Hillary News & Views 6.28: "Hillary is Winning Because She is Being Hillary"

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Today’s Hillary News & Views begins with Clinton's response to yesterday's landmark abortion rights ruling from the Supreme Court.

 

Hillary Clinton writes:

“The Supreme Court’s decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt is a victory for women across America. By striking down politically motivated restrictions that made it nearly impossible for Texans to exercise their full reproductive rights, the Court upheld every woman’s right to safe, legal abortion, no matter where she lives.
“I applaud everyone who flooded the Texas Capitol to speak out against these attacks on women’s health, the brave women and men across the country who shared their stories, and the health care providers who fought for their patients and refused to give up.

“Our fight is far from over. In Texas and across the country, a woman’s constitutional right to make her own health decisions is under attack. In the first three months of 2016, states introduced more than 400 measures restricting access to abortion. We’ve seen a concerted, persistent attack on women’s health and rights at the federal level. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has said women should be punished for having abortions.  He also pledged to defund Planned Parenthood and appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade.

“Today’s decision is a reminder of how much is at stake in this election. We need a President who will defend women’s health and rights and appoint Supreme Court justices who recognize Roe v. Wade as settled law. We must continue to protect access to safe and legal abortion – not just on paper, but in reality.”

Clinton has released a new Fact Sheet detailing her plans for American cities:

Stronger Together: Hillary Clinton’s Vision for Strengthening our Cities and Creating Good-Paying Jobs

Thanks to the strength of the American people, we have worked our way back from the Great Recession. Our economy has added 14.5 million private-sector jobs over 75 straight months, the longest streak on record. But even as our workers have fought back from the crisis, too many Americans are still left out and left behind – particularly in America’s cities. Years of underinvestment have trapped these communities in a downward cycles of under-resourced schools, crumbling infrastructure, and declining opportunity. Hillary Clinton believes it’s time for this to change. She has been fighting for these communities her entire life, and getting results—but she’s just getting started.

Hillary will fight for an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top.

She has a comprehensive agenda to invest in America’s cities, grounded on the premise that local leaders are best equipped to create a better future for their residents—but need the resources and flexibility to get the job done. Hillary will be their partner.
As president, a core goal of Hillary’s agenda will be to break through the dysfunction in Washington to make the biggest investment in new, good-paying jobs since World War II in her first 100 days in office. That will include major new investments in America’s cities. Hillary will:

• Make the largest infrastructure investment since Eisenhower built the interstate highway system, prioritizing underserved communities.
  • Dramatically increase federal infrastructure funding for our cities – making significant new investments in roads and bridges, public transit, drinking and wastewater systems, broadband, schools, and more.
  • Get more federal infrastructure dollars directly into the hands of local governments – increasing funding for competitive programs like TIGER and TIFIA, ensuring funding is available to all communities, and exploring new ways to put formula funding, including highway funds, directly into the hands of mayors.
  • Leverage private capital through a national infrastructure bank – unlocking resources that are sitting on the sidelines to invest in our cities’ future.
  • Cut red tape – streamlining our federal permitting system to increase transparency and remove barriers to investment in the communities that need it most.
  • Work to ensure that these investments create jobs and opportunity for local residents and small businesses. 

• Invest $25 billion to support entrepreneurship and small business growth in underserved communities. Small business is the engine of job growth in our country, and that engine should not be limited by zip code. That’s why Clinton wants to be the “small business president.”
  • Work to increase access to capital, expand access to new markets, and provide tax relief and simplification for America’s small businesses.
  • Provide incubators, mentoring, and training to 50,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners in underserved communities.
  • Expand federal funding for the New Markets Tax Credit, community development financial institutions, and the State Small Business Credit Initiative.
  • Enforce the Community Reinvestment Act to ensure that large banks serve small businesses in hard-hit and underserved communities.

• Support millions of new jobs and pathways of opportunity through a $20 billion investment in youth employment.Roughly one in ten Americans between the ages of 16 and 24 is unemployed, more than twice the national average. And these numbers hide devastating racial disparities, especially in our cities: the unemployment rate for African American teenagers is almost twice that of white teenagers, while the unemployment rate for Latino teenagers is roughly a quarter. Clinton will launch a $20 billion initiative to create millions of new career opportunities for young Americans—including jobs, apprenticeships, and internships—in hard-hit communities and communities of color. 

• Invest $5 billion in reentry programs, and “ban the box.” Millions of Americans leave prison or jail every year without the support they need to succeed. That’s why Clinton will invest $5 billion in proven re-entry job programs. And she will take executive action to “ban the box” for federal employers and contractors, so applicants can demonstrate their qualifications before being asked about their criminal records.

• Make major new investments in housing. In too many cities, our children walk to school down streets lined with decaying buildings or go to sleep under crumbling ceilings. Skyrocketing rent often weighs heavily on working families and displaces people who have lived there for generations. Across the country, families with good credit find the door to sustainable homeownership closed. Clinton will invest in housing in order to create good-paying jobs and connect families to opportunity. She will:
  • Build more affordable rental housing units near good jobs and schools. Clinton will increase support for affordable rental housing in struggling areas.
  • Overcome pockets of distress. Clinton will provide resources to help overcome blight provide, expand CDBG funds, and provide more housing support to high-poverty communities.
  • Support families saving for homeownership. Clinton will support initiatives to match up to $10,000 in savings as a down payment for those who earn less than area median income.

In addition to making these dramatic new investments in America’s cities, Hillary has put forward a comprehensive agenda to create a better future for America’s cities. For example, she will:

• Reform our broken criminal justice system. Hillary believes we must rebuild the bonds of confidence between police officers and the residents they serve, end the era of mass incarceration, and ensure that formerly incarcerated individuals can successfully transition home. She will double funding for the Department of Justice “Collaborative Police Reform” program, reduce mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses, and fight to restore voting rights to individuals who have served their sentences.

• Fight for environmental justice. Clean air and clean water aren’t luxuries—they are basic rights of all Americans. No one in our country should be exposed to toxic chemicals or hazardous wastes because of where they live, their income, or their race. Hillary has put forward a comprehensive environmental justice agenda that aims to eliminate lead as a major public health threat within five years and create hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs in affected communities by cleaning up the more than 450,000 toxic brownfields across the country, expanding access to solar and energy efficiency solutions, and diversifying the energy workforce.

• Keep immigrant families together. While the Supreme Court’s deadlock ruling in Texas v. U.S. was unacceptable, it casts no doubt on the fact that DAPA and DACA are entirely legal. As president, Hillary will continue to defend the programs, do everything possible under the law to go further to protect families, and introduce comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship within her first 100 days. 

• Provide every child with a world-class education. Every child, in every city, should be guaranteed a high-quality education. That is why Hillary will ensure all four-year-olds have access to preschool, invest in our teachers so that urban communities no longer face shortages, and bring computer science into the classroom. 

• Combat gun violence. 33,000 Americans dies each year from gun violence. It is the leading cause of death for young African American men—more than the next nine causes combined. Hillary will stand up to the gun lobby, fight to expand background checks, and crack down on gun stores that flood our communities with illegal guns.

• Power our cities with clean energy. Hillary will work to make America a clean energy superpower while creating good-paying jobs, including by installing half a billion solar panels by the end of her first term and generating enough renewable energy to power every American home within 10 years.

Clinton’s latest ad focuses on her nineties work on CHIP:

Thanks to the Children's Health Insurance Program, eight million kids like Kayla are covered. Watch the new ad:https://t.co/nxVpETmcxy

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 27, 2016

Clinton’s joint appearance with Elizabeth Warren yesterday is garnering rave reviews.

Josh Voorhees writes for Slate:

Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton shared the stage in Cincinnati on Monday for the first time this year. The joint appearance was widely considered to be a vice-presidential-nomination audition for Warren—but watching the action you would be forgiven for thinking she already has the part.

Warren...spoke first, making not just a we-need-to-stop-Donald-Trump endorsement by default, but an affirmative case for the presumptive Democratic nominee. She touted Clinton’s support for progressive goals like raising the minimum wage and regulating Wall Street. “We’re here with someone who gets up every single day and fights for us,” the Massachusetts senator said as Clinton looked on approvingly. “Someone who has spent her whole life fighting for children. Spent her life fighting for women. Spent her life fighting for families. Fighting for health care. Fighting for human rights. Fighting for a level playing field. Fighting for those who need her most. We're here to fight side by side with Hillary Clinton.”

Susan Madrak writes for Blue Nation Review:

This is your must-watch of the day: Two powerhouse women of the Democratic Party joining forces to destroy Donald.

If Donald isn’t worried about this, someone should check his pulse. 

Here is an excerpt from Warren’s remarks — and there’s a lot more where it came from:

“When Donald Trump says he’ll make America great, he means, make it even greater for rich guys just like Donald Trump. Great for the guys who don’t care how much they’ve already squeezed from everyone else. Great for the guys who always want more. Because that’s who Donald Trump is: The guy who wants it all for himself. And watch out, because he will crush you into the dirt to get whatever he wants. That’s who he is!”

Sarah Jones writes for Politicus USA:

If you haven’t watched the rally with Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton today, don’t miss it. It’s lighting in a bottle special. It’s Obama at the DNC in 2004.

Warren is the perfect complement to Hillary Clinton. She makes Clinton cool in a way that Clinton isn’t on her own. Warren is fiery to Clinton’s steady calm. Warren’s admiration and respect for Clinton is contagious. Warren’s populist appeal perfectly enhances Clinton’s solid policy approach.

However the Clinton campaign decides to utilize this rare synergy, these two women together are a powerhouse. The mutual respect is obvious, and Warren brings out the hip part of Hillary Clinton. The on fire aspect that she can use. I wouldn’t say she needs it, she can get her message across but Warren brings authenticity and trustworthiness – two things the decades of Republican attacks have chipped away from Clinton’s persona.

This is that special something. These two women together are incredible. The Democrats have struck gold again, no matter how this relationship is utilized on the trail, as VP or as an opener for rallies, this is it. It is unbeatable.

A lot of what Clinton has been saying all along is being reported as news, even by those who have been following her on the campaign trail from the beginning.  Maybe they're listening for the first time?

CNN reports:

Hillary Clinton, facing direct criticism about her trustworthiness from rival Donald Trump, admitted Monday she needs to do more to earn voters' trust.

"I personally know I have work to do on this front," Clinton said at a Rainbow Push Collation luncheon, from prepared remarks. Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, spoke at length about a deterioration of trust throughout the country and institutions, but argued that her own trustworthiness issues are a byproduct of politicians looking to score political points and "25 years' worth of wild accusations." 

"A lot of people tell pollsters they don't trust me. Now I don't like hearing that and I have thought a lot about what is behind it," she said. 

"It certainly is true, I have made mistakes. I don't know anyone who hasn't," she said, while still maintaining outside factors -- such as partisan attacks -- are also to blame for the perception. 

"Now maybe we can persuade people to change their minds by marshaling facts and making arguments to rebut negative attacks," Clinton said. "But that doesn't work for everyone. You can't just talk to someone about trusting you. You have got to earn it." 

"Yes, I can say, the reason I sometimes sound careful with my words, it is not that I am hiding something, it is just that I am careful with my words," Clinton said. "I believe what you say actually matters. I think that is true in life and it is especially true if you are president. So I do think before I speak." 

Opponents, Clinton said, "have accused me of every crime in the book." 

"None of it is true, never has been," she said. "But accusations like that never really disappear when they are out there. And a lot of what people read about me in certain corners of the internet and a lot of what Donald Trump says about me is just that same nonsense. But, I know trust has to be earned." 

"So here is what I say to voters who may have doubts: No one will fight harder for your or your families than I will. You can count on that," she said. "I have been called a lot of things but 'quitter' is not one of them."

In the parallel universe that still includes Bernie Sanders as a Democratic candidate for the presidency, patience is wearing thin.

Melissa McEwan writes for Shakesville:

I am incandescently angry that Sanders is, at this point in the election, going on national television to say that Hillary Clinton need to "make it clear which side [she is] on," and suggesting that she can only earn his supporters' votes by a wholesale adoption of his platform, which would necessarily mean abandoning some of the things for which she drew support.

Clinton, meanwhile, continually gets attacked by Sanders and his supporters for carrying the water of special interests when her plans are not unilateral specifically because she centers the working people who would be both directly and indirectly affected by the sudden immolation of an entire industry, without regard for the reverberating consequences.

In my view—and in the view of millions of other people—that makes her positions more progressive, not less so.

The Democratic platform draft is more progressive than it has ever been—and, to be frank, it is more progressive than Sanders' own platform, explicitly because it does not treat wealth inequality as the only issue that matters to marginalized people. Centering reproductive rights, mass incarceration, immigration, LGBTx rights, and all manner of policy that directly affects marginalized people—and issues all that would be not be rectified by "going after Wall Street"—is, by many measures other than Sanders' highly personal and subjective definition of progressivism, the most progressive option.

Clinton's supporters aren't keen to see that abandoned to embrace Sanders' list of demands, when many of those demands conflict with the approach we voted for Clinton because she advocated.

She won, commandingly, because of her approach. And the reality is that she is now the only candidate who stands between Donald Trump and the US presidency.

Sure, keep advocating for her to be even more progressive. I plan to do that, too! It doesn't stop me from giving her my support. And it sure doesn't inspire me to pretend that she's not progressive at all; that she's somehow on a "different side" than I am.

Bernie Sanders continues to assert that he's just engaging in "good politics," but he's not. He's engaging in blackmail and throwing a fucking tantrum.
This is not how politics works. You don't get everything you want, not even (and especially) when you're president. And you certainly don't when you're the loser, even if you want to imagine otherwise by refusing to concede.

Joan Walsh writes for The Nation:

If you told me before I left on vacation two weeks ago that when I returned Senator Bernie Sanders would have secured huge Democratic platform concessions—a commitment to a $15-an-hour minimum wage, a death-penalty ban, a financial-transaction tax, a modernized version of “Glass-Steagall” banking regulations, a surtax on multimillionaires, Social Security expansion, among other priorities—I’d have expected to see Sanders out campaigning with Clinton this week, having enthusiastically endorsed her.

So why isn’t Sanders boasting about his platform wins—and taking steps to endorse Clinton, and bring his voters on board? On Sunday he told CNN’s Jake Tapper that Clinton has to make more concessions. “We have made some good gains. We have more to do,” he said. Where Ellison was ebullient about the platform process, Sanders looked dour. He told Tapper: “I think, right now, what we are doing is trying to say to the Clinton campaign: ‘Stand up, be bolder than you have been,’ and then many of those voters in fact may come on board.”

But what more can Sanders realistically expect to win, through the platform process, by withholding his endorsement? The platform will not contain a commitment to single-payer health care. One of the committee’s most ferocious backers of building on the Affordable Care Act, not trashing it, happened to be Sanders’s frequent progressive ally Representative Barbara Lee. She clashed with diehard Sanders backer National Nurses Union executive director RoseAnn DeMoro over why Sanders supporters were diminishing the accomplishment that was the ACA, and not doing anything to enhance it on the road to single-payer, which Lee herself supports (as do I).

Sanders supporters like Ellison hope to push the full platform committee a little further in Orlando next month. Clinton appointee Neera Tanden, who has worked for the former first lady, senator, and secretary of state, says there could possibly be more movement, but also suggests that the Clinton side has moved pretty far already. “The platform represents a good-faith effort—more than good faith, really—to accommodate many of Senator Sanders’s ideas,” Tanden says. She adds, a little ironically: “But we also thought it appropriate to make sure it represents some of Secretary Clinton’s ideas, where they differ, because, well, she won the primary.”

And that’s the bottom line. She won the primary. Handily. By three times the number of delegates Obama won by in 2008. Sanders got five platform committee delegates; she got six. There was always going to be negotiation, and he was always going to lose on some issues. Because he lost. Or to put it another way: He failed to marshal a majority of Democratic voters behind his platform.

Of course, Sanders and his supporters can continue to fight for their planks, with the full platform committee in Orlando, and even on the convention floor in Philadelphia. That’s happened before; it hasn’t destroyed the party. What will be destructive, however, is if Sanders continues to tie his endorsement to Clinton’s accepting his remaining platform demands. She can’t, and she won’t. Sanders may even be setting himself up for less influence in Philadelphia, rather than more, with this ongoing crusade. There are certainly progressive Clinton delegates who might want to vote to strengthen the minimum-wage language, or oppose the TPP, to put the party on record behind more progressive goals. But if Sanders is holding Clinton hostage to winning on those issues, not one Clinton delegate will consider anything he’s asking.

Greg Sargent writes for Washington Post:

What is Bernie Sanders thinking?

That isn’t intended as snark or even as a rhetorical question. I genuinely don’t understand what Sanders thinks is going to happen if he continues to refrain from endorsing Hillary Clinton, as he did on CNN yesterday. It seems unlikely at this point that holding out in this fashion will make any real difference to the outcome of his efforts to shape the party platform at the convention.

Meanwhile, if anything, the window for Sanders’s endorsement to have made a dramatic impact in terms of media attention and rallying his supporters against Donald Trump — a goal Sanders himself has said he intends to devote himself to — may, if anything, be closing.

But it’s unclear at this point how much withholding that endorsement will actually do to accomplish what he wants to accomplish. Today Elizabeth Warren gave a rousing speech with Clinton in Ohio in which she attacked Trump in spirited, populist terms before a wildly cheering crowd. Warren is filling the space that Sanders might have inhabited — she is emerging as the leading progressive in the country who is making the case against Trump-onomics, and contrasting it sharply with the Democrats’ — and, yes, Hillary Clinton’s — economic vision. Meanwhile, this week’s Post poll found that only eight percent of Sanders supporters say they’ll back Trump, dramatically down from 20 percent last month — meaning that Sanders’ supporters may be rallying to Clinton even if Sanders himself isn’t. Events are moving on.

Obviously the Clinton team wants Sanders to endorse her, and if and when he does, it will come as a relief. And surely negotiations are ongoing between the highest levels of the Sanders and Clinton camps over how to manage that outcome, what more Sanders might be given for it, and what Sanders’s future role might look like. But it’s no longer clear that holding out will have that much of an influence on the shape of the platform in the end. And it may even risk diminishing the import of that endorsement once it happens.

Despite her healthy lead in the general election polls and her decisive primary election victory, the media is still concern trolling Clinton. I close with the piece that supplies today’s headline quote.

Melissa McEwan writes for Blue Nation Review:

Hillary is winning because she’s being Hillary.

And I, for one, am proud – and grateful – that she remains steady and indomitable in the face of garbage advice, much of which is nothing more than cloaked gender bias, because no male candidate with such obvious success would be subjected to condescending lectures on how he needed to do even better; to relentless “advice” that necessarily implies improvement is necessary.

I’m glad that she doesn’t take advice from pundits who have spent the last three decades trying to destroy her.

Why on earth would she? Why would any sensible person take advice from anyone who didn’t have their best interests in mind when offering unsolicited advice?

That Hillary continues to ignore pundits who tell her she needs to be doing something – anything – differently when she’s commandingly winning is further evidence of her strength and wisdom.

The only advice she needs from pundits right now is: Keep doing whatever you’re doing, because it’s clearly working.

Anyone who doesn’t see that isn’t worth her time or attention. And it isn’t worth ours, either.

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