/or say anything to win this election even threaten nuclear weapons to "obliterate" Iran. I don't believe she would or at least I hope she wouldn't but this let the American people see that she talks to much and you never know what will come out of her mouth. Just think if she was president and say such stupid things she has said in this campaign. Please post.

Linda (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:44 PM)

abebe, Virigina (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:44 PM)

Hillary and her team can "TRY" this so called "nuclear" plan and I promise YOU (at least from my prespective) African Americans will STAY HOME!! We will march, fight and protest and since we are the most LOYAL voting bloc to the Democratic Party we'll see the outcome in November. So try us Billie Bad Azz. Now if she won or wins striaght up then the hounds won't come out.

Kyle, Charlotte NC (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:45 PM)

That Hillary! She needs to dig deep and find her dignity. I hear Bill's love life is again circulating, maybe that's why the big push to get herself into the White House, before her own preference for women emerges. Can't really blame bubba, he needs love too! Take a risk MSNBC, let the American public know what you're too afraid to tell them.

LJ (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:45 PM)

As a Michigan voter, I agree. "Ticked" is an understatement if this is allowed to happen.

GR Voter, Michigan (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:45 PM)

Come on Tom, Its the Clinton way. Nuke-um and run. Of course she and Bill will try anything to win. And if she doesn't get her way she will just obliterate Michigan and Florida. That will teach them a thing or two.

Obama by 8, NC (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:45 PM)

Disenfranchising two huge states isn't the nuclear option?

Sammy Kerr, Tampa (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:46 PM)

Who has labeled it the "nuclear option"? It definitely seems an apt lable, given what it would do to the Democratic Party. However, don't be to surprised if Hilary uses it. After all, as her recent rhetoric about Iran suggests, she's more than willing to go nuclear.

Obama '08

oaklandish (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:48 PM)

she doesn't care... her and Bill think they own the party

ya know (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:48 PM)

Sen. Clinton can insist on forcing this issue, but cooler heads will prevail. Thank God for the checks and balances in our system of government.

I was pretty comfortable with her being a senator, but now I'm beginning to question her fitness for that job. The Senate is the steadier, more judicious legislative body that balances the free-for-all that goes on in the House. Sen. Clinton is no longer exerting a calm, rational, steady influence over anything...I think she has totally gone off the rails.

This can't be over too soon. Although I am an Obama supporter, it is painful to watch Sen. Clinton self-destruct.

How the mighty have fallen.

Gail, TN (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:48 PM)

Clinton doesn't care, she's only in this for herself.

She doesn't care about the Democratic party, she's only in this for herself.

She doesn't care about voters unless they vote for her, she's only in this for herself.

She doesn't care about the democratic process when she's behind, she's only in this for herself.

I only hope that the party will heal enough to win in November - not everyone who supports Hillary is a racist and not everyone who supports Obama is a sexist.

While we all like one candidate over the other, we all should unite behind one of them in the end, and the one with the most votes and most delegates should move on.

Personal preference on HOW your favorite candidate conducts themselves is a personal matter:

Hillary - Throw out everything from the rules and the kitchen sink, then claim foul when Obama defends himself.

Obama - Get pounded by the kitchen sink and not throw one back at Clinton, aka the high road but appear non-confrontational and unable to hit back.

I personally am offended by Clinton, but I will NOT label her supporters as (fill in the blank). Unlike Clinton herself I do not believe in condemning her supporters for guilt by association.

It's unfortunate that she does and for this reason (and the stupid McCain gas tax idea, and her behaving like a Republican, and putting herself above the country) that I do not like her and will withhold support for her until no other options are available.

Bob in WA (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:48 PM)

Then the supers should make their choice known now and stop whining!! They are part of the cause for this. The longer Hillary stays in the race, the more potential problems it could cause.

Dennis, Los Angeles, CA. (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:49 PM)

The problem is, Hillary cannot and will not cease pandering to the fearfuls of America. She thinks it is easy to trickle many voters because she believes there are plenty of gullible and less intelligent voters who will vote on the basis of fear fed by propaganda.
I cannot wait to see this woman either defeated badly or "allowed" to steal the nomination so that she is badly defeated in November. It is better to really get her off the campaign environment because she is the foster child, by her own actions and words, of divisiveness and fearmongering in American politics.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!

Jerry S. Oakland, CA (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:50 PM)

What in the hell is a "nuclear option" Is everyone crazy? Well yea just let them try it everyone will go crazy.......

sheryl Houston, TX (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:50 PM)

Florida and Michigan need to be seated. The voters in Florida and Michigan may have been ill served by their legislatures or committee members. The actual voters need to be counted in this election or they are likely to be lost to the Democratic party for a long time. It has to happen...maybe Tom Dasche and the Obama supporters want to go back to a 48 star flag...but the rest of the party needs to stand up for all votes counting. Voters protesting outside the DNC to have their voices heard is a travesty.

Kathy Corey, Boston, MA (Sent Monday, May 05, 2008 5:50 PM)

Next >>

SEND A COMMENT

PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the blog, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):

Your name, city and state (John Doe, Seattle, Wash.):

Your e-mail address (jdoe@msnbc.com):

Your website (it's okay if you don't have one):

Remember me? (We'll keep it private) Remember me?

TRACKBACKS

Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do not appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/trackback.aspx?PostID=983419