Posted on 03/10/2004 2:17:29 PM PST by Liz
Sunday, December 7, 2003
Dateline DC: Hillary's road to Boston
Politically speaking, this past Thanksgiving Day could be momentous for all of us. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., was shown on hundreds of television stations across the globe visiting the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Iraq. Not only does it earn her the award for being the Queen of Keen, but also the opinion of a veteran analyst of past presidential elections. "If anybody now believes that she won't run for the White House next year they are out of their minds! That woman would not have taken the risks of being in Kabul or Baghdad, unless she was desperate for votes."
Right away, without a further thought to the holiday, a start was made on thinking through why and how Hillary would even begin to think that her trip to insurgency-ridden areas of the world would be remembered next November when we go to the polls.
The answer is money, and lots of money spent early, long before a candidate says, "Hey, vote for me!" The Hillary trick will be to use every possible wile and whim to reduce President George Bush's job approval ratings in the polls. And that takes imagination, money and a massive organization.
EMILY's list
The strength in Hillary's campaign comes from a very political lady, Ellen R. Malcolm, who was the founder, in 1985, of the aptly named EMILY's List. This acronym tells us what we need to know: "Early Money is Like Yeast." Malcolm cheerfully explains, "It makes the dough rise!"
In its 18 years of life, EMILY-supported women candidates have won 42 seats in the House of Representatives, six U.S. Senate seats and three governor's mansions. EMILY claims U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski, Dianne Feinstein, Patty Murray, Mary Landrieu and a score of congressional people. The list has about 73,000 members and in 2003 raised $23 million. But don't be surprised to find that every one of these ladies is of the Democrat persuasion; after all, Ellen Malcolm is one of the grande dames of that party.
In the early 1970s, Ellen, too young then to know better, worked at Common Cause and was later rewarded by President Jimmy Carter with a job in the White House in its consumer-affairs office. When Jimmy went back to his peanuts, EMILY took over Ms. Malcolm, who coined the phrase "Don't get mad! Get elected!"
Soros and ACT
Which brings us to a new pro-Hillary group that is doing just what she wants -- attacking George Bush, and attempting to diminish his lead in the polls. This new group, America Coming Together, or ACT, is led by the one and only Ellen Malcolm. And she has help beyond the expectations of a political fund-raiser. Rallying around the Anyone but Bush cause is billionaire financier George Soros and his good friend Peter Lewis, chairman of the board of the Progressive Corporation. They each gave $10 million. Other contributions in the millions of dollars came from liberal and Left groupies, such as Lewis and Dorothy Cullman; Robbie McKay, a big name in the "motor-voter" campaigns; and Patricia Bauman, who is still hankering after a job in the environmental protection world.
ACT is well on its way to filling a $75 million campaign chest when it will begin to use the money in 17 states in the largest field operation that has ever been seen in America. It's a Democrat's dream campaign, stirring up voters on what they claim to be bread-and-butter issues that voters care about.
ACT's planners are almost as interesting as their money people, with many of them coming from the AFL-CIO and the Clinton White House. The manager of their political program and chief executive officer is Steve Rosenthal, who managed the political programs of the AFL-CIO for the past seven years. He is joined by the Sierra Club Director, Carl Pope; Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union; and Gina Glanz, who was once a campaign manager for Bill Bradley.
Then, to top off this array of talent, we have Bill Clinton, Hillary, and their legal genius, Harold Ickes.
But money is all important and these Democrats appear to have cornered the market. There is a new tax-exempt foundation in the District of Columbia, the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation. It has been busy creating an infrastructure for the treatment of HIV/AIDS cases, has just consummated a major deal with drug companies in India, and has received a $3 million grant from George Soros, plus undisclosed sums from computer king Bill Gates.
Next on the hand-out list is Clinton's former chief of staff John Podesta, who now is running a Washington public affairs company, teaching at Georgetown University Law Center and running a vicious anti-Bush Internet lobbying group, MoveOn.Org, which has a membership list of 1.8 million people. Despite these clowns being able to raise some $7 million in a few days from his own many financial connections, Podesta was happy to receive $2.5 million and change from Soros.
The real skinny
So what is really happening?
Before Hillary Clinton can run for the presidency, she has to be asked. Possibly, rank-and-file Democrats gathered at the convention in July will seek to resolve a Howard Dean/Wesley Clark squabble by nominating the senator from New York as their standard-bearer. However, what if the Democratic National Committee suddenly became brave, and in realizing that adopting Hillary was certain death, said "no money"?
Do you really believe that Hillary would give up? No way! She could point to ACT, to MoveOn.org and the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation. Can't you hear her saying, "Harold Ickes says that this money was intended for my presidential campaign"?
And the campaign express would leave the station, with George Soros, Bill Gates, Peter Lewis and hundreds of suburban middle-class baby boomers hanging onto every carriage.
Why are they there? Because they see the political triumphs of George Bush as signs of an impending disaster; they want a nanny government to care for them, and a vote for Hillary will mean that they are "thinking people," who are still progressive.
Like George Soros.
Dateline D.C. is written by a Washington-based British journalist and political observer.
Anyone buy this? I hope not.
No Clinton-linked group
should contain the word "coming"
right in its title . . .
Then Ellen RATner appears on Fox News and says because of this "Hillary is arguably the biggest Hawk on Iraq in the Senate." I couldn't believe my ears!
Wow! Is this for certain?
Pray for W and The Truth
She could be the RICHEST woman, but she's MISERABLE, just like All Liberals!!
About two months ago, Nightline did a puff piece on MoveOn.org, without breathing a word about John Podesta -- surprise, surprise!
Anyone buy this? I hope not.
Ever heard of Ambrose Evans-Pritchard?
Says who? Start a rumor that John Effin' Kerry will end up as VEEP (yeah, he was technically voted the fav) as the Beast vaults to the top spot with the most fanfare and fewest debates as possible. Delegates at the convention are all slipped a brand new $20 from Hilpac to vote for *Crinton. After watching the Torch get extinguished and replaced in NJ, even after every deadline passed, this little process should be easy.
McAwful's task is done - and the Beast hires another butt-boy after the takeover.
Hey - it can happen...
Absolutely. They'll all be in one place; a captive audience, if you will.
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