Hillary Clinton raises $600,000 at Louisville fundraiser in red Kentucky

[DeepModem Mom]

WP blog: The Fix
by Chris Cillizza
Hillary in the Bluegrass State

For those questioning whether Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) should be considered the frontrunner for the 2008 Democratic nomination, look no further than her weekend trip to Kentucky -- the so-called Bluegrass state that has become decidedly "Red" over the past decade.

Clinton journeyed to the "Purple" island of Louisville to headline a Saturday night event that drew 2,000 attendees and raked in better than $600,000 for the state's Democratic Party -- the largest take from a single fundraiser in the history of the Kentucky Democratic Party. Hillary's haul is all the more impressive given that Republicans currently dominate the state's political scene, controlling the governorship, both U.S. Senate seats and five of six House seats. President Bush won the Bluegrass State in 2004 by 20 percent over John Kerry.

HRC backers say the majority of the dollars came from individuals, with local party groups from 99 of the state's 120 counties paying for a table at the event. The remaining 21 counties had a representative in attendance, the sources said.

The ability to travel to a red state and deliver such a huge cash total is a trait that only Clinton has among those Democrats considering a 2008 White House race. And while money may not buy happiness, it certainly does buy political loyalty. As she travels the country raising dollars for candidates and party committees, Clinton is accumulating a huge number of chits that she can call in should she run for president....

***

If HRC continues to show financial strength in areas where Democrats have not been able to raise much money in the past decade, it could counter the argument that she cannot mount a true national campaign -- one that would require fundraising outside of the traditionally "blue" coastal states.

http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/thefix/

[LiberalVoice]

1. Ummm

She would still lose miserably in a presidential election. So who gives a shit?

[trogdor]

31. Besides...

...most of this "Hillary '08" stuff is rumor, put out in places like NewsMax, WND, or Fox News. Hardly credible.

I, for one, would look forward to the hilarity that would ensue when Sen. Clinton decides she's most definitely NOT running for President AFTER the right-wing smear machine spends three years and millions of dollars getting their ducks in a row. I just hope that the timing of this announcement doesn't leave our party flat-footed with all the good candidates clearing the runway for her in advance.

My opinion is that she'd make a better Veep candidate. Our convention is AFTER theirs, right? So we get to see who their candidate is before springing our surprise. They want to play their stupid-assed games? No problemo. Let's do a side-by-side comparison. HRC vs. this year's version of Dan Quayle, or HRC vs. this year's version of Emperor Palpatine Dick Cheney (or the actual Dick Cheney).

[snowbear]

2. So what? ..Mark Warner raised double that in VA the other night..

http://www.forwardtogetherpac.com/

CNN said today that he's going to be the one who brings her down.. and by the looks of the money he's raking in, they're probably right.

He has another massive fundraiser tommorow night.

[SaveElmer]

11. Wow impressive...

He raised a massive amount of money in his own state where he is extremely popular. I would venture to guess Hillary would do quite well raising money in New York.

Not to denigrate Warner...he has been a great Governor and I was glad to vote for him. But it's apples and oranges

[snowbear]

13. Actually...

He raised some really big apples in New Hampshire too. ;)

[nickshepDEM]

15. Warner is the only Democrat who can go dollar for dollar with Hillary.

But you an I know that. ;)

[quinnox]

3. impressive

Kentucky is about as Deep South Red as it gets.

[AmericanDream]

4. Money is not gonna buy votes... Kerry raised a lot of $$$ too...

About 40+% of voters say they will definitely not vote for HRC.. then what's the point? Everyone knows she has a great ATM machine, but money is only gonna buy good ads... the face in the ads is still going to be hers and unfortunately, a majority associates a lot of negative sentiments with that face.

[xultar]

5. Don't even try. I'm not sure why people here hate HC so much.

Makes me wonder...sometimes. What ever it is it is rabbid crazy freeper like hate.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. xultar, I only report; they decide --

just call me Fox, I guess.

:)

[xultar]

16. Foxy DModemMama!

[NoodleBoy]

8. yep, because we're not rejecting a candidate with a divisive history who's

also the darling of the neoliberal set within the democratic party, we're actually all freepers in disguise who hate women and democrats.

[xultar]

17. You a mind reader?

:sarcasm:

[DemCam]

22. ding, ding,ding

It's called crossover votes and its called winning. And we know she will do the right thing on many issues. She ain't gonna do everything we want...but just think what it would have been like if Al had won....the environment, 9/11, reproductive rights, Katrina response...and on and on

[AZBlue]

24. Xultar, I have no idea. It is absolutely mind-boggling to me.

And very very sad. It's SO like something off of Freep.com.

But, I'm glad to see that there are other sane people on DU like you. Thank you for your comment!:toast:

[bowens43]

7. Hillary is a 'red' candidate so it's not

surprising that she can raise money in a red state. If we have to run a conservative to win, why bother voting?

[Lena inRI]

10. Touche twice, bowens43!

It's not enough that we have to hear the bullshit promotion from Bushco, now already waaaaaay before 2008, we have to hear HillaryHyperbole.

Gettoutahere with the push politics, Hillaryco.!

[stray cat]

20. Hilary is so not red - she is really disliked in the south

If you really think Hilary is conservative you need a few more years of Bush and a future president Bill Frist or Jeb Bush to see the difference.

[AZBlue]

25. Thank you!!!

To say she's red or Republican is the most absurd thing. You'd have to have no clue about her beliefs, her actions, her plans or her goals.

[Imagine My Surprise]

21. Thank you. I live in Louisville (very liberal) and a friend invited me...

to the Hill-athon, but I had no interest in supporting a republican.

[radio4progressives]

9. Money does buy votes - but we don't have a democracy, and we never did

this system is about the F worrd.

Corporate controlled governance - capitalism run amok - and it has been for over a hundred years and apparently will continue to be for a lot longer.

campaigns are now merely dog and pony shows for phony elections, a process where $ dollars are counted AS votes, instead of marks on a ballot.

this is a system where the elections are fixed before the day of the elections, but everyone pretends otherwise and the media is part of the show.

It's going to take a real revolution, a sort of Velvet Revolution to change this paradigm.

We can succeed if we stop pretending that all we have to do is "work hard" to "get out the vote".

We can succeed if we stop pretending that the usual suspects, or the enemy of our enemy is our friend.

We can succeed if we insist that $$$$ will not be counted as votes.

[Hekate]

12. Thank you Sen Clinton for your service to country and loyalty to party!

Damn, someone's got to say that instead of just sniping at her all the time.

The RW has smeared and slimed her six ways from Sunday for over a decade for being Bill Clinton's wife and for having the nerveless gall to use her abundant talents and intelligence to work on national health care legislation while First Lady.

Before she became First Lady, Hillary Clinton was one of the foremost family-law attorneys in the country in the area of children's rights. DUers pick on Laura Bush for her taste in pantsuits -- the RW slimed Hillary for having the brains, talent, and guts to be someone other than Bill's little wifey. I always figured that it said something positive about Bill that he chose a woman of Hillary's caliber to be his life's partner.

Because of the RW smear machine's talent for making mud stick, I think Hillary Clinton would end up unelectable. That is completely beside the point of her qualifications to be president, because she is head and shoulders above Bush or anyone in his administration, whether or not you agree with every decision she has made.

Hillary Clinton is a fine Senator and serving her constituents well. She's serving the Democratic party well. At least have the graciousness to acknowledge that.

Hekate

[AZBlue]

26. Fantastic post!

Hekate ->


And, you've brought up a point I tried to raise on another thread - no matter how great a President she would be (and she'd be fabulous) the Rebpubs will dredge up Monica and the definition of "is" and it will be all over for her. I love Bill Clinton as well, but he did screw that one up for us all.

[rjbrooks]

14. HRC in Louisville

I was there and it was fantastic. Although I totally disagree with her vote for Bush's War, there are many other issues and she did not hesitate to tackle them one by one. With all of the problems our repuke guvernor is facing and with Bushogs numbers tanking, I believe KY is going to be a lot bluer in 2006. Democrats registrations still outnumber Republicans by a substantial margin, we just need good viable candidates to run for these offices.

[Andromeda]

27. Thanks for reporting that, rjbrooks!

Kentucky has been pretty red so if it doesn't turn completely blue maybe it'll turn a pretty purple.

Maybe Hillary can inspire more Democrats to get out there and vote in '08!

[Totally Committed]

18. Clinton, Warner, and Bayh will all raise enormous amounts of money...

The Corprations that wish favor with the DLC (to which they all belong) will see to it.

DLC = Corporate Support

Corporate Support = lots o' $$$$$$$$

Lots o' $$$$$$$$ = bigtime fundraising for DLC Candidates

The big surprise would be if they weren't raking in the big dough. And we wonder why corporations matter more than people to the DLC Candidates.... explains a lot. Think about it.

You want the things that matter to you and your family to matter? YOu want promises kept to the poor, minorities, women, and family farmers? You want to vote in your own best interest? -- Simple.

DO NOT VOTE DLC. ANY DLC CANDIDATE IS BEHOLDEN TO CORPORATE INTERESTS, NOT YOURS.

TC

[Andromeda]

28. Hillarly raised this money from,

individuals, not the DLC or corporations. Just like Howard Dean does.

Many people out there who believe in the Democratic party platform will gladly donate to help our Democratic candidates. Part of the money raised by Hillary will go to other Democrats who have tough races to win in other states. She's been very successful in raising money and that's no small thing because you can't run for anything without lots of money.

The grassroots or individuals are gaining strength and purpose. Howard Dean proved that if you have the right message---the money will come, to coin part of a phrase from "Field of Dreams."

Frankly, I believe this fundraiser is a good sign that Republicans don't have a "lock" on the red states and that the right Democrat with the right message can make headway in the South.

[stray cat]

19. Hillary wouldn't be my favorite

But if she wins the nomination I will probably get behind her 100%. She is alot better than just about any republican and a great deal better than Bush or any of his minions. In other words I'll make sure my vote doesn't help someone like Bill Frist or Jeb Bush win the WH. I didn't think there was a big difference between Al Gore and George Bush and that was a hell of a mistake to make. I hope I'm not the only one who learned not to throw my vote or lack of one away.

[MasonJar]

23. I went to the fundraiser in Louisville and Hillary gave a great

speech; tt had a lot of heart and compassion. She was exceedingly well-received. In great measure it is the fault of the state party that we have become red. They have been hapless; however, our current governor, who is the first Pug guv in three decades, is a disaster. That should help. I tell you I am not sure who I will back in the primaries, but whoever our party selects i will work tirelessly to elect. The alternative is just too hideous to even imagine. If we get another neo-con, I will have to move to another country.

[Andromeda]

29. Thank you for your post,

and I appreciate your honesty. It's encouraging when you talk about Louisville fundraiser's receiving Hillary with open arms. She knows how to raise money which is exceeding important since the Republicans have always managed to raise more money than the Democrats.

It's also fair when you say you don't know who you'll back in the primaries. At least you're keeping an open mind and I appreciate that very much because that's how our political system works.

I will support whoever wins the nomination too, even if it's not the person I originally wanted.

We must have a Democrat for president in 2008. Another Republican administration would be disasterous for the country.

[leesa]

30. Yes, and what corporations is she whoring for now?

Who owns her now?