Congressman Leonard Boswell, whose moniker is “Mr. Rural Iowa,” endorsed Hillary Clinton today.
The longest serving Iowa Congressman and his wife endorsed Hillary in part “because we want to win.” "Boswell, who has served in Congress for the past decade and is a Vietnam veteran, praised Clinton for her 35 years of experience fighting for change. “Our next leader must have the vision and the know-how to make our country energy independent, bring healthcare to the uninsured and end the war in Iraq,” he said. “We need someone with the strength and experience to take on the toughest challenges. We need someone who’s got a lifetime record of getting results. I know just the person: my friend, Hillary Clinton.”
Boswell also called Clinton the most electable candidate in the race. “The country cannot afford for the Democrats to lose another election. There’s too much at stake. She’s the most qualified candidate and has the best chance at winning back the White House.“
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w5GG6tL4d8 Governor Kulongoski of Washington state Oregon also endorsed Hillary:
“At a critical time in our history, Hillary Clinton has the strength and experience to restore hope and opportunity to working Americans and deliver the change America needs,” Kulongoski said. “No one is better equipped to repair the damage of the last seven years and repair our standing in the world.”
In a news conference today to announce the Boswell endorsement Hillary said
“I’ve been tested, I’ve been vetted.” “There are no surprises. There’s not going to be anybody saying, ‘I didn’t think of that, my goodness, what’s that going to mean?‘”
“Whoever we nominate will be subjected to the full force of the Republican attack machine, and I know that they know I know that and I have no illusions about what this race will entail,” Hillary said.
Hillary is also endorsed by the SEIU local unions in New York.
Hillary Clinton will pick up the backing of two giant regional SEIU locals based in New York, the health-care workers’ union 1199 and a big building-service workers union, Local 32BJ, a labor source says. Their backing wasn’t automatic for the home-state Senator — Edwards courted both locals aggressively, and Obama nearly hired away a key political decision-maker within the union earlier this year — but the endorsements aren’t a surprise.
The locals were key in preventing the national SEIU from endorsing Edwards.
In any case, they’re big players who spend a lot of money and energy on politics. Local 1199 has 300,000 members in New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Washington D.C., and 32BJ has more than 100,000 members in six states and Washington D.C. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FGFeUIj-Cw