Inside Clinton's Elton John Fundraiser: Singer Amazed By "Misogynistic Attitudes" Of Some In USA

NEW YORK — Experience is central to Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid, and Wednesday night she tapped one of pop music's most venerable rockers to help fill her campaign coffers with $2.5 million. Elton John, who has sold records and filled arenas for four decades, played a benefit concert for Clinton at Radio City Music Hall.

"I've always been a Hillary supporter," John, 61, said before launching into his 1970 breakthrough hits, "Your Song" and "Border Song." "There is no one more qualified to lead America."

The English singer, composer and pianist added: "I'm amazed by the misogynistic attitudes of some of the people in this country. And I say to hell with them .... I love you Hillary, I'll be there for you."

The cheapest tickets, $125 and $250, sold out quickly, campaign aides said. The other seats were filled by fans paying as much as $2,300, the limit for an individual's contribution to a federal candidate.

Preceding John on stage were Clinton, her husband, former President Clinton, and their daughter, Chelsea.

Hillary Clinton struck a defiant, underdog note in describing her battle against Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

"What I want you to know is I'm still standing, and I believe this country is worth fighting for," the New York senator said, playing off the title of one of John's hits. "So we're taking our campaign to Pennsylvania and all the states that haven't voted." Pennsylvania votes April 22.

The Clintons have hobnobbed with Hollywood and music industry figures for years. In 1998, John performed at a White House State Dinner the couple hosted for then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Last October, Clinton celebrated her 60th birthday with a fundraiser at New York's Beacon Theater that featured actor Billy Crystal and musicians Elvis Costello and the Wallflowers. It netted more than $1.5 million for her presidential effort.

Comments

[atila]

i like the old queen elton john but i think he is far away from reality because in politics like she said when she throwed the kitchen sink to Obama,"everything is fair game...",s­o please elton go and pick a fight with Madonna instead to try to complain about US politics..­....

[democraticjack]

Misogyny and homophobia are global issues. I guess if Randi Rhodes or Jeriamiah Wright say it, that would be ok.

[Hallucinocynic]

With you on this, DJ. Misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, and intellectual malaise are synonyms for the citizens of every country. We're just getting the privilege of seeing some of the worst of these disorders during this election season.

[throwoutthebums]

Dear Mr. Page:

I have one question. Shouldn't Elton John's services be considered a donation to Hillary Clinton's campaign and isn't it illegal for a non-citizen to do that. Elton John makes his considrable income performing. Is his performance any different from a donation of cash to Hillary's campaign? Had he just said a few words on her behalf that's a non-issue. For Elton John to use his considerable fan appeal to raise money for her campaign I question whether this is legal since he is a citizen of the U.K. Does this not open the door to a whole host of foreigners getting involved in our political process?

[democraticjack]

A non-issue, asked and answered. It was perfectly legal. Get over it. If you really want to push the issue, we could look into Oprah....

[Plank]

With money flowing from Columbia to Kaskhstan into their coffers, Elton John is the least of their problems.

[Duncan77]

What is wrong with foreigners engaging in the US political process. Who ever is going to be US President is going to have a massive impact on the global stage. It is important for everyone in the world to find out about the candidates. Speaking as a Brit I sometimes think that we should all get a vote in the US presidential election as we will be affected by it.

Oh and Elton, feel free to stay in the US and not come home.

[Plank]

You maybe right.
According to the latest news, "Are Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Elton John breaking U.S. laws by allowing the British pop singer, a foreign national, to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign by performing a concert on her behalf? That's the question Inside the Beltway put to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) yesterday, which does not rule out the possibility. "

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1992434/posts

[dawlishgal]

Even more foreigners than are already paying Bill Clinton and Mark Penn and others like them the big bucks to help ship our jobs from here to their countries?

[Rubyfoo]

Thanks for the input Elton. I'll be sure to support Hillary now, because I certainly don't want to be mysogenistic (however you spell that word). Maybe if I don't support Obama I'd be racist. And if I don't support McCain, I'd be agist. And if I didn't support Ron Paul, I'd anti-racist. What should I do?

[dawlishgal]

Flip a couple of coins?

[AERO]

Elton also went on record a couple years ago, saying that American Idol voters were racists. Wrong again, Elton.

[democraticjack]

Have you watched Idol this year? Check out last week's bottom three. He's right.

[Lyria]

One of the bottom three about whom Elton was commenting went on to be voted the winner for the season -- his racism comment about that season's voting just really didn't end up making any sense.

[Fabienne]

I really hope that the voters for American Idol are not indicative of the entire citizenry of this country.

[pinkyboo]

He thought the voters were racist because the very talented Jennifer Hudson was voted off, and a little white girl who was nowhere near as talented was not - Ms. Hudson went on to win the Oscar - he is right.

[OverIt]

People --- including strong women like me --- are not turning away from Hillary because she has a VAGINA but because she is a DICK!

[democraticjack]

I don't know where your strength lies, but clearly you do not understand sexism as your post was a perfect example of that.

[atlfemdem]

No, it was a play on words.

[dawlishgal]

Political correctness run rampant. People can't even make a joke anymore.

[lafrance]

It is so tiring to have supporters of Clinton going around calling people names simply because they chose to support Obama.
As a 50 year old woman, I always felt that being liberated meant I had the freedom to criticize a politician, regardless of sex, because I did not agree with them. And the freedom to chose who I wanted to be president regardless of gender.
The name calling and accusing people of being sexist simply because they do not support Clinton is what has turned people away from Clinton. They are turned off by the bullying. And the embarrassing way the supporters behave. They make me ashamed for women.
If Clinton was a republican we would not be treated to this silliness. And as a democrat, they, as well as the candidate herself, feel it is right to play the poor victim.
They do not want equality. They want special treatment. They want Hillary fawned over and treated as a serious candidate. When a woman can be treated seriously and put through their paces, only then will women gain the highest office.
As a democrat, I am sorry to say, given the way Hillary and her supporters have acted, I am afraid the first woman president may be republican as only then will she be allowed to be equal without setting off all these old school feminists into fits of finger pointing and victimhood.

[Aleka]

Beautiful post, thank you.

I'd add that mysogyny is actual "woman hating" as opposed to sexism, which is discrimination on the basis of gender. That is a pretty strong word to fling out there.

I think that realistically, in the same way there are while people who won't vote for a black man no matter what, there are some men who won't vote for a woman no matter what. But that is not misogyny, that is sexism.

I think he's confused as to why Clinton gets such animosity - he, as well as her supporters, it seems, don't realize that she is not a very admirable -person- regardless of gender. She'd get the same hostility for trying to cheat, change the rules, go back on her word, and race-baiting if she were a man.

[dm92]

Ditto

[Bluesman48]

It's all about the lying. If there were a straight bone in either Clinton's body, we'd have a lot more tolerance for their DLC views.

[AnninCA]

Elton is free to call it like he sees it. It was his fundraiser for her.

[ChiGuy]

That's right. It was a private function.

Ol' Reggie can be as idiotic as he wishes.

What a shame for Hil that it has to leak out and reflect on so many of her supporters that carry the same ridiculously dismissive opinion of Obama backers.

[dawlishgal]

BRAVA!

[McSurgent]

The name calling is 80 percent Obamans, 20 percent Clintonistas give or take a few points. Plus Obama is running on bringing unity to Democrats and Republicans. Obama needs to give a speech on how his supporters should practice the art of politeness and kindness!!!

[dawlishgal]

I haven't heard one single Obama supporter call Clinton a "hater" or a "cultist" or a "swine." Not one. Your little Hillary even sent the formerly honorable Paul Krugman out to spew that kind of crap about people who had taken a long time to think about it before they decided that they couldn't support any Clinton anymore.

It is true that some people, me included , have a reaction of revulsion at the kind of campaign Hillary is running, and I do wonder what kind of people could continue to support her brand of pathetic last ditch hope that the country is more racist than it seems to be. I haven't labeled these people yet, but the labels are there in the good ole' thesarus, and so is the justification and the temptation to use them. Maybe Obama hasn't told his supporters to be polite, but he certainly isn't sending us out to badmouth Hillary's supporters and even giving us the words to do it. Is there anybody who has failed to notice the similarities in the chronic complaints of Hillary supporters. We are supposed to believe that they came upon these nasty words like "cultists" all by their little peabrained selves. Yeah, right!

I don't know where you got your 80-20 figures from. Perhaps you could provide a link. If none is forthcoming, I will assume that you made them up.

[apresdeluge]

I guess you and I are reading different post here on HuffPost. Just read a few of them on this tread alone and tell me who is calling who names. Hillary has been called "white trash", a "monster" (by an Obama campaign officcial), a "b*tch" and even a "f*cking whore". There was a claim by a MSM outlet that Chelsea has been "pimped out". Clinton supporters are often called "racist", "toothless rednecks", "bigots" etc. Obama's spiritual advisor has called Italians "garlic nosed" and has called upon God to "damn" America. Please let's keep this thing in persective.

[k6007]

Dizzy from spinning yet?

[FrankBlackFrancis]

It was MSNBCs DAvid Schuester who posed the question, are the Clintons pimping out their daughter. Despite an immediate apology, the Clinton's wrote to the head of MSNBC demanding he be fired. That's all I need to know about the Clintons to come to the conclusion they don't represent me or my Democratic Party. Furthermore, the Obama/Muslim myth email, originated from her campaign, her chair in Iowa started it. Her campaign encouraged the media to exploit Obama's admissions of drug use and threw out the idea that he couldn't win because he was black. Spare me the self rightous indignation on behalf of the poor Clinton campaign.

[dawlishgal]

And Obama is constantly being accused of having some dark secret in his past that is bound to come to light should he get the nomination. And "unelectable" is just a code for a last desperate hope that there are more closet racists in this country than anybody could have been aware existed.

The Clinton campaign is trying to plant fear of latent racism...t­o make people think this, 'Well, I am not a racist, at least I don't think I am, but there might be enough OTHER racists who don't realize until they get into the voting booth that they can't vote for a black man. So I had better support Hillary." I can't remember being so totally disgusted with a politician since Bush sent his minions out to slime McCain's beautiful adopted daughter from Bangladesh, just to pick up a few votes from racists of SC.

In some ways Clinton is even worse....s­he is asking people to be cynical, fearful, and to not trust their fellow Americans to do the decent thing. SHE IS HOPING FOR INTOLERANCE to rear its ugly head.

[whiteboyblues]

That last good song Elton John released was Rocket Man

[Duncan77]

I prefer William Shatners version.

[zendem1]

(sung to the tune of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road)

So goodbye you tired old cow,
we've all grown tired of your rap
Best head back to NewYork now
To where they're buyin' your crap..
Maybe there a gov'nor's chair for you,
If there ain't a why there's a how..
so just take all your bullets and dodge them
elsewhere, you tired old cow..

[k6007]

Thats mean.

[ChiGuy]

John is just one more Hillary backer unwilling to face the actual fact that people are seeing Hillary for the cutthroat, dirty politician she really is.

There is no way that we Obama supporters could possibly have taken the time to learn about the candidates.
Oh no. The only POSSIBLE answer is that we all must hate women. Riiiiight.

denial
n.
A thought process whereby one allays anxiety by refusing to acknowledge the existence of certain unpleasant aspects of external reality.

[Horst]

And of course homophobia made John a multimilli­onaire....

[ChiGuy]

Huh??? How so?

[moonwatcher]

Hillary appears on television daily. I barely see Obama or his supporters. It would appear based on television appearances she is the front runner. So much for fair and balanced.

[emj2740]

and yet she wants to play the underdog for sympathy. Your comment speaks to the fact that Hillary gets more coverage than Obama, especially on CNN and Politico.com. But wait, the MSM is not fair to her and men won't vote for a woman right? Victim, Victim, Victim.

[northeast73]

Because if the media puts Obama on, he will, GULP have to answer questions and may screw up....they dont want that, so they focus on her 24/7 in the hopes people will be sick of her, and long to see more of Obama.

[AnninCA]

He's not getting much news right now. It's interesting.

[Pjsandiego]

My goodness victimhood gone nuts. Upset when she's not on the news enough and now upset because she's only on so the public becomes sick of her. What a Clintonista drama fest.

Obama answers every question and it's only a sign of one's intelligence that would suggest the opposite.

Hillary has never been treated worse by the Press. The Press has just pointed out the more numerous screw ups in her campaign, her life, he morals, her philosophies and her political mores.

What kind of person makes a joke about lying about her trip to Bosnia, lies about "mis-speaking", lies about NAFTA, bankrupt's her own campaign, stiffs tradespeople who provided her campaign services, reneges on her promises and WRITTEN PLEDGES not to participate or count the Michigan or Florida primaries, and then suggest that it's Obama's fault that he's following the rules. This is the kind of bullshit a Clinton nomination or heaven forbid a Clinton presidency would bring back. The Clinton years were not good for America- they were just better than the horrible Bush years. Clinton cost the Democratic party the house, the senate and countless offices throughout the country-- not to mention how it effected the Gore Campaign. It's time for a real change and it's time for people like you to get over your obvious bias and open your mind to something other than the same old bull.

[Aleka]

He can answer questions just fine. And not off a cue card, either.

I wish you people would use your heads before you fling stupid accusations around.

[FrankBlackFrancis]

Ah yes, because Hillary is a woman and is losing the nominaiton, it must be because of sexism. I'm sure there are some out there who are sexist. But the fact of the matter is she has run a poor campaign. So much so she has alienated a good chink of people that would have gladly supported her, like myself. This latest attempt to play the victim of sexism only pushes us further away and de-legitamizes real examples of sexism.

[northeast73]

Is talking about her cleavage, calling her whiny, desparate, not real sexism?

[FrankBlackFrancis]

As I said, I'm sure there are some out ther who engage in sexism. Cleavage, yes, whiny and desperate that's debatable. My beef is that to imply that the reason she is doing poorly is because of sexism is ridiculous and frankly insulting to those of us who came to the conclusion she isn't a good candidate based on everything but her sex.

[dgrffy]

The cleavage part? I can't say. Haven't heard that one. Whinny and desperate? No way. It may be true. Elton is pulling out one of the tired old Baby Boomer Liberal tactics: Give me everything I want or you are a (fill in the blank: Homophobe, racist, sexist, etc.). Sometimes I see BB Liberals and I want to dust the cobwebs out of their hair, they have become so archaic and irrelevant. Elton is just on more of his 'I wish I had the power to make everyone agree with me' tour.

[Lyria]

Are your previous comments about the touching of the sexual organ of a thirteen-year-old girl not real sexism? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/users/profile/northeast73 (Kids Pushing Parents To Back Obama http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/07/kids-pushing-parents-to-b_n_95544.html )

[smzzzz]

You can't make a post like this about people attacking hillary after earlier posting this: "Obama camp is the number one "vicitim card player" ever.

Poor black little me....with my poor dead mama...waa­aaaa"

See it shows you are a total hypocrite with no credibility.

[emj2740]

So is talking about Obama's good looks, an empty suit, racist, not sexism against men then?
I believe a lot of feminist are also anti-male and that too is sexism.

[halyscomet]

Elton John can be the band on Hillary's Titanic.

[dawlishgal]

Excellent!

[atlfemdem]

It amazes me that she keeps playing the 'woman as victim' card. I understand that a marriage is between two people (and this was a while ago), but how could any strong, independent woman stand by while her husband juggles cigars and 20-somethings?

I live in the great south, and several (white male) co-workers have stated they're backing Hillary precisely because she didn't leave Bill after the incident. They believe she acted as a good wife by not abandoning her marriage.

Ewww.

[emj2740]

If she had left Bill there would not be a senator clinton nor would she be taking seriously as a POTUS candidate. She has put up with Bill's sex addiction crap for many, many years and the only reason she is still with him is power.

[northeast73]

That is such BS.....HRC could have divorced bill in 2001 but chose to work it out....lik­e millions of other couples.


As a woman of her stature, she could have EASILY remarried someone, and continued her career.

They are not the first family to deal with this issue and stick through it.

[Ihaveadream]

This amazes me too. If you dig deeper into it, you'll find that Hillary was the one who orchestrated the campaigns AGAINST the women who her philandering lech husband sexually harassed. If you didn't keep your mouth shut it was guaranteed that your life was going to be hell. Feminist? Not in my book.

[AnninCA]

She didn't. Elton John spoke. And he's quite right, too.

People don't recognize their own filters, I guess. Take the "whiny" stuff or "playing the victim card" accusation. NPR asked her a question about winning "dirty." Fair question, and she answered it fairly, too. She is correct to point out the bias. He can't win enough delegates either. He, too, needs the super delegates to be awarded the nomination. The super delegates make decisions independently. Yet it's portrayed as "dirty" if she were to win their support? Why? The answer: bias.

If anyone isn't a whiner, it's Hillary. Except for taking MSN to task over outrageous remarks, she's not complained at all. Some of her supporters have. Yet how many times a day is she described as "whiny?" If she points out he's misleading with his ad that he's above taking money from the oil companies when, in fact, his top doners all have work for a company connected with the Rezko trial.....­..she's whiny? LOL*

Whiny is a derogatory term used to demean women. It's intended to shut them up. After all, people like for women just to say nothing. That's the bias.

I don't at all expect the "progressives" here to admit they have participated fully in the trashing of Hillary and have earned the wrath of many women who see exactly what's gone on. It's too much to admit.

But is this the attitude of any true progressive person?

[Plank]

She never answered the question on NPR. Unless you consider "why am I asked the question?" to be an answer. You can always tell a phony politician when they answer questions with other questions.

[Aleka]

Your penchant for taking the truth and twisting it all around into your very own reality astounds me.

[Pjsandiego]

Hillary's failure has nothing to do with her being a woman. She's just not a good person, not a good campaigner, not a real leader and lacks in the basic character requirements to be truly liked.

[poomplet]

"Most in US Amazed That Annoying, Prissy Bitch Songwriter's Rantings on Celebs & Politics Receive Notice in Media Outlets"

Good god, everytime this asshole opens his mouth...be it on Madonna, US Politics, whatever..­..he puts another yellow brick in the road to reinforcing the stereotype of catty, prissy gayness.

[SheTiffany]

I am glad someone said this. So true.

[WaynesWhirled]

That's the problem, Homophobes like you and a lot of Obama supporters will always find something wrong with being gay and cast it in the most negative light possible. Elton John gave a fundraiser for Hillary and offered his opinion,. Just because he is gay doesn't make his opinion catty or prissy (that's just you homophobia talking).

Deal with it.

[debwarot]

Please don't link gay bashing with supporters of Senator Obama. Sir Elton is entitled to his opinion and the fact we do not share it does not constitute gay bashing.

[debwarot]

Just a thought - anyone have an 'in' with Paul McCartney? (smile!)

[Maya2008]

Elton give the American people some credit. I'm a woman and I don't support Hilary for the following reasons: I think she's a lair and she voted for the war and she supported the Kyle/Lieberman bill. It has nothing to do with her gender.

[Independent voter]

Good for you. Too many people seem to want to elect hillary just because she's a woman. I would love to see a woman president, but it has to be the right woman - one who honestly cares about the American people. The clintons only care about feeding their power lust.

hillary is the wrong woman