Hillary Clinton to fundraise in Boston Friday

By Jeremy P. Jacobs, PolitickerMA.com Reporter

Hillary Clinton will be in Boston later this week for a fundraiser to help retire her campaign debt.

According to an invitation obtained by PolitickerMA.com Tuesday morning, the fundraiser will take place Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Liberty Hotel at 215 Charles St. in Boston. All funds raised at the event will be used to pay down Clinton's campaign debt.

Although the event will raise money only for Clinton, those familiar with the planning of the event said the fundraiser will also show Clinton backers' support for Democratic nominee Barack Obama. A group of women Clinton supporters that formed during the battle over the allocation of Michigan and Florida delegates, one of the most contentious moments during the presidential primary, will be in attendance and will debut bumper and lapel stickers at the event that read "Another Hillary voter for Obama/Biden." Several members of Obama's fundraising team are also expected to attend.

One such Obama supporter is Barry White, a Boston lawyer and member of Obama's national finance committee. White told PolitickerMA.com that Bay State Clinton supporters have been instrumental in raising funds for Obama since he clinched the nomination.

"I think they've been a big help," White, who is also on Obama's New England steering committee, said of Clinton supporters.

White also said that he, along with other members of the steering committee, are working to help Clinton pay off her debt. "Senator Obama," he said, "has requested the cooperation of all members of his national finance committee and steering committee to help Senator Clinton retire her debt.

The presidential campaign of the U.S. senator from New York amassed nearly $24 million in debt by the time she dropped out of the race in early June. That included $12 million of her own personal funds that she lent the campaign.

Tickets for the fundraiser on Friday range from $250 to $2,300.

Shanti Fry, a major Clinton fundraiser that is based in Cambridge, will also attend the event. Asked if the Obama campaign should use Clinton to attack GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin because they are both women, Fry said that tactic would likely backfire.

"It is important to recall how hard the press was on Hillary Clinton when she went negative in the campaign," Fry said. "If she were to go negative on Sarah Palin right now, it would be counterproductive."

Fry also noted that she doesn't think many women that backed Clinton will flock to Palin because they two have very different positions on issues.

"We have to be very careful when women candidates of different political stances are out there that we're addressing their policy stances, and not anything to do with their personal lives," Fry said. "It is because of his policy stances that Clinton women are going out and supporting Obama."

Jeremy P. Jacobs is a PolitickerMA.com Reporter and can be reached via email at noreply@politicker.com.

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