Clinton skipping progressive Netroots Nation gathering

Also see this post at ..note the different title assigned:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251413501#post4



http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/06/24/clinton-skipping-progressive-netroots-nation-gathering/


Clinton skipping progressive Netroots Nation gathering


By Anne Gearan June 24

Hillary Rodham Clinton is skipping a gathering of politically active progressives next month that would have put her on the same stage with her Democratic challengers -- and likely set up unwelcome comparisons with liberal heroine Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)

Clinton sent regrets for Netroots Nation, a three-day political conference that is a draw for some of the most ardent progressive activists, because she has previously scheduled speaking events in Iowa and Arkansas, her campaign said.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), whose strongly progressive campaign platform and straight-ahead style is drawing large crowds, will attend the conference in Phoenix. So will former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has tried to capitalize on any far-left disaffection by campaigning as a progressive champion and calling Clinton late to the cause.

Sanders and O’Malley will participate in a candidate forum that Clinton was also invited to attend, Netroots spokeswoman Mary Rickles said................

Warren will also attend the conference. Her fire-breathing attacks on Wall Street made her one of the stars of last year’s Netroot Nations, and she draws large and enthusiastic crowds wherever she speaks. Although she has made no move to reconsider her decision to stay out of the race, Warren still poses a hazard for Clinton. The zeal of Warren's supporters points up the perception, still prevalent on the left, that Clinton is a privileged intimate of the very wealthy.

“I don’t know what her schedule planning is, but I certainly hoped that she would make it,” Rickles said, noting that both Sanders and O’Malley will attend the same Iowa Democratic Party event as Clinton on July 17.

Clinton, however, is committed to an Arkansas Democratic Party dinner on July 18, the day of the scheduled candidate panel..............