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Clinton on blitz for donors

BY GLENN THRUSH | Newsday Washington Bureau

April 20, 2006

WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is raising cash at a blistering pace and spending it almost as fast to build a nationwide donor network similar to the one that propelled George W. Bush to the White House, according to campaign filings.

Clinton's $6-million haul for her Senate campaign fund in the first three months of 2006 included a $1,000 check from novelist-turned-theologian Anne Rice and $1,100 from an Indian tribe linked to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

During the same period, Clinton's campaign spent more than $3 million - $2 million alone on direct mailings and telemarketing to Democrats around the country, according to a 3,800-page Senate re-election filing made public by the Senate records office yesterday.

"We're continuing to build a nationwide base of people. That's a priority," campaign spokeswoman Ann Lewis said.

Details of the former first lady's campaign finances came as she picked up endorsements from two key New York City fire unions, the Uniformed Firefighters Association and the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, which backed her GOP opponent Rick Lazio six years ago.

During the first quarter, Clinton scored high-profile contributions from the likes of pop art icon Robert Rauschenberg ($2,000), actor Larry Hagman ($200) and former House Speaker Tom Foley ($1,000).

She also snared cash from her husband's old White House team, including HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros ($1,000), Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala ($2,000) and Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary ($1,000).

Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw the Sept. 11 compensation, was such an enthusiastic Clinton backer he gave her $4,000 more than the $4,200 contribution limit, resulting in a refund.

Clinton's campaign filings included contributions from a handful of Indian groups, a mainstay of the GOP. The California-based Agua Caliente tribe has given Clinton $3,000 during the 2006 cycle. The tribe came to prominence in 2002 when it donated $100,000 to the Republican National Committee, shortly after signing with Abramoff's law firm.

Lewis defended the donation, saying, "Never assume that tribes shouldn't participate in politics because of Jack Abramoff's actions."

Hillary's Haul

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton raised more than $6 million in the first three months of 2006. Among the contributors:

Anne Rice (left), gothic novelist $1,000

Agua Caliente, Band of Cahuilla Indians

(California tribe linked to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff) $1,100

Anheuser Busch PAC $7,000

Henry Cisneros, former HUD Secretary $1,000

Lee Radziwill, Jackie Onassis' sister $2,100