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$1M Sikhs-for-Clinton Fundraiser Scuttled "for Security Reasons"by Josh Gerstein
A $1-million fund-raiser Sikhs were planning to hold in Bakersfield, Calif. on Sunday morning for Senator Clinton's presidential campaign has been abruptly canceled, or at least postponed, people familiar with the event said Friday. The invitations said both Mrs. Clinton and President Clinton were to attend, a rare occurence that signals the large sums that were expected and the political pull of the organizers. A flyer for the gathering can be seen here. "It was canceled for security reasons," one of those behind the $1000- a-plate breakfast, Sharnjit Dhaliwal, told The New York Sun Friday. She initially would not elaborate on the problem, but said they were hoping to stage the event later.A Democratic Party official in Kern County, Calif. said the fund-raiser ran into trouble because the Secret Service would not "clear" one of the organizers of the gathering. "One of the promoters had recently been to India. His hometown is on the Pakistani border and he crossed into Pakistan," the Kern County Democratic Chair, Candi Easter, told the Sun. A spokesman for the Secret Service, James Mackin, said Friday that the agency's policy is not to comment on scheduling issues involving protectees. The Clinton campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a follow-up interview, Ms. Dhaliwal said the ultimate hang-up did not involve the person whose travels were of concern. "It was a couple of the organizers. I do know they wouldn't clear the....It has to do with the way someone got their citizenship," she said. "Something happened. I'm a little disappointed," another organizer, Randeep Dhillon, said. "We are good friends of Hillary." Mr. Dhillon said half-a-million dollars had already been raised and another half million was hoped for by Sunday. The funds already gathered will be refunded, he said. "It was something the [Clinton Campaign] committee decided for security reasons," he said. Mr. Dhillon said the Clintons were also passing up a chance to appear in front of as many as 75,000 Sikhs who were expected to gather in Bakersfield on Sunday to celebrate a religious festival. There is no public evdience at this point of any impropriety involving the fundraising for the Sikh event. However,it's possible that the Clinton campaign feared another round of stories that could have been similar to those about large donations the campaign took in New York's Chinatown from cooks, dishwashers and other who did not appear to have the means to donate large sums. Some of those donations have been refunded. The Clintons have deep ties to the Indian community and have made an aggressive effort to win the group's financial support in the presidential race. The Sun carried this article back in June about how Mrs. Clinton outmaneuvered her opponents to get Indian-American money and, likely, votes. Canceling, or postponing, the event days before it was to happen could leave a bad taste in the mouths of some Sikhs. Mrs. Clinton's challenge will be to convince the community that no snub was intended and that whatever security issue arose was so grave that it merited her pulling out of the event altogether.Related Topics: Dem Primary |
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