Clinton’s Backroom Brawl With Anti-War Tasini
Newsday
Glenn Thrush
May 30, 2006
A day before Hillary Rodham Clinton was due to be crowned by state Democrats for a second term, Clinton’s operatives were waging a bitter behind-the-scenes campaign to keep anti-war candidate Jon Tasini from sneaking his nomination onto the floor.
Tasini, who thinks Clinton betrayed her progressive roots by backing the Iraq war, spent much of Tuesday trying to collect the 10 delegates’ signatures needed to present his candidacy before the convention Wednesday morning.
Tasini stands no real chance of beating Clinton, but if he wins this procedural battle he’d earn the right to second his own nomination — allowing him to rip into Clinton in front of her supporters, family and national media.
As of Tuesday evening it wasn’t clear if Tasini would get the signatures, although several former and current Clinton staffers could be seen roving the lobby outside the Hyatt convention hall, chatting up delegates.
“The Clinton people are kind of freaked out,” said an aide to a prominent state Democrat.
In 2000, allies of Manhattan dentist/Democrat Mark McMahon tried to place his name in the ballot as delegates were preparing to nominate Clinton. Then-state Democratic chief Judith Hope refused to recognize the motion and Clinton was unanimously approved.
Wednesday was supposed to be a day of unalloyed triumph for the former first lady. She will be joined at the convention by her husband, daughter Chelsea and, possibly, her mother Dorothy Rodham. She’s also slated to attend a couple of fundraising house parties in Westchester and join her husband on a conference call with supporters.