Politics
Clinton Camp To Podesta: Court These 5 African American Leaders Immediately
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The Clinton campaign urged John Podesta, chairman of the Hillary 2016 campaign, to court five of the top African American leaders for Hillary Clinton, according to an e-mail released Wednesday from WikiLeaks.
Sara Latham, former chief of staff to John Podesta, sent Podesta an e-mail stating: “you have a lot of call requests and limited time, wanted to get them all in one place.”
“There are five calls that would be extremely helpful,” Latham explains to Podesta.
The first African American leader that Latham mentions is the infamous Jesse Jackson. She notes that Jackson “has declined all of our overtures to publicly endorse,” but the campaign “would be remiss if we didn’t try one more time.” Latham says that Jackson’s “approval ratings are through the roof in SC (South Carolina).”
Latham says that President Clinton will be in South Carolina the next day, and Chelsea the following day.
Latham then points out an opportunity for Podesta to help the Clinton campaign gain a leg up on Sen. Sander’s campaign by winning over former NAACP CEO Ben Jealous. Jealous, Latham explains, is “rumored to publicly support Bernie,” but that “he is a big progressive,” and therefore could likely sway either way.
Another key African American leader to win over in Latham’s opinion is DNC Black Caucus Chair Virgie Rollins. Rollins “is supportive but wants a higher level touch,” and Latham thinks Podesta could provide just the level of political clout that Rollins is seeking.
Naming an already confirmed Clinton crony, Latham says Podesta should reach out to former NAACP president Kweisi Mfume. The campaign “slated him to be a delegate in Maryland,” five months before Clinton secured the Democratic nomination for president. “He is with us,” but it is worth “a call,” Latham concludes.
The final leader Latham thinks Podesta must reach out to is Rev. Al Sharpton. “We all know about the Rev. We have confirmed our appearance at NAN and we confirmed the Civil Rights meeting. Doubtful he publicly endorses, but I think it’s worth circling back before the meeting and making a direct ask,” Latham says.
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