This one will leave you silent. More on the Clinton/Obama South Dakota Connection
You might have noted that I just wrote on the real reason why David Geffen switched over to Barack Obama from being a Hillary Clinton supporter and it involving Leonard Peltier:
Yes, it's the tale of Bill Clinton's not pardoning Leonard Peltier after being convinced by Governor Janklow. But it's more than that. It's the tale in the former Governor's own words. In his own voice.
I didn't know this existed out there on the internet available to hear. But it is. Public Television had this archived at http://lightning.state.sd.us:8080/ramgen/2.1legislature/press/gov2201.rm. (And through the magic of software, I converted the Real Media file and clipped it down).
As you'll hear, at the February 1, 2001 press conference, there were people there aside from the normal media. Governor Janklow asked who the students were in attendance, and they were journalism students from SF Washington. He invited their questions, and the first question was essentially whether Janklow would support a reconsideration of Clinton's denial of clemency should the newly elected Bush review the case.
No one had ever asked the Governor about Clinton's last minute denial in the final hours of his administration. And you might hear that he hesitated for a moment. And then he told the story of his trip to DC to meet with Clinton, and why Leonard Peltier deserves every minute of his jail term.
It's supremely powerful stuff. If you want to hear 10 minutes from South Dakota history as it's being replayed today on the national scene in the new presidential contest, it's well worth your time.
Listen to Governor Janklow tell the tale why he talked President Clinton out of Pardoning Leonard Peltier.
Given all of this; if the tipping point for David Geffen's support on the Clinton's was the withdrawal of support for executive clemency for Leonard Peltier, it's legitimate to ask if a promise has been extracted from the Obama people that he will pardon Leonard Peltier in exchange for Geffen's support.
That's the question the media should be asking.
Check out this ABC news report as to the real reason why David Geffen switched over to Barack Obama from being a Hillary Clinton supporter - it's all about Leonard Peltier, who many years ago in South Dakota murdered two FBI agents in cold blood:It came up at dinner tonight with one person noting that they also knew of the story. And when I got home, I had another reader who pointed me to a retelling of the tale. But it wasn't just a re-telling of the tale by a bystander.The sharpest political snipes among the Democratic 2008 presidential hopefuls can be traced beyond media mogul David Geffen to a jailed man named Leonard Peltier.Actually, it's also my understanding that former Governor Bill Janklow deserves significant credit at keeping this cop killer in jail. The story goes that Bill Clinton was going to do it until Janklow personally spent some time with him, showing him the file of how Peltier gunned down these agents, leaving widows and fatherless children in his wake.Peltier, convicted of murder in 1977 for allegedly gunning down a pair of FBI agents in a shootout at South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, was one of the primary reasons cited by media mogul David Geffen for jumping ship from New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign in favor of fellow Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.
Read it all here.
Yes, it's the tale of Bill Clinton's not pardoning Leonard Peltier after being convinced by Governor Janklow. But it's more than that. It's the tale in the former Governor's own words. In his own voice.
I didn't know this existed out there on the internet available to hear. But it is. Public Television had this archived at http://lightning.state.sd.us:8080/ramgen/2.1legislature/press/gov2201.rm. (And through the magic of software, I converted the Real Media file and clipped it down).
As you'll hear, at the February 1, 2001 press conference, there were people there aside from the normal media. Governor Janklow asked who the students were in attendance, and they were journalism students from SF Washington. He invited their questions, and the first question was essentially whether Janklow would support a reconsideration of Clinton's denial of clemency should the newly elected Bush review the case.
No one had ever asked the Governor about Clinton's last minute denial in the final hours of his administration. And you might hear that he hesitated for a moment. And then he told the story of his trip to DC to meet with Clinton, and why Leonard Peltier deserves every minute of his jail term.
It's supremely powerful stuff. If you want to hear 10 minutes from South Dakota history as it's being replayed today on the national scene in the new presidential contest, it's well worth your time.
Listen to Governor Janklow tell the tale why he talked President Clinton out of Pardoning Leonard Peltier.
Given all of this; if the tipping point for David Geffen's support on the Clinton's was the withdrawal of support for executive clemency for Leonard Peltier, it's legitimate to ask if a promise has been extracted from the Obama people that he will pardon Leonard Peltier in exchange for Geffen's support.
That's the question the media should be asking.
Comments
You are Super!!
I am for Obama!!
No self-defense, no defending home and property. It was murder of an officer, pure and simple. I don't know if Janklow had the impact on Clinton or not, I do know the FBI has openly made a point of presenting the evidence on a regular basis to any public official who speaks up on behalf of Peltier.
They will never forget and never rest pursuing justice for their agents.
Anyway, there are problems for all politicians who think they must get money from Hollywood types or buy blogger's pathetic support for them.
Some of the FBI practices just plain stink, but from my recollection when this issue turned up a few years ago, the idea that Peltier, et al were framed seemed an awful lot like BS and I have never seen much reason for liberals to get involved. I think it has more to do with Hollywood myths of the noble savage instead of clear rational thought associated with unambiguous facts.
He also noted that he thinks Hillary is being irresponsible for not taking responsibility for her vote on the war. Geffen is a big money lefty and is going to pick a candidate. He seems much more exorcised about the war, and I doubt that he cut some sort of deal about Peltier.
Additionally, I notice all of the talk about Janklow here, but your readers should remember that Daschle also talked to Clinton about the Peltier pardon and told him not to do it. According to an AP article you can find on google - Daschle said, "I'm opposed to a pardon of Leonard Peltier and have always been opposed. That is what I shared with him. I believe the law enforcement agencies ... and the accounts they provided about what happened and how it happened. I believe that is a matter well documented."
According to numerous reports, Clinton talked to both Janklow and Daschle before making his decision