Clarke Doesn't Expect 'Unintended Consequences' From Supporting Clinton

Unlike David Paterson, Representative Yvette Clarke of Brooklyn is staying on message for the Clinton campaign, and just told me she thinks it’s a little early to write off Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid.

“I think things will become a little bit clearer after she completes her race. But in addition to that, I think some benchmarks she will be looking at, and her campaign will be looking at, what the D.N.C. rules committee comes out with on May 31 around Michigan and Florida, because I think it’s pretty clear that part of her strategy depends on how Michigan and Florida are resolved.”

Clarke went on to say that Clinton "is clearly still running her race, and I support her in that. And we’ll get a better sense when these indicators become a bit more clear.”

Clarke downplayed the suggestion that she’d face any backlash for supporting Clinton after her district voted for Barack Obama (40,828 for Clinton, 53,775 for Obama).

“There’s been some indication in some parts of the country with some members that, you know, there have been, I guess, unintended consequences around their support for the Clinton campaign,” Clarke said. “I don’t get that feeling here. Certainly people have made their preferences known to me, in my constituency. We didn’t have a landslide in the 11th Congressional District, so, I don’t think it’s quite the same as in other districts where it was a wider margin of victory.”