Hillary Clinton's Campaign: The Making of a Machine

By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet. Posted January 25, 2008.

It's before 9 in the morning on a chilly, tree-lined street in South Carolina's capital city, Columbia, and the minivans and cars are converging on a pre-Civil War home owned by Celia Mann, a slave who bought her freedom. There are 48 hours left before the state's Democratic primary election, and "Women for Hillary" are holding a reception before fanning out to five cities to urge women to support Hillary Clinton.

"Those of you who know me know that women's history is my passion," said Anne Lewis, who heads the Clinton campaign's outreach to women. She spoke to three dozen women and a handful of men who lingered around a historic preservation signpost that extolled Celia Mann's accomplishment. "When I read that sign and walk through that house, I think, 'If she can do it, every one of us can do it, too.'"

Those who came were a mix of ordinary and extraordinary women, from local girl scout troop leader Judy Cartwright, who said of Clinton, "She's been to the White House with her husband, and she's going back to the White House," to Ellen Malcolm, who created EMILY's List, which stands for Early Money Is Like Yeast, and has raised millions in campaign cash for pro-choice candidates for years. Motown pop star Mary Wilson of the Supremes was there, as was Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Calif., the second-newest member of the House of Representatives. "I am the same age as Sen. Obama," she said. "I am from a mixed-race family like him. Why would a young African-American woman like me support Sen. Clinton?"

Indeed, that is the question; what is behind the strength of Hillary Clinton's powerful appeal to women and others, including African-Americans, in Saturday's primary? Those assembled for the "All Voices Count" kickoff on Thursday morning had personal and political reasons for not just backing Clinton, but for making her struggle their own. Their reasons were repeated by many elected officials -- from South Carolina and elsewhere -- who were working for Clinton in the state. Together, their presence and voices have created a new and powerful political machine that is invested in expanding the legacy started by America's 42nd president, William Jefferson Clinton.

Some of those at the Krispy Kreme donuts and coffee kickoff just liked Hillary Clinton, and said, echoing the well-known campaign talking point, that she was prepared to lead. "She knows the job that she has to do and the job she is faced with," Cartwright said. "I think she is strong enough to do the job." Cartwright, an African-American, said gender and race had nothing to do with it. "It's who will be best. She's more experienced."

Standing with Cartwright was Fay Shorter, also from Columbia. When asked if she had considered Sen. Barack Obama, she replied with a feisty, "Oh, yes. But I can't do that."

"I was excited when he became a candidate," she explained. "I'm not saying that he is not smart and knowledgeable. But in this day and time, the person with the most knowledge and experience who can best serve this country is Hillary Clinton." When asked what she meant by experience, Shorter replied, "Working with her husband, naturally. But she stands on her own. I can remember when she came to Columbia to work with the Children's Defense Fund many years before Bill was president. She is a leader."

Hillary Clinton's work for children was no mere talking point in this crowd. The women here said that early effort as a young lawyer resonated with them as much as her personal fight to break glass ceilings during her career. Clinton's struggle was their struggle, they said, and no one expressed that sentiment more clearly than Marguerite Willis, an upbeat lawyer who made the rounds saying, "I'm from Florence, married to the mayor down there." Willis, who interrupted her conversation with several "Hello darling, how are you?" greetings, said she and Clinton have faced the same hurdles professionally.

"I am an antitrust lawyer," Willis said. "Hillary Clinton and I are about the same age. We have similar backgrounds. As a woman who has spent many years developing her own career, I relate to her as someone who has put in 35 years of service. I have that camaraderie. Her success is my success. We both struggle with the so-called glass ceilings."

Those were her personal reasons. But she had political reasons as well. "The issues that are most important for South Carolina are bread-and-butter issues that are important to women," Willis said. "In South Carolina, we are undereducated and underemployed. We need jobs. We need better skills. We need better healthcare. And the face of poverty in South Carolina is a single mother in the rural areas, like where Florence is."

But was not Obama, a lawyer who spent several years doing community organizing and voting rights advocacy in Chicago, also an advocate for the poor, Willis was asked. She responded with a raised eyebrow and said, "The difference with Obama and Hillary is Obama did community organizing, but Hillary worked for kids ... Women in this state make 72 cents for every dollar a man earns."

But there was more to Hillary Clinton's appeal to women than her advocacy for children, the camaraderie of pushing through social barriers and glass ceilings, and even standing with her man while Bill Clinton was president.

See more stories tagged with: presidential primary, south carolina, clinton campaign, bill clinton, hillary clinton, hillary

Steven Rosenfeld is a senior fellow at Alternet.org and co-author of What Happened in Ohio: A Documentary Record of Theft and Fraud in the 2004 Election, with Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman (The New Press, 2006).

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from AlterNet! Sign up now »