The New Hampshire Democratic Party has altered the name of a major fundraiser dinner, dropping the name of former President Bill Clinton to instead honor former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt.
The state party’s annual Kennedy-Clinton Dinner honoring Clinton and former President John F. Kennedy has been renamed to the Eleanor Roosevelt Dinner, which state party chairman Ray Buckley said was appropriate given “our party’s steadfast commitment to electing Democratic women.”
“We are proud to honor Eleanor Roosevelt, a woman revered around the world for her bold leadership and tireless efforts to create justice. She dedicated her life to helping all hard-working Americans and all those who needed a champion,” Buckley said in a statement.
The name of the event had been changed to the Kennedy-Clinton dinner in 2016 from the Jefferson-Jackson dinner honoring former Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. Jefferson and Jackson’s names were cut because they had been slave owners.
Clinton has come under renewed scrutiny this past year as a result of the #MeToo movement, which began late last year as women started to share their personal stories with the #MeToo hashtag on social media starting with dozens of accusations of sexual misconduct against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
Some Democrats voiced new criticism of Clinton.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said late last year that it would have been an “appropriate response” for Clinton to resign as president after it was revealed he had an affair with an intern, Monica Lewinsky.
Clinton was impeached by the House over charges related to the cover-up of his with Lewinsky, but was acquitted by the Senate in 1999.
