Senator Hillary Clinton may have suspended her campaign for the Presidency, but that doesn't mean that her supporters have embraced the presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama. Despite his top spot, he's still battling to gain their support for him.
In a move being called dissent by some, top Hillary campaign supporters and funders have basically shut down in transferring their support to Barack Obama, ensuring that their displeasure with the treatment of Clinton by Obama, the Party, and the media, are being heard in the most effective way possible; financially.
Some have gone so far as to
create anti-Obama websites and
grass roots organizations urging
Hillary supporters to back Republican Presidential candidate Senator John McCain. Sources close to this rebellion by the top tier of donators say that it involves around a large number of some 300 Clinton "
Hillraisers" who have, individually, raised at least $100,000 each for the Clinton campaign.
The Clinton holdouts are typically most angry about what they say was the media's sexist treatment of Sen. Clinton during the campaign. And though few, if any, blame Sen. Obama directly, they fault the Illinois senator and other party leaders for what they say was failing to do enough to stop it.
Susie Tompkins Buell, a Hillraiser from San Francisco, said, "What really hurt women the most was to look back and see all this gender bias." Ms. Buell said she hasn't decided whether to vote for Sen. Obama and plans to skip the August Democratic convention.
The impact of such efforts could extend beyond the hurt feelings that typically emanate from losing campaigns. Sen. Obama has built a formidable fund-raising machine that has scooped up money from donors large and small. But his general-election bid could suffer if he fails to mobilize a group that raised tens of millions of dollars for Sen. Clinton.
I don't think the Democrats, currently under the leadership of "Screaming Howard" Dean, have been this fractured since
the election of 1860. I think we can all take a look back and see how well that turned out for everyone. While I'm not willing to go so far as to predict a Civil War in my writings, one can't help but wonder, in noticing the heavy splt on the Democratic side of the aisle, what the plan is that will bring ultimate unity back in the Democatic party come convention time.
After all, Obama IS supposed to be the "Unity" candidate...
(Correction made to this article.)
Opinion: Obama still in uphill battle against Clinton supporters
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