In a break with his party’s leaders, former President Bill Clinton has endorsed a former Colorado legislator who is pursuing an uphill battle to unseat incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet in the Democratic primary.
Clinton on Tuesday sent out a fund-raising pitch endorsing Andrew Romanoff, the former speaker of the Colorado House.
President Barack Obama and other Democratic leaders have thrown their weight behind Bennet, a novice politician who was appointed to his seat last year and is running his first-ever election campaign. Bennet holds a substantial lead in the polls in advance of the Aug. 10 primary. He topped Romanoff 53%-36% among likely primary voters in a recent Denver Post/9News poll. Bennet also has a sizable edge in fund-raising.
But Clinton, in his email to Democratic voters, said he was siding with the challenger, calling Romanoff “one of the best legislative leaders in the United States” and praising him for working “harder than anyone in Colorado to put Democrats in positions of power” in the state legislature.
As it happens, Romanoff also backed Clinton’s wife, Hillary Clinton, in her 2008 presidential campaign.
Bennet sided with Obama in that contest.
The Bennet campaign suggested that Clinton was motivated by lingering loyalty to a former Hillary Clinton backer. “Michael certainly doesn’t begrudge President Clinton the chance to thank a long-time friend,” said campaign spokesman Trevor Kincaid.
A Clinton aide said the former president has respected Romanoff’s leadership skills and counted him a friend for many years. In his fund-raising letter, Clinton called Romanoff “the best chance [for Democrats] to hold this seat in November.”
The Bennet campaign suggested that Clinton was motivated by lingering loyalty to a former Hillary Clinton backer. “Michael certainly doesn’t begrudge President Clinton the chance to thank a long-time friend,” said campaign spokesman Trevor Kincaid.
Riiight, Trevor. No begrudging going on from Bennet's camp. lol
Hell yeah, Bill will support those who supported Hillary. And so what if Obama supports someone else? Obama has certainly shown more than a bit of favoritism toward those who supported him.
I hope this turns out like AR, where Bill helped Blanche Lincoln, a loyal Hillary supporter, defeat the candidate backed by Labor, MoveOn, and Daily Kos, even after labor had spent 7 million dollars on their guy. Sounds like Clinton is supporting a long shot who lacks the name recognition and the money that Bennet has. What a testament to Bill's influence if his candidate wins.
Obviously, Clinton knows this is a long shot. The fact that he will support this guy anyway, in spite of the fact that Obama is against him, speaks volumes. It says that Bill really isn't worried about ensuring he can out-do Obama. He's pretty confident about his standing in the country and among Dems, regardless of the outcome. It, obviously, also says that loyalty to one's friends matters - as it should. Heaven knows enough former Clinton friends back-stabbed Hillary. This has to represent some kind of message to them - well, to what's left of them. As we know, most of the back-stabbers met with significant misfortune (karma) following their traitorous actions. lol
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It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.... Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less. ~Susan B. Anthony