Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008

Clinton holdouts hold on

Some S.C. delegates still plan to vote for N.Y. senator despite calls for party unity

DENVER — S.C. Sen. Robert Ford of Charleston is unfazed by the urging of Democratic leaders for party unity. Wednesday, he’ll cast his delegate vote at Denver’s Democratic National Convention for longtime friend Hillary Clinton.

“Party unity? That’s national media crap,” Ford said Monday between bites of bacon and sausage at the S.C. delegation breakfast. “Democrats have always had divisions.”

Bernice Scott, a Clinton supporter and Richland County Councilwoman, shook her head. She plans to cast her vote for Obama, something she said Clinton encouraged supporters to do in a recent conference call.

“I have enough respect for her that if that’s what she wants, that’s what I’m going to do ...” Scott said to Ford. “Democrats are a family, and if the family selects Obama, then I’m getting behind him.”

While the majority of South Carolina’s delegates plan to cast votes Wednesday for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama at Denver’s Pepsi Center, an undercurrent of Clinton loyalty continues to flow.

A few Clinton holdouts say they’ll vote for the New York U.S. senator even if she urges them to back Obama as she is anticipated to do during a speech today.

“As long as her name is placed in nomination, I’ll vote for her,” said Kathy Hensley, a Clinton delegate from Lexington. “That’s what I was sent here to do.”

While Hensley has nothing against Obama and plans to vote for him in November, she said her role in Denver is to represent the 27 percent of S.C. primary voters who cast ballots for Clinton in January.

“There’s a process that must be followed,” she said. “Plus, it’ll be wonderful to vote for a woman for the top office.”

The Obama/Clinton split frustrates Phil Noble, a Charleston-based political consultant whoalso is in Denver.

“Either you want change or you don’t,” he said. “Either you want Obama or another eight years of Bush. Nothing is owed to the Clintons. Obama won fair and square. He won the race.”

Jim Neal, a Clinton supporter from Conway, said he isn’t quite sold on Obama.

“I have concerns about (Obama’s) lack of experience, especially on military affairs,” Neal said. “The president we have now is proof of what happens when there’s a lack of experience. But I’m a Democrat first and a Clinton supporter second. I’ll vote for Obama in November.”

Obama has made efforts to reach out to Clinton backers, said S.C. superdelegate Waring Howe Jr. of Mt. Pleasant. That includes prime-time speaking spots at the convention for Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Apparently, it’s not enough. Howe, an Obama supporter, said he is receiving about 50 e-mails daily from a few organizations, urging him to cast his ballot for Clinton on Wednesday.

“When Clinton tells her supporters (today) to get behind Obama, then they’ll be no more excuses and we can move beyond this.”

Delegate Frank Holleman of Greenville, who served in the Clinton administration and who is voting for Obama, said his fellow delegates must keep the platform, not the candidate, foremost in their minds.

“This is about the state of the country. The future of our kids, the economy, the environment, the place of the country in the world and health care,” Holleman said.

Reach Smith at (803) 771-8658.