On September 13, William Donohue told the media why he was asking Hillary Clinton to return a donation given to her campaign by a hate monger:
“I was disturbed to read an article in today’s New York Post by Robert Hardt Jr. and Gregg Birnbaum that cited a donation of $8,200 by Dale Djerassi to the ‘New York Senate 2000’ committee of Hillary Clinton’s campaign. They reported that Djerassi had participated in a ‘St. Batman Crucifixion’ in 1994. As they said, ‘The performance art piece was a re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus, featuring a naked man wearing a Batman medallion and mask being tied to a giant cross by Djerassi and another man.’ (Pictures can be accessed on the web at popov.com.) Their description is actually an understatement: the pictures show full-frontal male nudity complete with a graph of the Christ-figure falling to the ground carrying the cross.
“It should also be known that the ‘St. Batman Crucifixion’ was performed at the Djerassi Foundation in Woodside, California. The secretary of the foundation is Dale Djerassi. The foundation, now known as the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, is a current and past recipient of NEA money.
“Not surprisingly, Djerassi runs in the same circles as Mrs. Clinton: in June 1999, he was one of 30 people at a private fund-raising event that was organized by Mrs. Clinton’s friend, Susie Tompkins Buell (Hillary was traveling at the time and couldn’t make it).
“The Catholic League wants Mrs. Clinton to return the money. She set the precedent: in April of this year, she returned a $22,000 donation from a Miami businesswoman tied to international drug trafficking. The woman, Vivian Mannerud, made the contribution in the form of ‘soft money,’ exactly the kind of transfer made by Djerassi in June.
“There is no room to equivocate on this: Djerassi’s work is Christian bashing at its worst and that is why Mrs. Clinton must return the money.”
Though pressed by the Catholic League, Hillary Clinton’s campaign refused to comment on this matter and the media showed no interest in questioning her about it. Since Mrs. Clinton’s offices are in the same building as the Catholic League’s new headquarters (we have the 34th floor and she is on the 8th), we suggest you write to her at Hillary Clinton 2000 Headquarters, 450 7th Avenue, New York, New York 10123. Tell her Bill (Donohue, that is) said she could drop by any time she likes.
