Solidarity Occasionally.
Two weeks ago, the Marc Jacobs Hillary Clinton T-Shirt line made its official debut. Just a few days later it was revealed that the Los Angeles plant of American Apparel, which manufactures the T-Shirts, refused to organize its workers last year. Officials at the N.Y.-based Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees, Unite, said they faced "a vicious anti-union campaign" when they tried to unionize the factory. Needless to say, it seems hypocritical for Hillary, a supposed longtime supporter of unions, to have her campaign raise money on the backs of unorganized labor. Unite spokesperson Steve Wishart remarked that Sen. Clinton "should use a company that respects workers' rights to organize." However, once again liberals have yet to hold Hillary's inconsistencies against her, as Unite officials also emphasized that they still consider her to be a "friend of labor."
The Tooth Hurts.
On Monday, Hillary was forced to cancel a day of events because of a dental emergency. Her schedule had included a speech before New York state's mayors about problems regarding the distribution of Homeland Security money, but she had to undergo emergency dental surgery, said Jennifer Hanley, a spokeswoman. In addition to being the scheduled keynote speaker at the annual Conference of Mayors, Hillary had planned to participate in a ceremony with veterans celebrating the 59th anniversary of the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima, speak at another event about alternative energy and visit a local food bank. Instead, she underwent surgery in the morning in New York and returned to Washington in the afternoon.
Fundraiser in Chief.
Hillary was the guest of honor at Broward County's annual Jefferson-Jackson day Dinner, the local party's biggest annual fundraiser and its main source of get-out-the-vote money. Mrs. Clinton had to "shout over the applause and adoration showered on her" at the fundraiser, which was quickly billed as "the most successful political event in the history of Broward County." More than 1,000 people attended the sold-out event and, according to Democratic Chairman Mitch Ceasar, it raised "well over" $100,000, which he said was a record-setting amount for Broward Democrats or any county Democratic Party in Florida. A local paper reported that "In a speech punctuated by fluttering red napkins and hollering of support, Clinton lambasted President Bush's environmental policy, new Medicare drug benefits and tax cuts." Said Hill: "We're going to have to get back into the White House and get the economy back on the right track."
More Florida Hijinx.
While in sunny Florida, Hillary also spoke at the Bonaventure Resort and Spa to a crowd of about 1,000 at the fourth annual Office Depot Success Strategies for Businesswomen Conference. Sen. Clinton said women still confront choices between career and family that men don't face, and that many women are burdened with the "fear of success." Afterwards, Hillary ran over to Miami and appeared at the second annual Miami-Dade County Democratic Gala, which was expected to bring in about $100,000. Hillary also spent an hour going door-to-door in a Miami neighborhood, encouraging women to vote. "One vote really does make a difference," said Sen. Clinton. "A lot of our elections are very close," Mrs. Clinton pleaded with women on a sidewalk to participate in upcoming elections as curious onlookers took photos and shot home videos of her and her entourage. "I'm not exactly a fan,'" said a local resident, "but it's nice to know that someone of her stature is in our neighborhood." Her tireless campaign to increase political participation took her to two homes and resulted in no new voters, because everybody was already registered.
Write-Ins.
Supporters who want to draft Hillary into the 2004 presidential race tried to have a write-in campaign for the senator in the recent Wisconsin Democratic primary. They tried, but didn't come close, as the effort garnered only 120 write-in votes for their candidate. State election officials had asked county clerks to count the votes for Hillary separately from other write-in votes, which are usually grouped together, at the urging of a group called HillaryNow.com. Her total in The Cheese State more than doubled her showing in the New Hampshire primary, where she pulled 54 write-in votes. However, a spokesman for front-runner John Kerry wasn't too worried: "Hillary Clinton's a wonderful Democrat and would be a great candidate someday," said George Twigg. "But so far in this election, she's expressed no interest at all in actually being a candidate. I don't anticipate that's going to change."
