“The Clintons thrive on revenge,” says a former Clinton aide. “Payback will be a b*tch.”
Capitol Hill Blue
June 6, 2006
Both Clintons bitter over loss
Failed Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and her former President husband are bitter over her loss to Barack Obama and angry at Democratic leaders they feel abandoned her, party sources tell Capitol Hill Blue.
“She’s petulant, defiant and bitter,” says one senior Democratic strategist, who asked not to be identified. “She feels the party owed her the Presidency and turned its back on her when she needed them.”
Clinton’s self-serving speech on Tuesday night where she opted not to concede defeat or endorse presumptive nominee Barack Obama angered Democratic leaders who say they’ve had enough of the Clintons.
Yet Clinton was still pondering whether or not to carry her fight to the floor of the Convention in Denver when House and Senate leaders called her on Wednesday and told her to get out of the race or face removal of any future role in the Democratic Party.
“Up until that point, Clinton still thought she could pull a hat trick and reverse the election results,” the strategist said. “It took Charlie Rangel to tell her it was over.”
Rangel forced Clinton’s hand. Sources say he told the New York Senator to get out of the race by the end of the week or her future with the party was over.