In US politics, where money can mean the difference between winning and losing, Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton is in a fundraising class of her own. The former First Lady, current New York senator and 2008 presidential hopeful has amassed a huge war chest for a tilt at the White House.
The money, as much as the Clinton name, gives her unrivalled front-runner status for the Democratic nomination and has allowed her to spread a web of influence throughout the party, despite the fact that many believe she cannot beat any Republican rival for the presidency.
Figures released last week show that Clinton raised US$21.4 million last year alone and few observers doubt that she wants to be the US' first woman President.
Clinton's financial heft and high profile are unrivalled in her party.
"She is a gravitational power within the party. Donors are just pulled into her orbit in a way no other potential candidate can compete with," said one senior party official.
Clinton's power comes not just from her ability to raise more money than any other Democratic figure, but also because her star quality allows her to boost the campaign coffers of potential supporters.
Since 2001 she has raised a staggering US$50 million for other Democratic candidates, by appearing at their fundraisers or lending her name to their mailshots. Her brief appearance can net more donations than many weeks of traditional campaigning by struggling candidates.
This ability wins a lot of loyalty and explains why Clinton's lock on the political establishment of the Democratic Party is so strong, despite polls showing that many voters doubt whether she is capable of winning the White House.
A CNN poll showed that 51 percent of Americans refuse to vote for Clinton, under any circumstances. In another poll, 49 percent of New York voters told the Marist College's Institute for Public Opinion that they believed Clinton should not run for President.
Clinton's power is also explained by a tight-knit group of Democratic officials across the party who have longstanding ties back to the Bill Clinton White House. They include John Podesta, Bill Clinton's former chief of staff who is now head of the powerful Center for American Progress, and various former aides at the Democracy Alliance, a powerful group of wealthy Democratic donors.
It is this network that has helped Clinton craft a steady strategy of moving to the right to woo independent and Republican voters. She has held joint press conferences with former enemies such as Newt Gingrich and right-wing Christian conservatives on a host of social issues.
She has also softened her position on abortion and become a leading hawk on the Iraq war.
Many observers outside the party establishment believe that choosing Clinton will doom the Democrats to defeat in 2008. They believe she carries too much baggage from her years in the White House and will be too easily attacked by the Republicans.
They also point to the failure of John Kerry's campaign as a lesson in not running a senator from the north-east when the last two Democratic presidents were Southern governors.
The Democrats have struggled to capitalize on the sea of troubles that swamped US President George W. Bush's administration last year.
With the US due for crucial congressional elections this November, Democrats are facing a battle to make any significant gains against a Republican Party controlling the White House and both houses of Congress.
A recent poll by Zogby International showed the Democrats scoring just a single-seat net gain in the Senate.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese