NEWSWEEK: The End of Inevitability

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17995773/site/newsweek/

The End of Inevitability
The Clinton camp pressed donors to give only to Hillary. Then the strategy backfired.

By Richard Wolffe
Newsweek

April 16, 2007 issue - There's a turncoat inside Hillary Clinton's money machine. Over the past several years, Leonore Blitz has helped raise about $250,000 for Clinton's Senate races, and she signed up early to help the new presidential campaign. But in recent weeks the Manhattan marketing consultant has secretly attended finance meetings and fund-raisers for Clinton's archrival, Barack Obama. Under intense pressure from the Clinton team to pick sides, Blitz—who bundled more than $1 million for John Kerry in 2004—felt deeply conflicted. Clinton operatives have warned donors not to contribute to other campaigns, and put a price on disloyalty: early supporters will be valued and latecomers scorned. But now Blitz is coming out of the shadows, ready to test the rules. "I have been a lifelong advocate of women and minorities' participating and running for political office," she told NEWSWEEK last week. "Therefore, I'm supporting both Clinton and Obama."

The Clinton campaign denies that it has strong-armed anyone, saying the warnings were made in jest. But whatever tactics Clinton is using, she cannot be happy about how they're working. Clinton operatives had described March 31, the reporting deadline for initial fund-raising, as "the first primary." Their aim was to knock out weaker rivals and reinforce Clinton's aura of invincibility. As it happened, Obama won the money contest with $23.5 million for the primaries, while Clinton raised an estimated $20 million. (The remainder of Clinton's cash—an additional $16 million—is either destined for the general election or was carried over from her Senate race last year.) Clinton attracted half the number of donors that Obama recruited, despite the Illinois senator's late start in mid-January. Online fund-raisers contributed about a third less to Clinton than to Obama, giving her $4.2 million, compared with his $6.9 million.

What happened to the Clinton juggernaut? The answer lies partly in her go-for-broke strategy. There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and for some fund-raisers the Clinton team crossed it. "They clearly communicated a message that this candidacy is inevitable because we'll have more experienced consultants, more political insiders, more money and more of every resource that is vital to being nominated," says a prominent New York donor who joined the Obama camp but declined to be named to protect friendships with Clinton supporters. "Therefore, you are politically stupid if you don't get it, if you can't add."

Big donors to any campaign are keenly interested in what their money gets them. Newcomers to Clinton's orbit don't expect to have much influence or access. So they have fewer reasons to call on wealthy friends for more cash. "That tent seemed pretty much full," says Howard Gutman, a D.C. lawyer who was part of the small team that raised $10 million for Mark Warner's abort-ed presidential effort. Several campaigns courted Gutman, but he chose Obama over Clinton. "I could raise money from now to eternity and not really be on the radar screen. And the Obama camp seemed to offer more upside in terms of personal fun for the next year and change for the country for the future." In that way, the start-up feel of the Obama campaign—even with its lack of manpower and experience—is a selling point for some donors. "The fact that this is new and people are having their input and also having a voice in the process is all part of the attraction," says Penny Pritzker, Obama's national finance chair. (The campaign has mirrored that on its Web site, asking supporters to contribute policy ideas.)

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For Hillary AND Rove/Cheney/Bush

Repeatedly... so often that everybody got the message. It's not like this is the only person that received that warning. It's sad to think that the Clinton campaign (and, by extension, Hillary Clinton) actually believe that such a childish excuse would ever fly. "I was just kidding. It was a joke!" I haven't heard that one since I was in grade school.

:eyes:

when "friends of Hillary" were pushing me for donations.
I live in California and to capture the house and senate
they were asking me for donations for Hillary.

Man that pissed me off.

Dear gawd we need Al gore to run, to kick the hell out of these people.

Last week Bill shows up at a health club (wealthy) walks into a spinning class, and Hillaring the spinning class to death,
They ended out writing out a total of $75,000 I think.

And people are advocating for these people!

Trading one Dictator for another....

meme while ignoring the candidates that really speak for us.

nothing could even come close to Junior, except perhaps, his daddy or Darth.

--- Saturday Night Live just trashed Hillary in their opening segment last night,.. and they did so in a manner that seems consistent with the portrait Wolffe paints. These impressions add up in the public consciousness.

it seems the timing makes sense.

Is Hillary your candidate?

doesn't sit right with me, it the same as if that other bush was to run for president. it's like we have a freakin kingdom instead of a democracy. and if you're wondering I'm not a big fan of obama running either, not enough experience.

Great line.