CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
– POLITICS
Aug. 25, 2008 – 5:02 p.m.
Healing Clinton-Obama Rift Not Just About Bruised Feelings
By Coral Davenport, CQ Staff
Every interest group with ties to the Democratic party is holding events in Denver this week: there are breakfasts, lunches, dinners, cocktail hours, symposiums, bowling parties and dance-offs sponsored by labor groups, environmentalists, health care advocates, and just about any other cause you can imagine.
But one set of interests is clearly dominating the social schedule: women. There are over 20 high-profile events and parties this week celebrating women: the “Women’s Equalitea” sponsored by the Feminist Majority; today’s DNCC Symposium on Unconventional Women; a host of events sponsored by the powerful pro-choice political action committee EMILY’s List (including a gala to honor - all at the same time - Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi . Awkward!).
And these are just a sprinkling of the estrogen-themed events dominating this week’s calendar. That’s compared to a grand total of three events celebrating another traditional Democratic constituency: blacks.
Anything strike you as odd here?
It’s not hard to parse what’s going on, especially if you take a closer look at some of the groups sponsoring these events. Like the Tuesday event honoring Sen. Hillary Clinton, sponsored by the political action committee Women Count, which formed in the waning days of the primary election to encourage Hillary to stay in the race.
A key theme at this convention is healing the rift between Obama and Hillary - and her supporters. The wager seems to be that putting women front and center at the convention could help assuage the bitterness these voters feel at the lack of a female candidate. But at play are not just bitter women and bruised feelings: women’s groups are powerful fundraisers.
Together, EMILY’s List, the Feminist Majority, the NARAL political action committee, the NOW political action committee, Planned Parenthood and Women Count have raised over $27.5 million for Democratic candidates thus far in the election cycle.
And while most of that money has been given out, some Hillary supporters are still sitting on some significant funds - combined, those groups have nearly $1 million cash on hand that has yet to be given to the candidate of their choice.
This story originally appeared on CQ’s Being There blog. CQ Moneyline staffer Emily Cadei contributed to this report.
Comments
Everyone's in denial that Hillary voters are going to cast our votes for McCain. That's why Obama's lead has narrowed to 1 point and the latest Zogby poll shows McCain ahead at 5 points. Obama is chasing after rightwing evangelical votes while he's ignoring party unity and 18 million votes at his feet, 4.5 million who will vote for McCain now that Obama doesn't choose Hillary. She got 18 millions votes and Obama is not making her his Vice President?!!! You have got to be kidding me. If she were a man Obama would make him his Vice President. Hillary's mistake is that she is a woman, plain and simple. I have to laugh at Obama's "fight the smears and spread the truth" message whatta CROCK! To say that Hillary does not fit Obama's message of change is a Damn Lie AND Obama knows it. To worry about Bill Clinton as baggage is absurd. Hillary can handle Bill, he has never interfered in her Senate position. She has an exemplary 6 year record of working both sides of the isle. Obama isn't man enough to pick her. He's too insecure. 18 MILLION VOTERS JUST LIKE US! Obama won't be needing a Vice President. I look forward to his defeat in November for not picking Hillary for VP. NoHillary NoBambi/Obysmal - Liberal for McCain 2008 This is a gender bias issue that must be confronted in this election now. Obama wants to be History's first black President yet he denies the rightful Vice President to be the first woman to hold the office. 18 million voters just like us! Payback's gonna hurt! McCain is the better man. Obama got his house 3 interest points below the going rate for the rest of us, in a sweet-heart no down deal with a convicted felon. Obama is an elitist who thinks he's entitled to getting a deal over the rest of us. McCain acquired his property fair and square and Obama has the audacity to point fingers at McCain. If you're an Obama supporter your candidate is a dishonest elitist. Watch him now, so arrogant, pointing his finger stabbing the air barking his speeches and pounding it into the podium demanding we vote for him and insisting that he has already one. He looks and acts just like Hitler. Thank God we will defeat him, he's a bragger and a loose cannon with no experience.
I'm thrilled that Senator Clinton is addressing the Dem Convention on the anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment. It is a great way to honor her candidacy, AND the extraordinary courage of the suffragettes. It will inspire her supporters to stand by her -- by supporting the candidate she endorses. Thanks to the success of the suffragettes, women now have voices and choices! But most people are totally in the dark about HOW the suffragettes won, and what life was REALLY like for women before they did. Now readers can discover the shocking truth, and it's as easy as opening their e-mail. "The Privilege of Voting" is a new free e-mail series that follows eight great women from 1912 - 1920 to reveal ALL that happened to set the stage for women to win the vote. This is no boring history report. Two beautiful and extremely powerful suffragettes -- Alice Paul and Emmeline Pankhurst are featured, along with Edith Wharton, Isadora Duncan, Alice Roosevelt and two gorgeous presidential mistresses. There are tons of heartache for these heroines on the rocky road to the ballot box, but in the end, they WIN! Exciting sequential series of 10-minute e-mails, perfect for coffeebreaks or anytime. We're delivering women's history - and making it free, fast and FUN! Subscribe free at www.CoffeebreakReaders.com/subscribe.html
POST A COMMENT
Oops! The following errors must be addressed: