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As Hillary Clinton fades, old slights surface

May 18, 2008

By Susan Milligan

WASHINGTON - When Democratic superdelegate Jim Cooper, a Tennessee congressman, pondered the choice between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, his thoughts wandered back to 1993. That year, Clinton was trying to change the nation's health system, and Cooper, a moderate Democrat, had a bipartisan healthcare bill of his own that, unlike Clinton's proposal, did not require employers to provide health coverage.

The president's wife, Cooper recalled, was determined to stop her fellow Democrat. "She set up a war room in the White House to defeat me," he said.

Like many superdelegates, Cooper insists that his endorsement of Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination was driven by Obama's inspiring message. But the Tennessee lawmaker's past disputes with Clinton and her husband certainly made the decision easier.

For Clinton, holding one of the most famous names in Democratic politics has had both advantages and disadvantages as she has sought to persuade superdelegates to make her the nominee. Much of the Democratic establishment jumped to Clinton's side early, rewarding her and her husband for years of friendship and shared political struggles, giving the New York senator a large lead in superdelegates at the beginning of the campaign.

But the reality of the Clintons' relationship with fellow Democrats was always more complicated. As even some Clinton supporters concede, there are many superdelegates who have had issues with the Clintons. And now, when the New York senator most needs the loyalties of her Democratic colleagues, the checkered history of relations between the Clintons and Democratic officials is making the task tougher, say lawmakers and political analysts.

"The Clintons have a lot of enemies, even in the same Democratic establishment that embraced them," said Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. "Now that it looks like she's done . . . there's not a lot of reason [for them] to stick their necks out for her."

While Bill Clinton launched an upstart campaign in 1992 with his loyal team of FOBs, Friends of Bill, Senator Clinton is now dealing with the fallout from years of disagreements and perceived slights lawmakers have felt over the years.

"This is part of the problem with being in politics for so long: You not only make friends; you make enemies," said Jon Delano, a political analyst at Carnegie Mellon University.

Some superdelegates who have past grievances against the Clintons and have endorsed Obama or remain undeclared insist that they made their decisions irrespective of past issues with the Clintons; Obama supporters insist theirs are pro-Obama votes and not anti-Clinton statements, while those who have yet to announce a decision say they want the primary season to play out first.

But privately, some members of Congress said the Clintons' history on Capitol Hill has hurt them in their time of need. Cooper, whose history with Clinton was described in a book years ago, said he was worried when the matter was revived in a newspaper column in February that his Democratic colleagues would chastise him for criticizing one of the party's leading contenders.

"Instead, I was treated to a hero's reception out there," Cooper said, gesturing toward the House chamber. "People from all over said, 'I'm so glad you told that story about Hillary. She did the same thing to me' . . . on education or some other issue," Cooper said.

Clinton's backers are quick to cite episodes in which she was an enormous help, either on a personal or a professional level. Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers, recalled how the busy New York senator took the time to call to check on an ailing family member.

US Representative Joseph Crowley, Democrat of New York, recalled Clinton's kindness to his father and how she once interceded to protect Irish activists who faced deportation and certain danger if they were forced to leave.

But others point to a list of leading Democrats who have had run-ins with one or both of the Clintons and have either not endorsed her or have backed her opponent.

They include Senator Robert Casey Jr., a Pennsylvania Democrat whose father, Governor Robert Casey of Pennsylvania, was prevented from speaking at the 1992 Democratic National Convention after a dispute with Bill Clinton over abortion. The elder Casey said at the time that he was being punished for his antiabortion stance, but he also refused to endorse the Clinton-Gore ticket at the time.

Former vice president Al Gore, who sometimes sparred with the president's wife during the Clinton administration, has remained silent.

Senator John F. Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat whom Hillary Clinton criticized after he made a botched joke about Bush that was perceived as an attack on US troops in Iraq, has endorsed Obama.

Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat who disagreed with Hillary Clinton on healthcare changes when he was Nebraska governor and her husband was in the White House, has endorsed Obama.

Representative Niki Tsongas, a Lowell Democrat whose late husband, former senator Paul Tsongas, endured negative attacks by Bill Clinton in the 1992 campaign, has not yet endorsed a candidate.

"The past doesn't matter," Tsongas said of her husband's 1992 experience. "I don't think about that anymore."

Nelson, too, said that it was Obama's message, not prior issues with Clinton, that led him to endorse the Illinois senator.

But others find it difficult to believe that past disputes with the Clintons are not weighing on the superdelegates' minds.

G. Terry Madonna - director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. - said the Clintons have "worn out their welcome" among many superdelegates, in part because of old grievances ranging from personal squabbles to broader issues such as the impeachment fight.

"I do think there's some score-settling on this," Madonna said. "Politics is a very personal activity. It's not easy to remove the personal side of decision-making when it comes to a candidate."

Now that Clinton's chances for the nomination are dimming, party insiders are feeling freer to criticize Clinton and her husband. But Democrats must also be cautious in how they treat the couple, said Charles Manning, a GOP consultant based in Massachusetts.

If Obama sews up the nomination, he will need both Clintons to help heal wounds among some female voters and others who had worked so hard for Clinton's historic candidacy, Manning said.

"There almost seems to be a glee among a lot of people to throw Bill and Hillary Clinton overboard," Manning said. "My guess is [the Clintons] are going to have long memories about this."

Source:  Boston Globe

Posted by Hillary · Filed Under Hillary Clinton, Hillary Lies, News, Top Story 

Comments

One Response to “As Hillary Clinton fades, old slights surface”

  1. Peggy McGilligan on June 18th, 2008 8:52 pm

    Barbara Olson wrote the book on Hillary Clinton, HELL TO PAY. She was hot on the trail of California Congressman Gary Condit, who was under suspicion in the disappearance of his intern & love interest, Chandra Levy. Two months after Chandra vanished, Condit had been interdicted while secreting a zippered Tag Heuer wristwatch container in an Old Town, Alexandria, VA, Safeway store dumpster. A fifteen-foot brick wall surrounds that trash receptacle. The Safeway at 500 S. Royal St. is also located about six miles one-way from Condit’s then Washington, DC, address; but only three blocks from James Carville’s residence. Barbara Olson was Los Angeles bound, aboard American Airlines Flight 77, as a guest on Bill Maher’s popular TV show, Politically Incorrect. Flight 77 was hijacked and flown into the Pentagon. Date: September 11, 2001. Chandra Levy’s remains were found May 22, 2002 in Rock Creek Park. Gary Condit kept his seat on the Intelligence Committee, but later lost his bid for re-election.

    The Huffington Post / 09-01-07: “Since the Dem debate a few days ago a lot of people have understandably been taking shots at Tim Russert for his often small-minded ‘gotcha’ questions and his constant references to Bill Clinton. Some Hillary backers are seething about Russert; indeed, in a conference call with big donors, Hillary pollster Mark Penn and other supporters repeatedly griped about Russert’s approach, with one supporter saying that he ‘should be shot.’ It’s worth noting, however, that there’s a long history here. Russert has been trying to catch out Hillary with ‘gotcha’ questions about Bill and other things for years now – in fact, his efforts to do this date all the way back to Hillary’s first Senate campaign in 2000. And then, as now, the Hillary folks were mighty pissed off with him. The bad blood goes way back:” http://theseedsof9-11.com

    Dead Drop: Prearranged hidden location for depositing and picking up messages and money in a clandestine manner, without the parties involved being present at the same time. According to Gary Condit a female admirer gave him the timepiece. Gary crossed the Potomac River from DC to Virginia to dispose of the container, yet kept the watch. In 2006, Carville began hosting a weekly radio program 60/20 Sports, with Luke Russert, son of the late Tim Russert. Too much cross-pollination? Russert is survived by his wife Maureen Orth, a writer for Vanity Fair magazine (recent Clinton article), and by their son. In 2008, Carville and wife Mary Matalin moved to New Orleans. “Who would have thought I’d have the opportunity to be in my home state in my favorite city with exciting things happening,” says James.

    “The Clinton years might seem like a long national nightmare of scandal, sleaze, and ruthless acquisition of power. Hillary herself is the link from the excesses of the Watergate staff, to the Whitewater fiasco, to the abuses of executive power, to the defense of her husband’s perjury and obstruction of justice. But now it is Hillary’s turn. The Clinton era is far from over and Hillary’s ambitions far from satisfied,” wrote Barbara Olson. Make no mistake, during her suspended campaign; Hillary Clinton is redoubling her efforts, removing obstacles, paving the way for her comeback. “I’ll be back.” To quote Bill Clinton, “It ought to make the bells go off in your head.”

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