Terry Mcauliffe | The New York Observer

The Impending, Brief Republican Dawn

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 23:13:13 -0500

In terms of the political strategy they are now pursuing, the national Republican Party can accurately be labeled clueless: blind, shrill opposition to a president with deep personal popularity, reliance on a dated government-is-the-enemy philosophy that voters have roundly rejected as deregulatory excesses have sunk the economy, and unblinking and highly public fealty to a bombastic talk show host who is wildly unpopular with voters outside of the G.O.P.’s conservative base.

This...

New York Bundlers Seek Sub-Cabinet Posts, Obama Rabbi

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:19:56 -0500

With top cabinet posts and senior White House positions filled, the Obama administration's process of appointing influential New York bundlers to coveted sub-cabinet positions is well underway.

But this time around, it's not entirely clear who the well-connected bundlers need to be lobbying for jobs.

Whereas Terry McAuliffe famously served that role for the Clintons, some New York donors say there is not one gatekeeper they can readily identify.

"Everyone has different rabbis," said one...

Unity!

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:04:12 -0400

Ladies and gentlemen: Bill Burton and Terry...

McAuliffe Wants Obama to Stop Talking About the Clintons

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:30:53 -0400

Terry McAuliffe, Hillary Clinton's former campaign chairman, has some harsh words for Barack Obama's campaign.

"You're nominated to be president. It's your campaign. At some point, quit talking about the Clintons and move on," McAuliffe said in an interview with NY1 News, according to a transcript they just emailed. When asked about the placing her name in nomination during the roll call vote, McAuliffe said, "We don't need to go through all the states."...

Notes on a Hillary Concession

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 07:43:19 -0400

Outside, in line, BOILING. 11:22 a.m.

"Lanny, what now?" reporters ask Lanny Davis one by one. "We're going to take the White House" is his talking point today.

And here's a reporter who's been covering Hillary for the whole shebang. What's next for him? "Gonna take a week off."

Inside. There are 10 American flags in the room, six of them on the stage around the podium where she will speak. It's Mark Penn's strategy come at...

On Obama's V-Day, Clinton Loyalists Sell a Different Reality

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:39:49 -0400

So there at the Hillary Clinton event at Baruch College was Lanny Davis, Senator Clinton's old pal from Yale--speaking to reporters, he stressed, as just a private citizen. Barack Obama, he said, "is strong in places where she isn't strong." Also Mr. Davis had called Senator Clinton that morning to tell her he was starting a campaign on a web site, one that would launch at midnight, after the victory speech!

One the web site,...

McAuliffe Calls Ohio (and Texas and Rhode Island) for Clinton

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:57:49 -0500

The official count may not be in, but Terry McAuliffe is ready to call it.

“Let me be crystal clear: Hillary Clinton is not going anywhere,” he told reporters just now at the Clinton watch party here in Columbus. “She’s going to Denver as the nominee.”

“We are going to win three states tonight,” he...

McAuliffe on the Benefits of Self-Loans

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:51:35 -0500

On a conference call just now, Terry McAuliffe and other Clinton campaign officals announced that they had raised more than $35 million in February and that $30 million of that money came from online grass-roots money.

The campaign attributed some of the huge haul to a groundswell of contributions prompted by Clinton’s lending $5 million to her campaign.

“I wish Hillary had loaned $5 million back in January of '07,” he...

McAuliffe Gloats, But Only a Little, About Massachusetts

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:01:04 -0500

“Huge night,” said Terry McAuliffe as he walked out of the ballroom, ticking off the states won by Hillary Clinton. “How about Massachusetts?” he said. When asked if that win represented a measure of revenge against the Kennedys who had endorsed Obama, McAuliffe said, “We don’t get into revenge. We’re not about that. But let’s put it this way -- it was a fun win.”...

McAuliffe on Clinton-Obama Ticket

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:41:49 -0500

Chatter about a possible Clinton-Obama presidential ticket has slowed as attacks betweent he two campaigns have become more frequent.

But during a taping of NY1’s Inside City Hall, Clinton campaign manager Terry McAuliffe complimented Barack Obama and said, when host Dominic Carter asked if it would be a good idea to put Obama on a Clinton ticket, “Sure it would be, absolutely. How could you deny consideration of someone who has excited so...

Pre-Super-Tuesday Mark Penn Versus Pre-New Hampshire Terry McAuliffe

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:40:03 -0500

Hillary Clinton’s top strategist Mark Penn said today, “The search for delegates, I think, is going to go straight through to the convention,” a shift from the once-commonly held notion that a nominee would be known after New York, California and 20 other states holding Democratic primaries on February 5.

On a conference call with reporters this afternoon, Penn was asked what benchmarks the campaign hoped to achieve.

“Again, I think it’s...

Surrogates Market Hillary's Emotion: Lots of 'Warmth' and 'Voice'

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:54:09 -0500

Over the course of a conference call with Howard Wolfson, Terry McAuliffe and a number of high-profile Hillary Clinton supporters, some variation of the phrase "found her voice in New Hampshire" was used at least six times.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez said it first, but it was repeated by McAuliffe, Wolfson and Washington State Senator Maria Cantwell. From Chuck Schumer we heard that Hillary is "in touch with what people need and...

McAuliffe Revels in 'Money and Congratulations'

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 22:47:32 -0500

Terry McAuliffe was talking with reporters when the AP and NBC called the race for Hillary Clinton. “This is a big, big win for us tonight,” he said, calling the win “another Clinton comeback.” “I think Hillary really found her voice here and people saw here the real Hillary Clinton,” he said. When asked if her emotional moment in a Portsmouth coffee shop yesterday had any impact on the result, he said, “Sure it did,...

McAuliffe Makes the Feb. 5 Argument

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 17:15:22 -0500

Terry McAuliffe, one of Hillary Clinton’s biggest fund-raisers and the former chair of the D.N.C., just repeated his belief, and the campaign’s new talking point, that the nominating process will be decided on Feb. 5.

“I think this thing will finally be over on Feb 5,” he said on a conference call, referring to Super Duper Tuesday. “One huge advantage we have at the Clinton campaign is that from day one we were going to...

McAuliffe Guarantees Victory

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:36:28 -0500

On a phone call with reporters just now, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said, “We’re excited about where we are.”

He went on to say, “Listen, Hillary is going to be the nominee. There‘s no question. I feel stronger about that today than I have ever before.” ...

The Power of Terry McAuliffe

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:54:41 -0400

Here's Columbia student Alice Mottola reacting to a speech by Terry McAuliffe to her class last week: "When he came in here, I didn’t really like him, but by the end, I wanted to and had to try not...

The Rev. Al Moderates

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:15:20 -0400

Al Sharpton is taking over for Chris Matthews as host of Hardball on MSBC tonight, a spokesman for Sharpton just announced via email. The guests for tonight's show include Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe, and Democratic National Committee Chairman, Howard Dean. Since Dean's entire tenure at the DNC has been a not-so-subtle of repudiation of McAuliffe's chairmanship, there'll be ample opportunity for some super-insider vituperation. Good thing the Rev. Al's there to exercise...

Private Sector Republicans for Hillary

Thu, 10 May 2007 10:02:10 -0400

Hillary Clinton had a small fund-raiser at the 57th Street and 8th Avenue home of Mike DelGuidice last night that featured a number of big Democratic names: Bill Clinton, Terry McAulliffe, former New Jersey Governor Jim Florio and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, among others.

There were also at least two Republicans.

One was Clarence D. “Rapp” Rappleyea, the former Assembly Minority Leader who was right-leaning enough to be dubbed...

Elsewhere: Bloomberg, Giuliani, Bruno

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 12:00:00 -0400

Terry McAuliffe explains what 'in it to win it' has meant for fund-raising. There's more campaign cash going around this cycle than previous ones probably because of rising economic inequality, not the Internet, says Ben. Mitt Romney raised more money that Rudy Giuliani Gail Robinson thinks "one clear loser" in the state budget this year was "open government." Joe Bruno is gloating about how he fared. John Catsimatidis is registering as a Republican Howard...

Elsewhere: Hillary, Spitzer, Gordon

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:00:00 -0400

Republican Senators from Long Island aren't impressed with Eliot Spitzer's budget modifications. Hillary Clinton set expectations pretty high in Iowa, and Terry McAuliffe explained why she moved up her Presidential announcement. Here's a campaign video from John McCain's trip to New Hampshire. Indicted Assemblywoman Diane Gordon is having a fund-raiser on May 3. Lew Fidler is pushing an anti-congestion pricing resolution, reports Aaron Naparstek. A new murder mystery video game is set entirely in the Canal Street station. Say good-bye...

Another Easy Half-Million for Hillary

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 12:00:00 -0400

Hassan Nemazee, the Democratic bundler chairing tonight's Hillary Clinton fund-raiser (featuring Bill) just told me that the event has raised $500,000 for the Senator's presidential campaign. Nemazee, whose co-chairs tonight include the prominent fund-raisers Robert Zimmerman and Steve Robert, said that former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe called asking him to put the event together only two weeks ago. About 100 people are expected to show at the event, each maxing out at $4,600....

Angry Data Nerds Rain on Democratic Parade

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 20:00:00 -0400

While many Democratic activists and fund-raisers are in an almost celebratory mood at the prospect of taking one or both houses of Congress in next month’s election, the professionals charged with the behind-the-scenes mobilizing and deploying of the party’s vast voter database are troubled. The problem lies, specifically, within the geeky subculture of Democratic get-out-the-vote strategists and data managers—the guardians of the voter information that has become the lifeblood of recent elections. Just as...

Strolling into the Sunset

Fri, 21 Oct 2005 14:30:00 -0400

Want to make your weekend a wonkend? I'll leave you with this Blog Stroll... Over at Power Plays, Tom Robbins notes that a certain new Dem chieftain can't bring himself to say Freddy's name. I'll give you a hint: he's a Brooklyner, and his first name rhymes with "neat-o." Team Kos takes a look at third-quarter recruitment and fundraising. Casts it as Chuck vs. Libby Dole, cheers wildly. "Sometimes the gods of Washington gossip-mongering...

View from the Lawn: The Stars, the Son, The Suicide Bomber

Sun, 04 Apr 2004 20:00:00 -0400

It's spring, and your diarist finds himself in a mood that is not so much bewitched as bothered, and bewildered.

I turn on the TV set and see the would-be Palestinian suicide bomber-all of 16 years old-shirtless and frightened, cowering in his underpants outside an Israeli checkpoint on the West Bank. His face is lit by sunlight, but I'm thinking about a darkened, dank room 20 minutes earlier. What kind of coward sends a child...

It's Boss Terry: McAuliffe Money Rules the Party

Sun, 07 Mar 2004 19:00:00 -0500

It was March 2-Super Tuesday-and John Kerry was in the process of nailing down the Democratic nomination for President. And no sooner had Mr. Kerry emerged from his huge victory, having burned through millions of dollars, than the Bush-Cheney campaign announced the launch of its first major television ad campaign.

For a certain Democratic Party chairman, it's all happening right on time. "I've been saying this for three years!" said Terry McAuliffe, the oft-maligned head...

Gore's Absence Spurs His Foes As Boss Chafes

Sun, 04 Aug 2002 20:00:00 -0400

Like horses being led to the post parade at Saratoga, a string of Democratic Presidential hopefuls gathered in the Hilton New York on July 28 to 30 to try out the themes and styles they may use in the 2004 campaign. But the three-day event also revealed a series of divisions between the conference participants, party chairman Terry McAuliffe and former Vice President Al Gore over how best to reap political gain from the...

Clinton's Golf War: Bill Skips Tee Time With Silver Rival

Sun, 10 Sep 2000 20:00:00 -0400

Don't blame Chelsea-at least not entirely.

When President Bill Clinton and Hillary-as she is now, Cher-like, known-suddenly shortened the long Labor Day weekend that they were going to spend vacationing upstate, the official reason given was that their daughter was "under the weather." Indeed, it is entirely plausible that the First Daughter was, after all her globe-trotting of late, exactly so, and that her parents would rather have spent Sunday with her at the...