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| Democrat Fratricide: Clinton donors press Dean on seating FL & MI delegates |
| 2008-04-04 |
| Leading donors to the Clinton and Obama campaigns sat down together last night with DNC chairman Howard Dean at a meeting at the Fifth Avenue apartment of super-bundlers Maureen White and Steven Rattner. According to the accounts of several attendees, things quickly got contentious when Clinton donors raised the issue of seating the delegates from Florida and Michigan. Dean, who was there to appeal for more fund-raising for the party, found himself on the defensive for not being aggressive enough in pursuing a solution to the problem. . . . . . . Over appetizers of caramelized bacon and copious glasses of wine, they listened to a short address by David Boundy, a Dean ally and political activist, before the chairman himself offered remarks. According to one of the attendees, he talked broadly about the dynamics of the race and urged everyone to rally around the eventual nominee, before taking questions. It only took two or three queries for the Clinton partisans to put Dean on the defensive about the Florida and Michigan delegate issue. Nemazee, a Clinton national finance chair, pointedly asked Dean why he and the DNC were not doing more to seat the Florida and Michigan delegates. Dean energetically defended himself, saying it was up to the states and the candidates to reach a solution, and that DNC involvement could be perceived as unfairly assisting one campaign or the other. As he spoke, some Clinton supporters protested, while the Obama supporters mostly sat quietly, according to the attendees. Patricof, another of Clinton's national finance chairs, sensed that things were going to get ugly, and left early. . . . Some participants grew so angry that Gail Furman, a Democratic donor who is neutral in the race, bemoaned the divisions in the party. According to a source, Furman said that as a psychologist, she was saddened and upset that some of the party's leaders were displaying such raw and rancorous emotions. . . . UPDATE: More here on a particularly sharp exchange between Dean and Nemazee. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #1 Leading donors to the Clinton and Obama campaigns sat down together last night with DNC chairman Howard Dean at a meeting at the Fifth Avenue apartment of super-bundlers Maureen White and Steven Rattner. Looks like a helluva time for a house fire... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-04-04 14:47 |