I do not want to disabuse anyone of the notion that Clinton is hardly an echt leftist. But she is certainly not the first to reject public financing! (And this is certainly not the first outright stupid claim by The Note.)
John Connally was the first to opt out, in 1980. (All of his private money got him a one-delegate delegation.) Since then, Steve Forbes in 1996 refused public financing in the primary. In 2000, Dubya refused it, and in 2004, Dean, Kerry and Bush all opted out of the system during the primaries. All three of them had no trouble raising or spending money in 2004.
--tim francis-wright