WATCH YOUR LEFT, HILLARY
By KENNETH LOVETT
New York Post

July 14, 2006 -- ALBANY - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is now facing an all but certain Democratic primary from a poorly

funded anti-war candidate who yesterday blamed her for the death of thousands of American soldiers and Iraqis.

“More than 2,500 American men and women will never come home to their families ever again because of Hillary Clinton’s vote for this illegal and immoral war,” said Jonathan Tasini, the former president of the National Writers Union, as he filed the required signatures to secure a place on the September ballot.

Tasini, of New York City, said Clinton “voted with this administration to send our young men and women to war.” Clinton adviser Howard Wolfson dismissed the comments, saying, “That kind of rhetoric speaks for itself.”

Tasini submitted petitions to the state Board of Elections that he says contain about 40,000

signatures, far more than the 15,000 he needed.

The Clinton campaign has three days to decide whether to challenge the validity of the petitions.

“We have no plans to challenge and expect Mr. Tasini will be on the

ballot,” Wolfson said.

The little-known Tasini says that he knows he faces a tough, uphill battle against a woman considered a powerhouse Democratic presidential front-runner for 2008 but that he will push a public debate on the war, health care and other issues.

At the end of March, he had $25,565 in his campaign account - compared to Clinton’s $20 million.

“This has always been a campaign that contrasts

celebrity and name recognition with issues,” Tasini said. “When voters are faced with a question on where the candidates stand on the issues, I believe we will do very well.”

Tasini is calling for the removal of all U.S. troops from Iraq.

Clinton says that mistakes were made and that she wants to see the troops come home, but she has not endorsed a timetable.

Veteran Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf, who is not involved in the Senate race, said Tasini only makes Clinton a more attractive candidate.

“It doesn’t serve him well to attack her like that,” Sheinkopf said. “All it does is make him look crazy in the eyes of Democrats he might need and better in the eyes of Hillary haters.”
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