Tag: Hillary Clinton

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Thoughts On The First Democratic Debate

(photo: Alex Wong)

Just off the top of my head…

• It’s notable that Hillary Clinton was the only candidate to bring up LGBT issues at all last night (partly because the topic wasn’t introduced by the moderator) and she did so in the first few minutes of the event in her opening statement.

“This is about bringing our country together again. And I will do everything I can to heal the divides — the divides economically, because there’s too much inequality; the racial divides; the continuing discrimination against the LGBT community…”

• Hillary knew when to not interject and possibly become a target of the discussion, and when to use body language to nod her head in agreement when others were talking – it kept her visually present in the moment.

• Hillary was ready with a strong answer when asked about her vote for the Iraq war: “Well, I recall very well being on a debate stage, I think, about 25 times with then-Sen. Obama debating this very issue. After the election he asked me to become Secretary of State. He valued my judgment and I spent a lot of time with him in the Situation Room going over some very difficult issues.”

• Anderson Cooper was a highlight worth mentioning, also. Strong, prepared, not afraid of clear follow-up questions, he held the candidates to the questions and when needed would circle back after a non-answer: “Senator, you didn’t answer the question,” he said more than once.

• One quibble I had was the tone set at the beginning as he chose to start with questions that, basically, called each candidate out on their weak spots. No problem with those questions, but I thought it began the event with everyone on defense. As a viewer I’d have preferred that line of questions had come later.

• CNN made little use of the secondary moderators leaving little input from the female (Dana Bash), the African-American (Don Lemon) and the Latino (Juan Carlos Lopez) and there didn’t seem to be a good reason. Cooper delivered a strong performance, but perhaps he forgot his colleagues sitting on stage?

• While I realize neither former Sen. Jim Webb nor Gov. Lincoln Chaffee will not be the next Democratic nominee for president, the amount of time afforded them (which Webb openly groused about the entire evening) was unfair. I understand everyone can’t have EXACTLY the same time, but the difference in talk time and questions was vast. Check the table below.

• Sanders can lay claim to the most memorable moment of the evening when he chimed in on the subject of Clinton’s email server woes. “Let me say something that may not be politically smart, but the secretary is right: the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn e-mails,” Sanders stated. “Thank you, Bernie, thank you,” Clinton said.

Watch below:

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WATCH: Bernie & Hillary Destroy The Republicans’ Email “Scanda…
The ending is AMAZING.Video by Occupy Democrats, LIKE our page for more!
Posted by Occupy Democrats on Tuesday, October 13, 2015

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New Poll Shows Hillary Clinton Favorability Moves Up Among American Voters

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent public outings and TV appearances have helped to improve her favorability among voters.

The new survey shows Clinton is viewed favorably by 47 percent of voters, while 49 percent view her unfavorably.

While her numbers have remained fairly high among Democratic voters, this latest poll shows 4 points improvement with Independents and 2 points with Republicans in the last several weeks.

These numbers are similar to the current number two in the Democratic race, Sen. Bernie Sanders, who also showa fairly even numbers (35%/35%) in his favorable/unfavorable rating.

However, among only Democrats, Hillary holds a commanding lead in favorability compared to Sanders. Seventy-nine percent of Dems see her in a positive light while only 47% view Sanders favorably.

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New Poll Shows Strong Lead For Hillary Clinton In Nevada And South Carolina

While most folks following the Democratic nomination contest are keeping their eyes on Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two voting opportunities in the 2016 presidential race, new CNN/ORC polls for Nevada and South Carolina show a strong, steady hand for Hillary Clinton in those two diverse states.

From CNN:

Clinton has the support of 50% of those who say they are likely to attend the Democratic caucus scheduled for February 20 in Nevada — which plays host to the first debate among the declared Democratic candidates on Tuesday and is the first state to elect delegates after Iowa and New Hampshire.

Sanders follows at 34%, then Vice President Joe Biden at 12%, with the rest of the field garnering less than 1% support.

Among those who say they are likely to vote in South Carolina’s primary, set for one week after Nevada’s caucuses, Clinton holds a larger edge, 49% to Biden’s 24%, with Sanders at 18% and former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley at 3%.

If Biden doesn’t run, the spread gets even wider for Hillary: 70% to Sanders’ 20% in South Carolina; Hillary clicks up 9 to 58% in Nevada without Biden while Sanders only edges up 2 points to 36%

Hillary is currently leading in Iowa, the first in the nation contest, but trailing Sanders in New Hampshire. Heading into Super Tuesday, should she win Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina could put a significant wind at her back.

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Hillary Clinton On National Coming Out Day 2015

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HIllary Clinton: Kim Davis Deserved What Happened To Her Because She Broke The Law

Photo: Reuters

At a campaign appearance at Cornell College in Iowa, Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton was asked “What would you do about somebody if they were to do something like what Kim Davis did recently?”

The question, of course, was in reference to the rogue Kentucky County Clerk who refused to follow the recent SCOTUS ruling on same-sex marriage and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

This was her answer:

“I think what happened to Kim Davis was the right thing,” Clinton replied. “She violated the law, and therefore she was arrested. And when she was released, she had to agree that she would not stand in the way of doing her public duty under the Constitution.

“So I actually think that she was treated as she should have been treated,” Clinton continued, before affirming that “people are totally entitled to their personal, private beliefs.”

But that entitlement doesn’t give anyone, especially elected public officials with a taxpayer-funded salary, the right to disobey the law of the land, Clinton added.

“When you take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, that is your job,” she said. “Whether you agree with a decision or not, we have the rule of law. You have to follow the law. … You either enforce the law or you resign from your public position. That is exactly what should have happened.”

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A Different “Kevin McCarthy” Has A Special Message For You

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An important message from Kevin McCarthy. No, not the Republican House Speaker-in-waiting. Another one. From Iowa.Posted by Hillary Clinton on Wednesday, October 7, 2015

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Congressional Democrats To Release Full Transcripts of Benghazi Investigation Interviews

Congressional Democrats have finally decided to push back against what they call “misleading” edited leaks of testimony from the committee investigating the attack of the American consulate in Benghazi.

From The Daily Beast:

Democrats are announcing their intention to unilaterally release full transcripts of private interviews that the committee has conducted, starting with the testimony of Hillary Clinton chief of staff Cheryl Mills. It’s a dramatic move from the five Democrats on the committee, which under the direction of Rep. Elijah Cummings has so far insisted that it won’t leak information to journalists while the investigation is underway.

[snip]

Democratic efforts to press back against the committee have reached an apex in the past week, as they attempt to capitalize on a misstep by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who linked the committee’s efforts to a political effort to hobble Hillary Clinton’s bid for the White House.

“Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee. A select committee,” McCarthy said on Fox. “What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she’s untrustable. But no one would have known that any of that had happened had we not fought to make that happen.”

The Benghazi inquiry is now the longest special Congressional inquiry in the history of the United States. Longer than Watergate, longer than Iran/Contra, longer than the investigation into the shooting death of President Kennedy.

After eight Congressional investigation into the attack in Benghazi, at a cost of over $4 million to American taxpayers, no evidence of wrongdoing has been found.

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Hillary Clinton On Season Premiere Of Saturday Night Live

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is getting good marks for her appearance on SNL last night where she played a Brooklyn bartender offering support to SNL cast member Kate McKinnon’s “fake Hillary Clinton.”

Via Salon:

The segment did exactly what those close to Clinton have been encouraging her to do to appear more personable: use her self-deprecating sense of humor she’s famous for to help boost sagging poll numbers. The two even mocked some of Clinton’s slow-to-act positions such as her opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline and support of gay marriage. “I could have supported it sooner,” fake Clinton said. “Well, you supported it pretty soon,” real Clinton said. “Yeah… coulda been sooner” said fake Clinton.

The most hilarious moment came when old SNL cast member Darrell Hammond appeared to do his Bill Clinton impression, took one look at the two HRC’s and screamed “Oh my God! They’re multiplying!” before running out of the fake Brooklyn bar.

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Hillary Clinton Speaks To Human Rights Campaign On LGBT Rights

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton addressed members of the Human Rights Campaign this morning, speaking passionately about LGBT rights.

From ABC News:

“Ben Carson says that marriage equality is what caused the fall of the Roman empire,” the Democratic presidential candidate said to laughter during a breakfast at the LGBT rights organization’s annual gathering in Washington, D.C.

Clinton then mentioned Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, which drew hisses and boos from the crowd gathered inside the grand ballroom of the Mayflower Hotel, and went on to challenge him to join her at a gay pride parade.

“Ted Cruz slammed a political opponent for marching in a pride parade. He clearly has no idea what he’s missing. Pride parades are so much fun. I was marching in them back when I was first lady. You should join sometime Senator, come on,” she said.

Both Carson and Cruz have said they believe marriage is between a man and a woman. ABC News has reached out to their campaigns for comment to Clinton’s remarks.

“Hillary would have everyone believe she’s been in favor of marriage equality since the fall of the Roman Empire,” Carson campaign spokesman Doug Watts said. “When she’s not lying, she’s spinning!”

“We need to say with one voice that transgender people are valued, loved, and one of us,” she said. “Transgendered people are still banned from serving … that is an outdated rule. I support the policy review that Defense Secretary [Ash] Carter recently announced in the Pentagon. I hope the United States joins many other countries and lets transgendered people join openly.”

She later called out the Republican presidential candidates for ignoring the issue all together.

“See if you are ever in a forum with any of them, if you can get them to say the word transgendered,” she said.

Speaking of The Equality Act, which has been introduced in Congress, which would outlaw discrimination against LGBTs in virtually every corner of society, Hillary said this:

“It’s a noble piece of legislation that deserves to become the law of the land. As president, I will fight for it and I hope many of you will be with me when I sign it into law.”