When Hillary Clinton praised Nancy Reagan's response to AIDS earlier this month, Dominic Lowell's phone blew up.

The day had started well for Lowell, the Clinton campaign's director of outreach to the gay community. His boss, campaign manager Robby Mook, the first openly gay man to run a major presidential campaign, had just spoken to the Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest gay rights organization, to announce a big fundraiser and fire up an audience of activists.

Then, news broke that Clinton had praised the former first lady, who died March 6, for her “low-key advocacy” on fighting AIDS.

For many gay men and women who remember the Reagan administration as a time of tragic indifference to a growing plague, those comments were the equivalent of picking a scab.

The story of how the Clinton camp responded offers insights into an episode that served as a stress test for an operation that has proved far more successful than Clinton's last presidential bid in 2008. The effort demonstrated both the campaign's ability to react quickly as well as the value of her deep ties with key parts of the Democratic base, including long-standing relationships within the gay community. The president of the Human Rights Campaign, Chad Griffin, for example, got his start in politics as an 18-year-old volunteer for Bill Clinton in his first presidential campaign.

The controversy started March 11 when Clinton sat down for an interview with MSNBC before Reagan's funeral in Simi Valley, Calif., to talk about the former first lady. In a decision that would perplex and infuriate supporters, Clinton raised the AIDS issue on her own.

“Because of both President and Mrs. Reagan — in particular Mrs. Reagan — we started a national conversation, when before nobody would talk about it, nobody wanted to do anything about it, and that, too, is something I really appreciate with her very effective low-key advocacy,” she said.

Outrage spread through social media.

Christine Quinn, the first openly gay speaker of the New York City Council, was among the early callers to Lowell.

“I'm on a call figuring this out,” Lowell told her.

The response involved some of the camp's highest-ranking staff. Maya Harris, a senior policy adviser to Clinton, pitched in. Mook quickly got back in touch with the Human Rights Campaign's leadership.

The first response came in a statement posted on Twitter that afternoon.

“I misspoke about (the Reagans') record on HIV and AIDS,” she said. “For that, I'm sorry.”

The next day, Clinton expanded on her apology in an essay posted online.

“To be clear, the Reagans did not start a national conversation about HIV and AIDS,” she wrote. “That distinction belongs to generations of brave lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, along with straight allies.”

Clinton went on to detail her plans for fighting the disease, including efforts to limit the cost of life-saving drugs.

The statement pleased Larry Kramer, a prominent gay activist.

After Clinton's initial comments, he told the online magazine Slate that he was considering a vote for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, her rival for the Democratic nomination.

But then Kramer posted a link to Clinton's essay.

“I almost can't believe she wrote this, but am so happy that she did,” he said. “Boy did she work fast to react to the pressure that so many of us immediately commenced. Onward!”

Joe Jervis, who runs the popular gay news blog, Joe My God, sees a silver lining in the controversy over Clinton's comments.

“It got the entire country talking once again about the horrific inaction of the Reagan administration,” Jervis said. “In the long run, aside from whatever damage it may or may not have done to the Clinton campaign, it was a good thing for gay people.”

chris.megerian@tribpub.com