Prominent Clinton Backers Slowly Backing Off

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Despite Terry McAuliffe’s insistence that the race is not over and may not even be over when Obama gets to the (new) magic number of 2,118 delegates, the Clinton campaign is facing a serious challenge from within. Key surrogates are weakening in their support.

Here’s former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack:

“It does appear to be pretty clear that Senator Obama is going to be the nominee. After Tuesday’s contests, she needs to acknowledge that he’s going to be the nominee and quickly get behind him.”

Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz:

“It would be most beneficial if we resolved this nomination sooner rather than later… The more time we have to get through a general-election period and the more time we have to prepare in advance of the convention, the better.”

Former national party chairman Donald Fowler, on whether to appeal the Michigan/Florida decision:

“Unless something happens that I don’t expect to happen in the next, say, by the end of June, my answer to that is not only no but, hell no… What good does it do? What good does it do anybody?”

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, on the same:

“I think it’s outrageous they took four delegates away from her… But I think with 170 delegates separating them, it’s not worth making the case.”

Harold Ickes, who emerged as the Clinton campaign’s primary voice in the fight over Michigan and Florida, contradicted Terry McAuliffe when he said, “It’ll be over when one candidate secures the number for the nomination.” Ickes admitted that the race could be over this week, signaling a resignation (or acceptance) that probably exists across Hillaryland.

If I had to gamble, I’d say Clinton leaves the race one day after Obama gets to 2,118. I’d also bet that when Obama gets to 2,117, his campaign receives a rush of endorsements from superdels who want to be the deciding vote.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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