Clinton's frustration grows as race goes on
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Hillary Clinton snapped at a Greenpeace protester. She linked Bernie Sanders and tea party Republicans. And she bristled with anger when nearly two dozen Sanders supporters marched out of an event near her home outside New York City, shouting “if she wins, we lose.”
“They don't want to listen to anyone else,” she shot back. “We actually have to do something. Not just complain about what is happening.”
After a year of campaigning, months of debates and 35 primary elections in the Democratic presidential race, Sanders is finally getting under Clinton's skin.
Clinton has spent weeks largely ignoring Sanders and trying to focus on Republican front-runner Donald Trump. Now, after several primary losses and with a tough fight in New York on the horizon, Clinton is showing flashes of frustration with the Vermont senator — irritation that could undermine her efforts to unite the party around her candidacy.
According to Democrats close to Hillary and former President Bill Clinton, both are frustrated by Sanders' ability to cast himself as above politics-as-usual even while firing off what they label misleading attacks. The Clintons are even more annoyed that Sanders' approach seems to be rallying young voters by his side.
While Hillary Clinton's team contends her lock on the nomination is “nearly insurmountable,” the campaign frequently grumbles that Sanders hasn't faced the same level of scrutiny as the former secretary of state, New York senator and first lady. Her aides complain about Sanders' rhetoric, claiming he's broken his pledge to avoid character attacks by going after her paid speeches and ties to Wall Street. They also point to scenes of Sanders supporters booing Clinton's name at rallies.
Actress Rosario Dawson's 15-minute speech at a New York City rally on Thursday, in which she rallied the crowd by crying “shame on you, Hillary” and noted that Clinton could soon face an FBI interview over the e-mail controversy while at the State Department, underscored the growing tensions between the campaigns.
Over the weekend, the bickering was about a possible debate before the New York primary April 19. Clinton's campaign accused Sanders' of playing “political games” by rejecting three specific dates; Sanders' team volunteered dates the Clinton campaign says are unworkable.Clinton hopes big victories in New York and five Northeastern states a week later will allow her to wrap up the nomination by the end of the month.But aides acknowledge that Sanders, who's raised $109 million this year and has pledged to take his campaign to the party convention in July, is unlikely to feel significant political or financial pressure to drop out of the race, even if it becomes clear he cannot win the nomination.
