NOW of N.Y. sees Kennedy ‘betrayal’

The National Organization for Women’s New York state chapter has condemned Sen. Edward M. Kennedy for endorsing Sen. Barack Obama over feminist role model Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, calling his action the “ultimate betrayal” of women.

In an attack on the senator from Massachusetts, the NOW chapter in Mrs. Clinton’s home state said, “Women have just experienced the ultimate betrayal. Sen. Kennedy’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s opponent in the Democratic presidential primary campaign has really hit women hard.”

“We are repaid with his abandonment,” the state chapter said in a statement Tuesday. “He’s picked the new guy over us. He’s joined the list of progressive white men who can’t or won’t handle the prospect of a woman president who is Hillary Clinton.”

The fiery statement was rebuked by NOW’s national office in Washington, which has endorsed Mrs. Clinton, and has been one of Mr. Kennedy’s longtime defenders.

“The National Organization for Women has enormous respect and admiration for Sen. Edward Kennedy,” said NOW President Kim Grady. “For decades Sen. Kennedy has been a friend of NOW, and a leader and fighter for women’s civil and reproductive rights, and his record shows that.”

The New York chapter issued its statement in response to reports that this week’s endorsements by Mr. Kennedy, his son Patrick and his niece Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg have fueled bitter feelings within the Clinton campaign, reportedly shared by Mrs. Clinton, who had hoped that her Senate colleague would have remained neutral in the race.

Mr. Kennedy reportedly endorsed Mr. Obama of Illinois because of his growing concern that the freshman senator was attacked unfairly in increasingly strident rhetoric by former President Bill Clinton, Mrs. Clinton’s chief surrogate, who rejected Mr. Kennedy’s advice to “tone it down.”

Conservative women’s groups yesterday said the NOW chapter’s statement was “over the top” and wrongly based on politics of sexual identity.

“The NOW chapter’s reaction was unhinged. They made it into something personal, that somehow supporting Hillary is synonymous with supporting women in general. I doubt the rest of the country would think that way,” said Carrie Lukas, vice president for policy at the Independent Women’s Forum.

“What was really telling was the bitterness apparent in the NOW statement in their reaction to the Kennedy endorsement. It showed how weakened the once-inevitable Clinton campaign has become,” Mrs. Lukas said.

The bitterness between the two candidates appeared to worsen Monday night when members of Congress gathered in the House chamber to hear President Bush deliver his State of the Union address. TV cameras caught Mrs. Clinton reaching out to shake hands with Mr. Obama and Mr. Kennedy, who sat next to each other, just when Mr. Obama appeared to turn away.

The senator from Illinois said he meant no offense but had turned to shake hands with Sen. Claire McCaskill, Missouri Democrat, who had endorsed his candidacy. He called reports on the episode “mistaken.”

Mrs. Clinton told the story differently to ABC News in an appearance Tuesday night. “Well, I reached my hand out in friendship and unity and my hand is still reaching out. And I look forward to shaking his hand sometime soon,” she said.