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Hillary Clinton sends early signal about 2016 bid on Irish visit

Reunites core Irish American fundraising and support group for visit

KATE HICKEY,

IrishCentral.com Editor

Published Sunday, December 2, 2012, 7:21 AM

Updated Sunday, December 2, 2012, 7:21 AM

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US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton

Photo by Google Images

Hillary Clinton is giving an early indication that she sees a political future beyond retiring as Secretary of State when she visits the Republic and Northern Ireland this week.

Invitations have gone out from her top political aide Kris Balderston to key members of her fundraising and support group in the Irish American community to accompany her to Ireland.

It is the first time since Clinton became Secretary of State that there has been an effort to reunite her old coterie of Irish advisors.

Among those invited are head of Irish American Democrats Stella O’Leary, former U.S Economic Envoy Declan Kelly, businessman John FitzPatrick, top lawyer Brian O’Dwyer, former Congressman Bruce Morrison, Irish Voice Founder Niall O’Dowd, and other key members of her Irish circle.

All those invited have raised considerable funds for the former First Lady when she was running for office.

Stella O’Leary of Irish American Democrats stated she was “delighted” to be part of the delegation.

“I consider it a great opportunity to touch base with Secretary Clinton and to congratulate her personally on her remarkable job as Secretary of State."

Collectively the group raised millions for Hillary during her runs for U.S. Senate and president and several were on her main finance committee.

They will accompany her to her human rights speech at Dublin City University and her visit to Belfast on Friday where she will address an American Ireland Fund lunch.

With Obama no longer in the political picture in terms of future campaigns now that he has been re-elected, other major figures in the Democratic Party have been making overtures to Irish American support groups.

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley is considered a major contender for the Democratic nomination in 2016 and has already been actively meeting Irish American supporters.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has also been seeking to source support from Irish Americans. Vice President Joe Biden, who has deep Irish American connections, may also make a run.

However, Hillary essentially freezes the race until she decides whether she runs or not and it will be impossible for other candidates to attract major Irish American support until she does.

The 2016 field will be keenly aware of the need to raise over $1 billion dollars to be competitive. Clinton has an unmatched group of donors to tap into.

Nster.com

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16 Comments

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aloistmartin | Dec 03, 2012, 09:09 PM EST

Capitalism, The Clintons, and Kimchee

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Tracy | Dec 03, 2012, 10:02 AM EST

Hillary 2016! I would never support Gov. Cuomo. This man has such an ego! He has the audacity to receive holy communion while publicly and privately promoting an anti Catholic agenda! What a fraud. I regret ever voting for this man. He is an affront to all Catholics. I supported Hillary in 08 and would do so again!!

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IrelandNorth | Dec 03, 2012, 05:50 AM EST

It's probably synchronous that a woman president should break through the presidential glass ceiling after a black man was elected to the White House. Why square the racial equality circle without following through with gender. After Rt Hon Sen Rodham-Clinton ascends to even higher office, might a certain African-American woman be then in waiting, scoring a double egalitarian whammy. Since Ireland has already had two (of 7) female presidents of our arrestedly developed nation, electing a President Clinton II would be auspicious in the centenary of the Easter Rising, to force the pace of reunification. (PS Phlutiephan! The conspicious anti-reptilianism of the Roman citizen from Briton (ie Wales) symbnolised sexually reression. In light of clerical child sexual abuse, do we suppose it was a good idea?)

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pilib04 | Dec 02, 2012, 08:44 PM EST

I forgot to mention what a great President Hillary will make and how what a smooth seamless transition that will take place after the 2016 election. Who do the Republicans have, ha ha. Old white men or teabaggers.

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pilib04 | Dec 02, 2012, 08:40 PM EST

Along with her husband Bill and President Obama, Hillary Clinton ranks in the top three of most popular Americans from an Irish perspective. And why not, she has (like her husband and President Obama)made Ireland a top priority. The Irish people love the Clintons and Obama. Speaking of which, the President will also be visiting Ireland, North and South, later in the Spring. The haters and pretenders who make anti-Hillary or anti-Obama statements are clueless about Ireland (Northern and the Republic).

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Eschetic | Dec 02, 2012, 08:07 PM EST

Of course the right wing bigots who continue to vent here will never get over the simple fact that a majority of the voters in the last election CLOBBERED their out-of-touch tuchases, but the greater question, which will be even HARDER for them to swallow is the wealth of potential candidates the Democrats have to field in the 2016 election and our utterly empty field of qualified hopefuls since the moderates who *could* win have largely been purged from higher office. Hillary could have made a great president, but Barak has made a greater one, and I suspect she will come to believe that her legacy as one of the best Secretaries of State since George Marshall is such that she doesn't NEED to run for President. It will be a measure of how scared the right is of one of the potentially BEST candidates for president (on actual experience and accomplishments) is how much they step up the vilification of Vice President Joe Biden. The most effective tool we ever had against Ronald Reagan was keeping him marginalized as a wing-nut movie actor. When people started taking him SERIOUSLY, he was hard to stop just on image alone. Take the Vice President seriously and there are few people in the country with both the inherent charm and practical SKILLS and EXPERIENCE to be President.

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seanomelb | Dec 02, 2012, 05:07 PM EST

Blythe was a naval officer from Ireland.The north did not exist as an entity during his lifetime. Get the facts ePHRAIMAG

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Springfield9 | Dec 02, 2012, 12:47 PM EST

It would be more impressive if Miss Piggy went to Tibet.

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Portia777 | Dec 02, 2012, 12:20 PM EST

PhlutiePhan The snake is the divine feminine consciousness- so denying that is so typically patriarchal- hatred of Creator wombmen. This is what has placed Eire on the map when the Savita died under their watch

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Portia777 | Dec 02, 2012, 12:16 PM EST

PhlutiePhan. There were no snakes in Eire. Patrick the Patriarch was a his story of how men from Roma came here to tame us spiritual beings. The snakes are mere energy- used in medicine logos etc. All the untruth re Eve and the snake has left us with thousands of years of demonising women on Mother Earth. Hilary has a lot to offer.

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like2tweet | Dec 02, 2012, 11:22 AM EST

go Hillary, what agreat president she will be, mostqualified and first woman in hisotry

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jerrydonovan | Dec 02, 2012, 10:52 AM EST

God,the Republicans can never get over getting their butts kicked in the election. They also know that if Hillary runs their butts get kicked again.All to-gether now---AWH!

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katieherk | Dec 02, 2012, 10:03 AM EST

IF YOU'RE "LUCKY" ENOUGH TO GET A VISIT FROM HILLIARY, PLEASE KEEP HER!!! WE SURE DON'T WANT HER IN GOVERNMENT ANYMORE, SHE HAS NOT BEEN A TRUE AMBASSADOR FOR THE USA. THINK BENGHAZI!!

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ePHraimAg | Dec 02, 2012, 09:05 AM EST

TThis Women proclaims she is Irish by usurping the Name Clinton. WJ Clinton is properly known as Blythe. Clinton was a a Noble British Seaman from Northern Ireland before what is known as The USA today. Please Hilliary... say the Hell away from us In Ireland... We do not want Snakes.

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hollabackgurl | Dec 02, 2012, 08:45 AM EST

The scatter-shot rhetoric of the Tea Party is as idiotic as the poster below who made it. Hilary as 'world dictator'? What does that even mean? Or attempting to claim that Huma Abedin is a bomb throwing Taliban member? It's too stupid for words. It's why they keep losing too - because of unbelievable Grand Torino get off my lawn guys like PhlutiePan talking to empty chairs.

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