"I think it's a cult, not a political movement. Ready for Hillary compared to who?"

In an interview, Clyburn was critical of Ready for Hillary, saying that any effort to gin up excitement for 2016 before the 2014 midterm elections is “putting the cart before the horse.” He said Democratic energies in South Carolina should be focused squarely on helping their gubernatorial candidate, Vincent Sheheen, unseat Gov. Nikki Haley in November.

“The overemphasis and the time and energy spent on presidential politics at this juncture are misplaced,” Clyburn said. “You don’t deal with a structure from the top down in politics. In building any structure you have to build from the bottom up. I just wish that all of these people who spend all their time on presidential politics in 2016 would spend half that time on the governor’s race in 2014, and putting structure in place. I just think this is misplaced priorities.”

Other Democrats were even more disparaging.

“Is Hillary ready for Hillary? That’s the question,” said former South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Dick Harpootlian, who said he plans to support Biden if he runs. “Is it a political organization or a fan club for a boy band? I just don’t understand the idea that somehow you’ve got to encourage her to run. Either people want to run and have a coherent message about why they should be president, or not. She has been around the block. She knows that if she wants to run, she can get in and get the money.”