Journal News

Antiwar rival berates Clinton
By GLENN BLAIN
[email protected]

(Original publication: August 26, 2006)

NEW ROCHELLE — Jonathan Tasini, the antiwar Democrat challenging Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, says the only difference between his campaign and the one that toppled Connecticut's Sen. Joseph Lieberman is money — lots of it.

"We don't have $4 million," Tasini, a union organizer, said yesterday at a campaign stop at the New Rochelle farmers market. "Ned Lamont is a multimillionaire. I'm glad he defeated Joe Lieberman, but let's be real, the only reason Ned Lamont won that race is his own personal wealth."

Tasini insisted he still has time to close the gap against Clinton and described New York's junior senator and Lieberman as "ideological soul mates on the war and issues of corporate power." He repeatedly criticized Clinton for not agreeing to debate him before their Sept. 12 Democratic primary.

"Right now she's hiding from the voters of New York," Tasini said. "I think that is disrespectful of New Yorkers and disrespectful of the democratic process. I think the voters of New York deserve to see our views side by side."

Clinton has refused to commit to any debates, saying only that she'd see how the campaign develops. Her spokesman, Howard Wolfson, reiterated that stance yesterday while also rejecting Tasini's criticism.

"One of the reasons why Mr. Tasini's increasingly shrill campaign has not gained any traction in New York is that New Yorkers know that Senator Clinton is no Joe Lieberman and Jonathan Tasini is no Ned Lamont," Wolfson said.

Tasini's appearance in Westchester came just hours after Clinton met with Lamont at her Chappaqua home. Wolfson said the meeting went well and that Clinton offered to help Lamont raise money for the race. The war in Iraq, he added, was not discussed.

"They discussed the fact that Mr. Lamont has found himself in the cross hairs of the Republican attack machine and that Republicans have become very invested in his defeat," said Wolfson, who has agreed to serve as an informal adviser to Lamont's campaign.

Lamont defeated Lieberman in an Aug. 8 primary, basing much of his campaign on the senator's support for the war. Lieberman is still in the race as an independent.

Tasini, meanwhile, has failed to gain ground on Clinton. A Marist Poll released this week found Clinton beating Tasini by a margin of 80 percent to 15 percent.