STABBED IN DE BACK!
Refuses to endorse Clinton Prez bid
HILLARY CLINTON made her presidential candidacy official Sunday and was rapturously received by leading Democrats — except for one prominent party pooper, Mayor de Blasio.
Clinton ended months of behind-thescenes planning with a tweet and the release of a video Sunday afternoon.
But before she even launched, de Blasio, who ran Clinton’s 2000 Senate race, withheld his endorsement — saying he wants to “see a vision” from her first.
“We need to see the substance,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday morning, a few hours before the official announcement.
De Blasio called Clinton a “tremendous public servant” and “one of the most qualified people to ever run for this office,” but demanded she get behind policies like hiking taxes on the rich.
“I think progressives all over the country, I think everyday Americans are demanding that their candidates, the President and (on) every other level, really say that we have a plan that we can believe in for addressing income inequality,” he said.
“It has to include increases in wages and benefits. It has to include the willingness to tax the wealthy so we can invest in infrastructure, so we can invest in education again.”
Clinton loyalists were less than impressed.
Democratic strategist and longtime Clinton fan Hilary Rosen tweeted that the mayor’s “self-aggrandizing” at Clinton’s expense “won’t go unnoticed” — saying Clinton “fought for the middle class and poor families long before Bill de Blasio could even articulate any vision at all.”
Other New York Democrats heaped praise on Clinton, who is backed by nearly all of the Democratic establishment and has already been endorsed by more than half of all Democratic senators and House members. President Obama said Saturday she would be an “excellent President.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the likely future Democratic leader of the Senate, told reporters Sunday, “She has the experience and mind-set to get results. Hillary has the rare ability to understand the problems that confront hardworking Americans, and the rare experience to get things done for them.”
Gov. Cuomo, in a statement, sang her praises. “Hillary Clinton has been a lifelong champion for middle-class
families, an advocate for the underserved, and a fighter for civil rights.”
He added: “Having known and worked with her for over 20 years, I wholeheartedly endorse Hillary Clinton’s campaign for President.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said in a statement: “I am thrilled Hillary Clinton is running, and I will do everything I can to help make sure she makes history as our first woman President.”
Clinton launched with a tweet that read: “I’m running for President. Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion.”
Minutes before the tweet and rollout video, her campaign was announced to 2008 Clinton alumni and donors with an email from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.
“Hillary’s running for President,” Podesta emailed. “She is hitting the road to Iowa to start talking directly to voters. There will be a formal kickoff next month.”
The video makes it clear that she plans to focus on helping increase economic mobility and equal rights for women.
The video sought to portray her as a normal American out to help average families. After 90 seconds of people — including a number of biracial and gay couples — talking about what they’re “getting ready” for in their lives, Clinton makes her first appearance.
“I’m getting ready to do something, too — I’m running for President,” she says. “Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times, but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top. Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion so you can do more than just get by, you can get ahead and stay ahead.”
Following her social-media rollout, Clinton headed on a campaign road trip Sunday night to Iowa.
“When Hillary first told us she was ready to hit the road for Iowa, we literally looked at her and said ‘Seriously?’ And she said ‘Seriously,’ ” Clinton adviser Huma Abedin told senior alumni of Clinton’s 2008 campaign during a conference call.
In New York, the excitement peaked early at Clinton’s Brooklyn Heights headquarters.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) stopped by before the official announcement. “I think it’ll be great for New York,” she said. “It’s a very exciting day for us.”
Champagne corks started popping as soon as the word was out from a group who showed up outside her campaign office to party.
“I’m so happy!” said Risa Levine, 52, a real estate lawyer who volunteered for Clinton’s 2008 campaign. “We are ready. America needs Hillary.” While in Iowa, Clinton plans to tour Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids and participate in a round table with students and teachers before heading to suburban Des Moines for a small-business gathering.
She’s likely to head to New Hampshire in the coming days. The events are aimed at setting a different tone than the big rallies she started off with in 2008 as she looked to make herself out to be an inevitable candidate.
Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook described the new tone in a Saturday night memo to staff — saying they’ll “take nothing for granted.”