Posted on 11/09/2007 10:32:39 AM PST by Chi-townChief
Organizers claim they didn’t intend to come off as secretive
"It won’t happen again."
Given the uproar over a closed-door meeting in which Clinton delegates gathered at the Parkway Ballroom on Wednesday for a pep talk from former President Bill Clinton, I’ll bet it won’t.
Traci Otey Blount, a spokeswoman for the Hillary Clinton campaign, moved swiftly to douse the fire storm caused when media were locked out of a meeting billed as a “People’s Rally.”
A gaggle of cameramen and reporters were forced to stand in chilly temperatures for three hours across the street, while a predominantly black crowd of about 450 Clinton supporters gathered inside.
“It was a misunderstanding on the Clinton campaign’s part,” Blount said Thursday. “We discussed whether it was to be a closed event or an open event. We were talking with everybody. We didn’t finalize if it was closed or open. With all the support that we have in Chicago, it was definitely something we wanted to showcase. We take full responsibility.”
According to Bishop Tavis Grant — head of a group called the 21st Century Alliance of Aggressive Leaders and spokesman for a group of community groups that have come out for Clinton — the campaign didn’t verify the former president’s schedule until last Friday.
“The advance people weren’t on the ground until Monday. And it wasn’t on the media wire until Tuesday,” Grant said. “We didn’t want to come off as a secretive or back-door meeting.”
‘Marching orders’ But that’s exactly what it looked like Wednesday when scores of prominent and lesser-known Chicagoans filed into the historic Parkway Ballroom for a private chat with Bill Clinton.
Worse yet, apparently some of the people a public relations professional cited as being at the closed meeting apparently were invited but did not attend.
“But none of those people were there for the purpose of endorsing Sen. Clinton. The meeting was not designed or organized in that fashion with that intent or objective,” Grant said.
Bill Clinton’s appearance at the South Side venue must have been thrown in at the last minute because there was a fair amount of confusion about what was supposed to be taking place. For instance, some community leaders were under the impression that they were going to an open rally.
“The event was basically for former President Bill Clinton and was for all of Hillary’s delegates and supporters,” said the Rev. James L. Demus, pastor of Park Manor Christian Church, who is no longer on the fence about whom he is supporting.
“Clinton gave us some marching orders and told us here are some things you can say when people ask you why you are supporting Hillary and not some other candidate.
“I would characterize it as getting marching orders from one of the highest leaders in the campaign,” Demus said. “I’m a fan of [Sen. Barack] Obama — like him going on ‘Saturday Night Live’ with a mask on — but when it comes to who I feel is the best qualified from Day One to lead this country, with hands down it is Hillary Clinton.”
Demus said rather than trying to shield black supporters from media scrutiny, the media blackout was an oversight.
“It was just a blatant mistake that was made. That is why an apology has been lifted up,” he said.
‘Hillary is becoming very electable’ The Rev. Leslie Sanders, a delegate for Hillary Clinton, said he worked in Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign and has a long history with the Clintons.
“There’s a tremendous field of candidates running for president,” he said. “All of them would make a better president than the one we have right now.”
But Sanders is putting a lot of stock in Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers. Among this group of leaders, this presidential primary is more about who has the edge among all voters and is not seen as an opportunity for an African American to make history.
“Those of us in Illinois have an emotional attachment to Barack other than looking at the overall picture of who has the best opportunity to bring about a change in the White House,” Sanders said. “From a national perspective, Hillary is becoming very electable.
“She has the right to reach out to all communities, just like Barack has the right to reach out to all communities.”
But Hillary Clinton hasn’t reached out to all communities — at least not in Chicago.
What she has done is reach out to a select group of allies, ministers and community activists in the black community who have jumped on her bandwagon.
mailto:marym@suntimes.com
No Sense.
10 out of every 8 votes in that community will be cast for Hillary!!
Handy guide to the Clintons:
Why you ask?
According to Bishop Tavis Grant — head of a group called the 21st Century Alliance of Aggressive Leaders and spokesman for a group of community groups that have come out for Clinton.....
“But none of those people were there for the purpose of endorsing Sen. Clinton. The meeting was not designed or organized in that fashion with that intent or objective,” Grant said.
“The event was basically for former President Bill Clinton and was for all of Hillary’s delegates and supporters,” said the Rev. James L. Demus, pastor of Park Manor Christian Church, who is no longer on the fence about whom he is supporting.
“Clinton gave us some marching orders and told us here are some things you can say when people ask you why you are supporting Hillary and not some other candidate.
“I would characterize it as getting marching orders from one of the highest leaders in the campaign,”
The Clintons KNEW they couldn't let the press in to see them give "Marching orders" to Pastors and Bishops who preside over churches that file exempt status on their Fed tax returns. That would be AGAINST THE LAW.
The Clintons PLANNED for the press not to be there. If the media-whore Clintons didn't want them there, it was because what was going on inside was ILLEGAL.
Bump this story to the top, the liberal press is now tryng to spike it over the weekend. The Clintons have been caught red-handed AGAIN in federal crimes.
The people's candidate, to occupy the peoples Whitehouse, in the soon to be people's republic...
If President Bush had met secretly with conservative church leaders, the DBM would be screaming "Seperation of Church and State" at the top of their lungs all year.
Typical liars and cheats.
“Oops!”
AFTER the fact.
Lying children say, “I was just kidding!”
Clinton’s say, “It was a misunderstanding.”
Where’s all the white women?
Without talk radio and the Internet, she would have an 80% favorable rating.
I sense a groundswell in the nation similar to 1994. The liberal elitists don't see the pitchforks, tar and feathers coming, because they are so out of touch with the "common people." Hillary! is the lightning rod that will conduct every watt of disgust the American people have for the Federal government.
Keep up the great work on the PP case.
Clintons at it again, breaking campaign, tax and who-knows-what-other laws in Bill's latest seminar on IRS illegal political advocation for tax exempt liberal churches. Oh, and I'm sure there was a segment on vote fraud.
I will be more slick next time and you won’t catch me.
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