Connecting the dots on Hillary Clinton

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READY: Hillary Clinton rallied an enthusiastic audience of Democratic partisans on Saturday on Roosevelt Island in New York City

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BUBBA IN THE HOUSE: Bill Clinton, America's 42nd president and Hillary Clinton's long-wayward husband (right), was on hand but did not speak

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EMBARRASSING: A smaller-than-expected crowd came to Roosevelt Island, leaving a crowd overflow area completely empty


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His take on Hillary Clinton's relaunch speech – or her 'reset button,' if you're a mocking Republican – encapsulates the group that came out to hear Clinton's first major speech since she announced her presidential candidacy more than two months ago.
Clinton said Saturday that she chose the outdoor Four Freedoms Park on the island because it's 'a place with absolutely no ceilings.'
She hearkened back to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's promise of 'four freedoms,' and his social agenda that included 'the ending of special privilege for the few, the preservation of civil liberties for all, a wider and constantly rising standard of living.'
'That still sounds good to me,' Clinton said.
Clinton's ubiquitous armored van, dubbed 'Scooby,' made an appearance as her motorcade crept across the only drivable bridge connected to Roosevelt Island
As she was announced, an unpractised chorus of 'Hillary! Hillary!' rang out.
No one could agree at first how fast to yell the name.
Once Clinton began speaking, they cheered loudest for populist and anti-wealthy notes in the speech, even though Clinton herself is worth tens of millions.
She railed against bankers and the investment class, some of whom she said were 'making more than all of America's kindergarten teachers combined, and often paying a lower tax rate.'
Republicans, she said, are 'all dinging the same old song. A song called 'Yesterday'. ... They believe in yesterday.'
'If the candidates who deny climate change aren't scientists, why don't they start listening to those who are?' she asked.
'They shame and blame women rather than respect our right to make our own reproductive health decisions. ... They want to put immigrants who work hard and pay taxes at risk of deportation.'
'These Republicans trip over themselves promising lower taxes for the wealthy,' she said, complaining of a conservative-dominated era when 'time-tested values were replaced by false promises.'
In a clear jab at the Ronald Reagan era, Clinton lamented that 'we were told if we let those at the top pay lower taxes ... their success would trickle down to everyone else.'
That brought energetic boos from her gallery.
She also carped that Republcians 'borrowed money from other countries' instead of using surpluses when her husband was president to pay down the national debt.
Clinton hasn't explained how she can distance herself from President Barack Obama, a Democrat under whom America's public debt has grown more than in the rest of America's history combined.


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SCOOBY DOO-OVER: Clinton's second shot at launching her second presidential campaign has her riding around parts of the United States in a custom van dubbed 'Scooby' because it reminded her staffers of the famous van in the Scooby Doo cartoon series

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FUTURE 'FIRST GENTLEMAN'? Bill gave his wife a hug after her speech, which focused on the economy and working-class Americans

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A SMALLISH SEA OF HUMANITY: About 5,500 streamed into Roosevelt Island's Four Freedoms Park on Saturday for Hillary Clinton's relaunch speech

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THEY LIKE ME!: Clinton received a series of peppered ovations, especially when she touched on pocketbook issues and topics that interest younger Americans



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But she played steadily from the populist crib-sheet, saying her measure of success would be 'how many children climb out of poverty,' along with how many startups employ Americans and how many students can graduate from college without 'drowning in debt.'
That brought generous applause from the young-skewing crowd, as did statements about government-funded preschool, pay equity for women, college affordability and upgrading broadband Internet service.
Applause lines about rewriting the U.S. tax code and combating climate change earned far more tepid cheers.
Clinton raised some eyebrows with claims about her successes as secretary of state and her policy projections for her presidency.
'I will support a constitutional amendment to undo the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United,' she said.
That's the landmark case that allowed super PACs to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money – a proposition that Clinton herself is leveraging to the hilt.
She also complained about a class of Americans whose enormous wealth allows them to 'bend the rules,' a group that Republicans charge she belongs in given her secret email server and the controversies over her family foundation's ethics.
And she pledged that 'as president I'll do whatever it takes to keep Americans safe.'
That will likely bring a stern response from the GOP, which revels in reminding Americans about the four deaths in Benghazi, Libya, during a 2012 terror attack on a State Department facility on Clinton's watch.
Republicans issued a statement from Blaise Ingoglia, chairman of their party in Florida, a key 2016 battleground state.
'By relaunching her campaign,' Ingoglia said, 'H'illary Clinton believes Americans will forget the numerous scandals troubling her campaign. However, more than ever, voters are asking for an explanation to why her organization received tens of millions of dollars from questionable donors who were lobbying her State Department, and a clarification about her personal email and server used for government duties.'
'This relaunch is nothing more than her attempt to sweep past indiscretions under the rug.'
Hillary's surrogates and press aides distributed talking points and projections of a landmark address ahead of time, saying the former secretary of state would outline 'her reason for running and what she wants to accomplish as President.'
The upper-case 'P' is no accident. Clinton already sees herself in grand terms, said Cassie Marcus, a 40-something homemaker who made the trek from Bergen County, New Jersey.
'Why shouldn't she see herself in the Oval Office?' Marcus asked. 'She's earned it. All those campaigns, all that travel at the State Department. All that putting up with Bill.'
The bread in the Hillary sandwich so far has been thin and frustrating so far this year, with the GOP running her down for holding private and clannish fundraisers while giving the 'everyday Americans' she claims to champion little inkling of what she's about.
It's the meat in that sandwich that people came from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut to hear.

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DRESSED UP: Supporters arrived early, many wearing t-shirts and pins adorned with Clinton's campaign logo or 'I'm ready for Hillary'

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FAN BASE: A young-skewed audience arrived from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut to hear Clinton's first major speech since she announced her presidential campaign two months ago

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KA-CHING: Volunteers were on hand to hawk official campaign merchandise for anyone who forgot their Hillary gear at home – or wanted more

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This picture of Hillary clasping supporters' hands was posted on her official Instagram with the caption 'Hillary just stood on a stage in New York City in front of thousands of people and made it clear: Nobody will fight harder for every single American than she will'



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They got it in spades, with Clinton touching on every issue in the progressive briefing book: a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, paid family leave, drug addiction intervention and a more lenient criminal just system, global warming, an emphasis on clean energy, the mainstreaming of same-sex marriage, and a remaking of the U.S. tax code to benefit working families.
Clinton aides said Saturday that Clinton will give one issue-focused policy speech every week for the rest of the summer.
Her press team emphasized economic issues in the 24 hours before the speech – likely in an attempt to shed her troubling image as a wealthy elitist whose speaking fees are several times America's average annual salary.
And they pointed out that she would lean on the example of her mother – likely to paint herself as more sympathetic.
Leveraging the late Dorothy Rodham isn't a new strategy for Clinton. She gently dropped her mother into the center of her presidential pitch eight years ago.
'She didn't have a very easy time of it as a young child,' Clinton told a group of California Democratic Party activists in June 2007, according to an account from The Washington Post.
Her stump speech back then focused on how Mrs. Rodham instilled a sense of toughness in her, having survived a bleak childhood despite poverty and teenage parents who rejected her at a young age.
What's different this time around is that Mrs. Rodham passed away in November 2011, when Hillary was nearly three years into her run as secretary of state.
A Clinton campaign aide told Daily Mail Online on Friday that Hillary 'didn't want to make her mom a campaign prop while she was still alive.'
'She also didn't want to subject her to the hassle of having camera shoved in her face,' the aide said, insisting on anonymity because she was not authorized to speak with the press.
Also different is how Clinton is making use of her mother's life-narrative this time around.
In 2007 she hat-tipped Mrs. Rodham as a way of introducing herself to voters outside the state of New York whose only impressions of her were formed when she was the American first lady.
On Saturday she said her mother taught her 'that everybody needs a chance and a champion. She knew what it was like not to have either one.'


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MOM: Hillary leaned on the memory of her late mother Dorothy Rodham, saying she taught her that everyone deserves a chance

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Hillary kept a family focus on her Instagram, sharing a snap of her and Bill posing with daughter Chelsea and her husband Marc Mezvinsky

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TROUBLE: Clinton's poll numbers look bad as she enters a more earnest period in her second presidential campaign


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Now, however, her mother's hardscrabble upbringing is a needed counterweight to Hillary's reputational baggage as a member of the wealthy elite.
While her early campaign pitch has included a pledge to champion the needs of 'everyday Americans,' polls show the message is falling on too many deaf ears.
In a Vox Populi Polling poll released Friday by the conservative super PAC American Crossroads, just 42 per cent of active voters in six critical swing states said Clinton shares their values.
A majority, 51 per cent, said she does not.
Hillary's campaign seems keenly aware of her empathy deficit.
In an internal 'talking points' memo published online Friday by Business Insider , Clinton spokeswoman Adrienne Elrod wrote that the Democratic front-runner would discuss on Saturday 'how the example of her late mother—who was abandoned as a child—taught her how every child needs a champion to have a true shot to succeed.'
Elrod, a campaign go-between familiar to reporters from her years on Capitol Hill and with the pro-Hillary American Bridge PAC, is best known in political circles as half of the two-person team who made an 'enemies list' for Hillary in 2008, consisting of turncoat political allies who abandoned her, burned her, or went to bat for her presidential primary nemesis Barack Obama.
Today the enemies are Republicans. Even though Hillary doesn't know who the GOP will nominate for president, she's setting herself up to be Obama's heir apparent.
'All those years carrying water for Obama, the guy who beat her last time,' Philadelphia department store employee Manuel Ortiz mused Saturday.
'If I were her, I'd be ready for the big job. Wouldn't you?'

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[h=3]THE COMPLETE SPEECH: HILLARY CLINTON'S RE-LAUNCH IN NEW YORK CITY[/h]Thank you! Oh, thank you all! Thank you so very, very much.
It is wonderful to be here with all of you.
To be in New York with my family, with so many friends, including many New Yorkers who gave me the honor of serving them in the Senate for eight years.
To be right across the water from the headquarters of the United Nations, where I represented our country many times.
To be here in this beautiful park dedicated to Franklin Roosevelt's enduring vision of America, the nation we want to be.
And in a place… with absolutely no ceilings.
You know, President Roosevelt's Four Freedoms are a testament to our nation's unmatched aspirations and a reminder of our unfinished work at home and abroad. His legacy lifted up a nation and inspired presidents who followed. One is the man I served as Secretary of State, Barack Obama, and another is my husband, Bill Clinton.
Two Democrats guided by the – Oh, that will make him so happy. They were and are two Democrats guided by the fundamental American belief that real and lasting prosperity must be built by all and shared by all.
President Roosevelt called on every American to do his or her part, and every American answered. He said there's no mystery about what it takes to build a strong and prosperous America: 'Equality of opportunity… Jobs for those who can work… Security for those who need it… The ending of special privilege for the few… The preservation of civil liberties for all… a wider and constantly rising standard of living.'
That still sounds good to me.



.It's America's basic bargain. If you do your part you ought to be able to get ahead. And when everybody does their part, America gets ahead too.That bargain inspired generations of families, including my own.
It's what kept my grandfather going to work in the same Scranton lace mill every day for 50 years.
It's what led my father to believe that if he scrimped and saved, his small business printing drapery fabric in Chicago could provide us with a middle-class life. And it did.
When President Clinton honored the bargain, we had the longest peacetime expansion in history, a balanced budget, and the first time in decades we all grew together, with the bottom 20 percent of workers increasing their incomes by the same percentage as the top 5 percent.
When President Obama honored the bargain, we pulled back from the brink of Depression, saved the auto industry, provided health care to 16 million working people, and replaced the jobs we lost faster than after a financial crash.
But, it's not 1941, or 1993, or even 2009. We face new challenges in our economy and our democracy.
We're still working our way back from a crisis that happened because time-tested values were replaced by false promises.
Instead of an economy built by every American, for every American, we were told that if we let those at the top pay lower taxes and bend the rules, their success would trickle down to everyone else.
What happened?
Well, instead of a balanced budget with surpluses that could have eventually paid off our national debt, the Republicans twice cut taxes for the wealthiest, borrowed money from other countries to pay for two wars, and family incomes dropped. You know where we ended up.
Except it wasn't the end.
As we have since our founding, Americans made a new beginning.
You worked extra shifts, took second jobs, postponed home repairs... you figured out how to make it work. And now people are beginning to think about their future again – going to college, starting a business, buying a house, finally being able to put away something for retirement.
So we're standing again. But, we all know we're not yet running the way America should.
You see corporations making record profits, with CEOs making record pay, but your paychecks have barely budged.
While many of you are working multiple jobs to make ends meet, you see the top 25 hedge fund managers making more than all of America's kindergarten teachers combined. And, often paying a lower tax rate.
So, you have to wonder: 'When does my hard work pay off? When does my family get ahead?'
'When?'
I say now.
Prosperity can't be just for CEOs and hedge fund managers.
Democracy can't be just for billionaires and corporations.
Prosperity and democracy are part of your basic bargain too.
You brought our country back.
Now it's time – your time to secure the gains and move ahead.
And, you know what?
America can't succeed unless you succeed.
That is why I am running for President of the United States.
Here, on Roosevelt Island, I believe we have a continuing rendezvous with destiny. Each American and the country we cherish.
I'm running to make our economy work for you and for every American.
For the successful and the struggling.
For the innovators and inventors.
For those breaking barriers in technology and discovering cures for diseases.
For the factory workers and food servers who stand on their feet all day.
For the nurses who work the night shift.
For the truckers who drive for hours and the farmers who feed us.
For the veterans who served our country.
For the small business owners who took a risk.
For everyone who's ever been knocked down, but refused to be knocked out.
I'm not running for some Americans, but for all Americans.
Our country's challenges didn't begin with the Great Recession and they won't end with the recovery.
For decades, Americans have been buffeted by powerful currents.
Advances in technology and the rise of global trade have created whole new areas of economic activity and opened new markets for our exports, but they have also displaced jobs and undercut wages for millions of Americans.
The financial industry and many multi-national corporations have created huge wealth for a few by focusing too much on short-term profit and too little on long-term value… too much on complex trading schemes and stock buybacks, too little on investments in new businesses, jobs, and fair compensation.
Our political system is so paralyzed by gridlock and dysfunction that most Americans have lost confidence that anything can actually get done. And they've lost trust in the ability of both government and Big Business to change course.
Now, we can blame historic forces beyond our control for some of this, but the choices we've made as a nation, leaders and citizens alike, have also played a big role.
Our next President must work with Congress and every other willing partner across our entire country. And I will do just that – to turn the tide so these currents start working for us more than against us.
At our best, that's what Americans do. We're problem solvers, not deniers. We don't hide from change, we harness it.
But we can't do that if we go back to the top-down economic policies that failed us before.


.Americans have come too far to see our progress ripped away.Now, there may be some new voices in the presidential Republican choir, but they're all singing the same old song...
A song called 'Yesterday.'
You know the one – all our troubles look as though they're here to stay … and we need a place to hide away… They believe in yesterday.
And you're lucky I didn't try singing that, too, I'll tell you!
These Republicans trip over themselves promising lower taxes for the wealthy and fewer rules for the biggest corporations without regard for how that will make income inequality even worse.
We've heard this tune before. And we know how it turns out.
Ask many of these candidates about climate change, one of the defining threats of our time, and they'll say: 'I'm not a scientist.' Well, then, why don't they start listening to those who are?
They pledge to wipe out tough rules on Wall Street, rather than rein in the banks that are still too risky, courting future failures. In a case that can only be considered mass amnesia.
They want to take away health insurance from more than 16 million Americans without offering any credible alternative.
They shame and blame women, rather than respect our right to make our own reproductive health decisions.
They want to put immigrants, who work hard and pay taxes, at risk of deportation.
And they turn their backs on gay people who love each other.
Fundamentally, they reject what it takes to build an inclusive economy. It takes an inclusive society. What I once called 'a village' that has a place for everyone.
Now, my values and a lifetime of experiences have given me a different vision for America.
I believe that success isn't measured by how much the wealthiest Americans have, but by how many children climb out of poverty...
How many start-ups and small businesses open and thrive…
How many young people go to college without drowning in debt…
How many people find a good job…
How many families get ahead and stay ahead.
I didn't learn this from politics. I learned it from my own family.
My mother taught me that everybody needs a chance and a champion. She knew what it was like not to have either one.
Her own parents abandoned her, and by 14 she was out on her own, working as a housemaid. Years later, when I was old enough to understand, I asked what kept her going.
You know what her answer was? Something very simple: Kindness from someone who believed she mattered.
The 1st grade teacher who saw she had nothing to eat at lunch and, without embarrassing her, brought extra food to share.
The woman whose house she cleaned letting her go to high school so long as her work got done. That was a bargain she leapt to accept.
And, because some people believed in her, she believed in me.
That's why I believe with all my heart in America and in the potential of every American.
To meet every challenge.
To be resilient… no matter what the world throws at you.
To solve the toughest problems.
I believe we can do all these things because I've seen it happen.
As a young girl, I signed up at my Methodist Church to babysit the children of Mexican farmworkers, while their parents worked in the fields on the weekends. And later, as a law student, I advocated for Congress to require better working and living conditions for farm workers whose children deserved better opportunities.
My first job out of law school was for the Children's Defense Fund. I walked door-to-door to find out how many children with disabilities couldn't go to school, and to help build the case for a law guaranteeing them access to education.
As a leader of the Legal Services Corporation, I defended the right of poor people to have a lawyer. And saw lives changed because an abusive marriage ended or an illegal eviction stopped.
In Arkansas, I supervised law students who represented clients in courts and prisons, organized scholarships for single parents going to college, led efforts for better schools and health care, and personally knew the people whose lives were improved.
As Senator, I had the honor of representing brave firefighters, police officers, EMTs, construction workers, and volunteers who ran toward danger on 9/11 and stayed there, becoming sick themselves.
It took years of effort, but Congress finally approved the health care they needed.
There are so many faces and stories that I carry with me of people who gave their best and then needed help themselves.
Just weeks ago, I met another person like that, a single mom juggling a job and classes at community college, while raising three kids.
She doesn't expect anything to come easy. But she did ask me: What more can be done so it isn't quite so hard for families like hers?
I want to be her champion and your champion.
If you'll give me the chance, I'll wage and win Four Fights for you.
The first is to make the economy work for everyday Americans, not just those at the top.
To make the middle class mean something again, with rising incomes and broader horizons. And to give the poor a chance to work their way into it.
The middle class needs more growth and more fairness. Growth and fairness go together. For lasting prosperity, you can't have one without the other.
Is this possible in today's world?
I believe it is or I wouldn't be standing here.
Do I think it will be easy? Of course not.
But, here's the good news: There are allies for change everywhere who know we can't stand by while inequality increases, wages stagnate, and the promise of America dims. We should welcome the support of all Americans who want to go forward together with us.
There are public officials who know Americans need a better deal.
Business leaders who want higher pay for employees, equal pay for women and no discrimination against the LGBT community either.
There are leaders of finance who want less short-term trading and more long-term investing.
There are union leaders who are investing their own pension funds in putting people to work to build tomorrow's economy. We need everyone to come to the table and work with us.
In the coming weeks, I'll propose specific policies to:


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Reward businesses who invest in long term value rather than the quick buck – because that leads to higher growth for the economy, higher wages for workers, and yes, bigger profits, everybody will have a better time.
I will rewrite the tax code so it rewards hard work and investments here at home, not quick trades or stashing profits overseas.
I will give new incentives to companies that give their employees a fair share of the profits their hard work earns.
We will unleash a new generation of entrepreneurs and small business owners by providing tax relief, cutting red tape, and making it easier to get a small business loan.
We will restore America to the cutting edge of innovation, science, and research by increasing both public and private investments.
And we will make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century.
Developing renewable power – wind, solar, advanced biofuels…
Building cleaner power plants, smarter electric grids, greener buildings…
Using additional fees and royalties from fossil fuel extraction to protect the environment…
And ease the transition for distressed communities to a more diverse and sustainable economic future from coal country to Indian country, from small towns in the Mississippi Delta to the Rio Grande Valley to our inner cities, we have to help our fellow Americans.
Now, this will create millions of jobs and countless new businesses, and enable America to lead the global fight against climate change.
We will also connect workers to their jobs and businesses. Customers will have a better chance to actually get where they need and get what they desire with roads, railways, bridges, airports, ports, and broadband brought up to global standards for the 21st century.
We will establish an infrastructure bank and sell bonds to pay for some of these improvements.
Now, building an economy for tomorrow also requires investing in our most important asset, our people, beginning with our youngest.
That's why I will propose that we make preschool and quality childcare available to every child in America.
And I want you to remember this, because to me, this is absolutely the most-compelling argument why we should do this. Research tells us how much early learning in the first five years of life can impact lifelong success. In fact, 80 percent of the brain is developed by age three.
One thing I've learned is that talent is universal – you can find it anywhere – but opportunity is not. Too many of our kids never have the chance to learn and thrive as they should and as we need them to.
Our country won't be competitive or fair if we don't help more families give their kids the best possible start in life.
So let's staff our primary and secondary schools with teachers who are second to none in the world, and receive the respect they deserve for sparking the love of learning in every child.
Let's make college affordable and available to all …and lift the crushing burden of student debt.
Let's provide lifelong learning for workers to gain or improve skills the economy requires, setting up many more Americans for success.
Now, the second fight is to strengthen America's families, because when our families are strong, America is strong.
And today's families face new and unique pressures. Parents need more support and flexibility to do their job at work and at home.
I believe you should have the right to earn paid sick days.
I believe you should receive your work schedule with enough notice to arrange childcare or take college courses to get ahead.
I believe you should look forward to retirement with confidence, not anxiety.
That you should have the peace of mind that your health care will be there when you need it, without breaking the bank.
I believe we should offer paid family leave so no one has to choose between keeping a paycheck and caring for a new baby or a sick relative.
And it is way past time to end the outrage of so many women still earning less than men on the job – and women of color often making even less.
This isn't a women's issue. It's a family issue. Just like raising the minimum wage is a family issue. Expanding childcare is a family issue. Declining marriage rates is a family issue. The unequal rates of incarceration is a family issue. Helping more people with an addiction or a mental health problem get help is a family issue.
In America, every family should feel like they belong.
So we should offer hard-working, law-abiding immigrant families a path to citizenship. Not second-class status.
And, we should ban discrimination against LGBT Americans and their families so they can live, learn, marry, and work just like everybody else.
You know, America's diversity, our openness, our devotion to human rights and freedom is what's drawn so many to our shores. What's inspired people all over the world. I know. I've seen it with my own eyes.
And these are also qualities that prepare us well for the demands of a world that is more interconnected than ever before.
So we have a third fight: to harness all of America's power, smarts, and values to maintain our leadership for peace, security, and prosperity.
No other country on Earth is better positioned to thrive in the 21st century. No other country is better equipped to meet traditional threats from countries like Russia, North Korea, and Iran – and to deal with the rise of new powers like China.
No other country is better prepared to meet emerging threats from cyber attacks, transnational terror networks like ISIS, and diseases that spread across oceans and continents.
As your President, I'll do whatever it takes to keep Americans safe.
And if you look over my left shoulder you can see the new World Trade Center soaring skyward.
As a Senator from New York, I dedicated myself to getting our city and state the help we needed to recover. And as a member of the Armed Services Committee, I worked to maintain the best-trained, best-equipped, strongest military, ready for today's threats and tomorrow's.
And when our brave men and women come home from war or finish their service, I'll see to it that they get not just the thanks of a grateful nation, but the care and benefits they've earned.
I've stood up to adversaries like Putin and reinforced allies like Israel. I was in the Situation Room on the day we got bin Laden.
But, I know – I know we have to be smart as well as strong.
Meeting today's global challenges requires every element of America's power, including skillful diplomacy, economic influence, and building partnerships to improve lives around the world with people, not just their governments.
There are a lot of trouble spots in the world, but there's a lot of good news out there too.


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I believe the future holds far more opportunities than threats if we exercise creative and confident leadership that enables us to shape global events rather than be shaped by them.
And we all know that in order to be strong in the world, though, we first have to be strong at home. That's why we have to win the fourth fight – reforming our government and revitalizing our democracy so that it works for everyday Americans.
We have to stop the endless flow of secret, unaccountable money that is distorting our elections, corrupting our political process, and drowning out the voices of our people.
We need Justices on the Supreme Court who will protect every citizen's right to vote, rather than every corporation's right to buy elections.
If necessary, I will support a constitutional amendment to undo the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United.
I want to make it easier for every citizen to vote. That's why I've proposed universal, automatic registration and expanded early voting.
I'll fight back against Republican efforts to disempower and disenfranchise young people, poor people, people with disabilities, and people of color.
What part of democracy are they afraid of?
No matter how easy we make it to vote, we still have to give Americans something worth voting for.
Government is never going to have all the answers – but it has to be smarter, simpler, more efficient, and a better partner.
That means access to advanced technology so government agencies can more effectively serve their customers, the American people.
We need expertise and innovation from the private sector to help cut waste and streamline services.
There's so much that works in America. For every problem we face, someone somewhere in America is solving it. Silicon Valley cracked the code on sharing and scaling a while ago. Many states are pioneering new ways to deliver services. I want to help Washington catch up.
To do that, we need a political system that produces results by solving problems that hold us back, not one overwhelmed by extreme partisanship and inflexibility.
Now, I'll always seek common ground with friend and opponent alike. But I'll also stand my ground when I must.
That's something I did as Senator and Secretary of State – whether it was working with Republicans to expand health care for children and for our National Guard, or improve our foster care and adoption system, or pass a treaty to reduce the number of Russian nuclear warheads that could threaten our cities – and it's something I will always do as your President.
We Americans may differ, bicker, stumble, and fall; but we are at our best when we pick each other up, when we have each other's back.
Like any family, our American family is strongest when we cherish what we have in common, and fight back against those who would drive us apart.
People all over the world have asked me: 'How could you and President Obama work together after you fought so hard against each other in that long campaign?'
Now, that is an understandable question considering that in many places, if you lose an election you could get imprisoned or exiled – even killed – not hired as Secretary of State.
But President Obama asked me to serve, and I accepted because we both love our country. That's how we do it in America.
With that same spirit, together, we can win these four fights.
We can build an economy where hard work is rewarded.
We can strengthen our families.
We can defend our country and increase our opportunities all over the world.
And we can renew the promise of our democracy.
If we all do our part. In our families, in our businesses, unions, houses of worship, schools, and, yes, in the voting booth.
I want you to join me in this effort. Help me build this campaign and make it your own.
Talk to your friends, your family, your neighbors.
Text 'JOIN' J-O-I-N to 4-7-2-4-6.
Go to hillaryclinton.com and sign up to make calls and knock on doors.
It's no secret that we're going up against some pretty powerful forces that will do and spend whatever it takes to advance a very different vision for America. But I've spent my life fighting for children, families, and our country. And I'm not stopping now.
You know, I know how hard this job is. I've seen it up close and personal.
All our Presidents come into office looking so vigorous. And then we watch their hair grow grayer and grayer.
Well, I may not be the youngest candidate in this race. But I will be the youngest woman President in the history of the United States!
And the first grandmother as well.
And one additional advantage: You're won't see my hair turn white in the White House. I've been coloring it for years!
So I'm looking forward to a great debate among Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. I'm not running to be a President only for those Americans who already agree with me. I want to be a President for all Americans.
And along the way, I'll just let you in on this little secret. I won't get everything right. Lord knows I've made my share of mistakes. Well, there's no shortage of people pointing them out!
And I certainly haven't won every battle I've fought. But leadership means perseverance and hard choices. You have to push through the setbacks and disappointments and keep at it.
I think you know by now that I've been called many things by many people – 'quitter' is not one of them.
Like so much else in my life, I got this from my mother.
When I was a girl, she never let me back down from any bully or barrier. In her later years, Mom lived with us, and she was still teaching me the same lessons. I'd come home from a hard day at the Senate or the State Department, sit down with her at the small table in our breakfast nook, and just let everything pour out. And she would remind me why we keep fighting, even when the odds are long and the opposition is fierce.
I can still hear her saying: 'Life's not about what happens to you, it's about what you do with what happens to you – so get back out there.'
She lived to be 92 years old, and I often think about all the battles she witnessed over the course of the last century – all the progress that was won because Americans refused to give up or back down.
She was born on June 4, 1919 – before women in America had the right to vote. But on that very day, after years of struggle, Congress passed the Constitutional Amendment that would change that forever.
The story of America is a story of hard-fought, hard-won progress. And it continues today. New chapters are being written by men and women who believe that all of us – not just some, but all – should have the chance to live up to our God-given potential.
Not only because we're a tolerant country, or a generous country, or a compassionate country, but because we're a better, stronger, more prosperous country when we harness the talent, hard work, and ingenuity of every single American.
I wish my mother could have been with us longer. I wish she could have seen Chelsea become a mother herself. I wish she could have met Charlotte.
I wish she could have seen the America we're going to build together.
An America, where if you do your part, you reap the rewards.
Where we don't leave anyone out, or anyone behind.
An America where a father can tell his daughter: yes, you can be anything you want to be. Even President of the United States.
Thank you all. God bless you. And may God bless America.


.

 

[superbeets]

Please America do not vote this liar in

.

 

[superbeets]

Look at her supporters. Someone left the cage door open, and the 'Gimme' crowd stampeded.

.

 

[The Guesser]

[h=2]Want to know what sets Bernie Sanders apart from Hillary Clinton? Look at their donors.[/h] Updated by Dylan Matthews on June 13, 2015, 12:44 p.m. ET @dylanmatt dylan@vox.com
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Win McNamee/Getty Images; Kevin Hagen/Getty Images

As the Democratic presidential primary progresses, you can expect Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to argue forcefully that Hillary Clinton, who held the first rally of her campaign today, is beholden to corporate interests, particularly the finance sector. And when he does so, you could imagine him citing these numbers:

OpenSecrets.org, screenshot from Bombed
This screenshot from Reddit user Bombed shows the OpenSecrets.org "career profiles" of Clinton and Sanders, summarizing their top contributors from 1989 to the present. That leaves out Sanders's time as mayor of Burlington, but includes both politicians' entire careers in federal politics. "The organizations themselves did not donate," OpenSecrets explains. "Rather the money came from the organizations' PACs, their individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals' immediate families."
The differences could hardly be more striking. Out of Clinton's top 20 organizational donors, only two (EMILY's List and the University of California) aren't corporate. There are seven mega-banks, five corporate law/lobbying firms, and three big entertainment companies. Now, to be fair to Clinton, the vast majority of these donations came from individuals rather than corporate PACs, and as a senator from New York it's understandable that finance and media interests (not to mention New York ceramics giant Corning) would give to her heavily. But it's still a very corporate-heavy list.
By contrast, 19 of Sanders's top 20 donors are unions. The one non-labor group on the list is the American Association for Justice, an interest group for plaintiff's attorneys, perhaps the most reliable non-union Democratic constituency. This isn't too surprising. Sanders is, along with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), just about the most pro-labor member of the Senate. He has fought free trade agreements for decades and is a major opponent of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, he's critical of guest worker programs that he believes undercut Americans' wages, and he's pushed back on the Obama administration's education reform agenda. (Vermont, it should be said, is the only state in the union without charter schools.)
This is precisely the contrast Sanders wants to set up: Clinton's donor list reads bank, bank, bank, and his reads union, union, union. That won't be enough to win, not least because Democratic primary voters aren't actually more liberal than Clinton. But the threat of being tarred as a tool of finance could be enough to push Clinton in a more populist direction, which is what victory for Sanders would really look like.

Thanks to Chris Meyer for the pointer to the screenshot.

 

[Dave007inVegas]

Granny meaningless strikes out again. Or maybe I should refer to her as Granny Goebbels.

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/06/13/hillary-tells-rally-i-stood-up-to-putin-i-helped-israel/

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a crowd of supporters on Saturday: “I’ve stood up to adversaries like Putin and reinforced allies like Israel.”

Clinton delivered her remarks in New York City as she kicked off her 2016 presidential campaign.

Clearly, she intends to highlight her four-year tenure atop the State Department as a key advantage over her rivals, few of whom have foreign policy experience. However, she has to hope voters do not examine her actual record.

Regarding Putin, Clinton infamously presided over the Russian “reset,” which involved giving up missile defenses that had been negotiated painstakingly with Poland and the Czech Republic, and conceding to other Russian demands. The false hope was that showing Russia a more conciliatory face would lead it to moderate its conduct. Clinton even handed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov a big red button that was supposed to say “reset” in Russian, but in fact said “overcharge.”

On Israel, Clinton participated in a serious, deliberate, and unnecessary sabotage of U.S.-Israel relations. She infamously berated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for 45 minutes over an Israeli government move to build apartments in a Jewish area of Jerusalem. Her State Department relished the chance to join anti-Israel institutions like the UN Human Rights Council. She even compared Israel to Iran, because of the separation of the sexes among some religious Jews.

There are many, many more examples that absolutely and totally refute Hillary Clinton’s claim to have stood up to Putin and defended Israel and other allies. Conversely, there is no record of Clinton ever standing up to President Barack Obama about any of his misguided foreign policies, save for her claim that she supported earlier intervention in Syria.

Clinton has trouble telling the truth about anything, but it takes an additional level of chutzpah to tell such an easily disprovable lie.

 

[russ1945]

[h=3]RESISTANCE IS FUTILE[/h]06.13.157:29 PM ET
[h=1]Welcome to Hillary Island, a Pleasant Little Police State[/h]For the first big speech of her 2016 campaign, Hillary Clinton turned a little-known strip of New York into a serene summertime autocracy, pleasant and creepy at the same time.
It’s an odd sensation to be sitting on the back of a golf cart, holding on for dear life, as a member of Hillary Clinton’s security team—bald and meat-headed, his blazer straining to remain stitched around his bulky arms—speeds like O.J. Simpson in order to deliver you to a secure location. This can happen, I now know, if you happen to make the mistake of walking down the wrong pathway—of a public park—on your way to a Clinton speech.
“Get in!” he barked. Then, a sigh: “Not your fault.” That’s just the way things are around here.
Here would be Hillary Island—formerly Roosevelt Island—a strip of land located in the middle of the East River between Manhattan and Queens that some 10,000 New Yorkers call home. More specifically, here is Four Freedoms Park—a grassy island enclave named for the Four Freedoms FDR spelled out in his 1941 State of the Union speech: Freedom of speech, of worship, from want, and from fear—where the Clinton team has assembled a red and blue stage, in the shape of an H, for her to pace on as she delivers her first major campaign speech.
Clinton formally declared her candidacy for the Democratic nomination almost exactly a month ago, in April, with a 2:15 video. “Everyday Americans need a champion,” she said then. “And I wanna be that champion.”
Since that time, Clinton has not been heard from much as she has traveled around, talking to some voters and ignoring questions from the media and trying to seem as normal as possible despite being anything but. Saturday’s event was designed to highlight her champion-ness by contrasting her with the New Deal Democrat, whose Four Freedoms she has attempted to mimic with her own “Four Fights,” the economy, families, campaign finance and national security.
Saturday’s event, according according to The New York Times, was organized by a small group of Clinton insiders including Huma Abedin, Clinton’s longtime aide and the vice chair of her campaign and Jim Margolis, who helped orchestrate both inaugurations for President Obama.
The result felt borderline dystopian.
Roosevelt Island, transformed by architects in the 1930s to serve as a “living memorial,” looks like a cross between something out of Grand Theft Auto and a ghost town. It has a fake forest, and brutalist apartment complexes. Its abandoned insane asylum was turned into a luxury highrise.

“And one additional advantage: You won’t see my hair turn white in the White House. I’ve been coloring it for years!”

​

Roosevelt Island’s Amalgamated Bank, owned by unions and serving unions, now sports a sign declaring it proud to be the bank of Hillary For America.
And Four Freedoms Park, located partially beneath the 59th Street Bridge, is lush and green, and houses a decaying, vine-covered Smallpox Hospital, abandoned in the 1950s. The Hillary campaign installed a forest of port-a-potties and lined the walkways with arrow signs (Hillary’s logo) pointing in the direction of her speech, which could be accessed by ascending a glimmering white staircase. In the distance, you could see the “Pepsi-Cola” sign in Queens.

Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast​

The park feels divorced from Manhattan, whose skyscrapers loom from across the water, not just geographically, but spiritually. With the bomb-sniffing dogs, security guards, metal detectors, police officers, Men In Black-looking security guards and campaign staff speeding around on golf-carts, Hillary Island felt like its own world with its own rule. It’s a serene summertime police state—wherein campaign staffers told reporters to stay in their designated area, away from attendees—pleasant and creepy at the same time.
Which might be the best way to describe Clinton herself during Saturday’s launch.
In a royal blue blazer and glowing blonde hair, Clinton took to the stage to deliver her Four Fights speech. At times she sounded robotic, like the pol who won’t take a position without poll testing it as she has been accused at others some humanity crept through. All the while, though, it was hard to shake the feeling that she was already president—of this island.
Clinton borrowed from Elizabeth Warren and her primary competitor Bernie Sanders in her tough-talk about no-good corporations and the need for campaign finance reform. About the latter, she said, “If necessary, I will support a Constitutional amendment to undo the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United.”
She repeatedly called for equal rights for the LGBT community, going as far as to criticize the GOP for “turn[ing] their backs on gay people who love each other.” (Something Clinton was doing herself just a few years ago.)
Some of Clinton’s notes were sour, however. In her criticism of the Republican field of candidates, Clinton alleged, “Now, there may be some new voices in the presidential Republican choir, but they’re all singing the same old song—a song called ‘Yesterday.’” She continued, “You know the one—all our troubles look as though they’re here to stay, and we need a place to hide away. They believe in yesterday.” Clinton tried to crack a joke, “You’re lucky I didn’t try singing that, too, I’ll tell you!”
At another point, Clinton said, “I may not be the youngest candidate in this race, but I will be the youngest woman President in the history of the United States! And the first grandmother as well.” She followed it up with another attempted joke. “And one additional advantage: You won’t see my hair turn white in the White House. I’ve been coloring it for years!”

 

[russ1945]

[h=2]Outsourcing Clinton Allies Accused of Abusing Visa System[/h]DOL investigates two foundation donors for replacing Americans with cheap foreign labor
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BY: Bill McMorris
June 15, 2015 5:00 am

The Department of Labor is investigating two outsourcing giants with ties to the Clinton Foundation for illegally supplanting American workers with cheap foreign labor.
The Department of Labor announced on Thursday it was investigating Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys for allegedly forcing American IT workers to train foreign workers before being laid off. Some of those employees allege that their employers replaced them with the immigrants who were in the country on temporary visas.
The Labor Department is investigating whether or not the companies abused the H-1B program, which grants temporary visas to fill highly-skilled jobs that employers claim are not adequately filled by American workers. The law requires that companies take “good faith steps to recruit U.S. workers” and “has not displaced a U.S. worker at the time of filing an H-1B visa petition,” according to thedepartment.
The investigation was announced on Thursday by a bipartisan group of senators.
“We’re pleased to hear that the Labor Department is taking a first step to stanch this tide of visa abuse,” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) said in a joint statement. “A number of U.S. employers, including some large, well-known, publicly-traded corporations, have laid off thousands of American workers and replaced them with H-1B visa holders.”
The two companies have been generous supporters of the Clinton Foundation, contributing between $35,000 and $50,000. Clinton’s ties extend beyond foundation donations. As a freshman senator from New York, Hillary Clinton praised TCS for setting up operations in upstate Buffalo, N.Y. When confronted by talk show host Lou Dobbs about the costs of outsourcing, she defended TCS for bringing 10 new jobs to New York State.
“They’ve actually brought jobs to Buffalo. Outsourcing does work both ways,” she said. She later told Indian officials, “we are not against all outsourcing.”
TCS and Infosys aren’t the only shady players in the Indian community with close ties to the Clinton family. She received thousands of dollars for her campaign from imprisoned former Goldman Sachs honcho Rajat Gupta. Gupta, a major player in one of the largest insider trading busts in history, hired Chelsea Clinton for a six-figure position upon her college graduation.
The Clinton campaign did not return request for comment.
An Infosys spokesman said the company would cooperate with the Labor Department and abides by U.S. immigration laws.
“Infosys is committed to complying with U.S. immigration laws. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regularly selects a percentage of visa and labor condition applications for extra scrutiny in this industry, and we work closely with the DOL to assist them in this activity in the ordinary course of our business,” he said in an email.

 

[bobbyjones2]

Its so funny to see this womans attempt at charisma.

She is un electable. The republicans should just back off till the primary. Has there ever been a candidate with more skeletons?

 

[russ1945]

[h=2]Bill Clinton Is Totally Clueless About the Clinton Foundation[/h]BY: Andrew Stiles
June 12, 2015 11:52 am

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AP​

For someone who is the founder and board member of a global charity organization that bears his name, former President Bill Clinton appears utterly clueless whenever he is asked a question about the Clinton Foundation, which has been the subject of considerable controversy since his wife declared her candidacy for president.
Last month, while attending a lavish Clinton Foundation event hosted by the King of Morocco, the former president was asked why he wasn’t defending the foundation more aggressively against allegation of favor-trading and general sketchiness. “I don’t know,” he replied. “I just work here.”

This week, Clinton sat down for an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, who asked if Clinton thought foundation donors, a number of which had interests before the State Department while Hillary was secretary of state, were seeking favors in return for their donations. “I don’t know,” Clinton said. “You never know what peoples’ motives are.”

 

[russ1945]

[h=2]State Department Has No Record of Clinton IT Security Training[/h]Cybersecurity experts troubled that Clinton and two top deputies apparently skipped training
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AP​

BY: Lachlan Markay
June 12, 2015 1:05 pm

The State Department has no record of former Secretary Hillary Clinton or her two top aides receiving IT security training while Clinton led the department, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
In response to a Freedom of Information request filed by the nonprofit Competitive Enterprise Institute in March, State said it could not locate any record of Clinton, chief of staff Cheryl Mills, or deputy chief of staff Huma Abedin undergoing any sort of IT security training.
“One former, senior executive branch personnel official contacted me to point out the requirement that appointees take this training, and that if Mses. Clinton, Abedin or Mills had deigned to follow the law, a record of this would exist,” explained CEI senior fellow Chris Horner, who filed the FOIA request.
“He also noted, however, that if anyone was to turn up their noses and refuse the training—and be permitted to—these are the folks. We now know this to be the case,” Horner said in an email.
The request also asked for “all separation documents … completed or submitted” by Clinton, Mills, or Abedin. State returned no responsive documents to that request.
The department previously stated that it had no record of Clinton signing such separation documents, designed to ensure that former employees do not retain confidential information after their departure. State’s reply appears to confirm that neither Clinton nor her top aides submitted those documents.
Cybersecurity experts say Clinton, Mills, and Abedin should have undergone IT security training at State, and that their apparent failure to do so is part of a systemic problem.
“She should have done it, but the data point that she did not is sadly unsurprising,” said Steve Bucci, the director of the Heritage Foundation’s Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign and National Security Policy.
“It is unfortunately not uncommon for people who think a lot of themselves (this can go way below the secretary level) to say ‘I’m too busy/important/smart to actually do this stuff that common workers are required to do,’” he said in an email.
Bucci, a former civilian Pentagon cybersecurity official and director of the of the IBM Institute for Advanced Security, said that if Clinton and her aides had undergone IT training, there would likely be documentation confirming it available through a FOIA request.
“Federal regulations require everyone to do that sort of training, everyone,” he wrote. “If a senior executive, government or civilian, does not take security training they are making a huge mistake.”
State only responded to CEI’s FOIA request after the libertarian-leaning nonprofit group sued the department to compel the documents’ release.
The March 12 request asked for “all documentation that Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills undertook, or refused/declined to complete, cybersecurity awareness training, however State describes this (e.g., Information Security Awareness training), including but not limited to certification of completion or documentation that they took or refused/decline to take the training.”
More than a month later, beyond the 20-day statutory window for a response, State had not done so. CEI sued to compel production of the documents. On May 18, the department’s Records and Information Management Division complied, telling CEI that it found “no responsive document(s) to your request.”
Horner says that reply means no such documents exist, and therefore that Clinton, Abedin, and Mills never partook in any sort of IT security training.
“The idea that [State] may simply have forgotten to preserve [those documents] is absurd,” Horner said. “They keep and have kept the most mundane documents. This is surely more not less true when it comes to documents reflecting a legally required reporting and attesting function, directly related to information security.”
Neither the State Department nor the Clinton campaign responded to requests for comment by press time.
Clinton’s has come under fire for her use of a private email server run out of her Chappaqua, N.Y., home. Experts say it probably left her emails, which included tens of thousands of messages both personal and official, vulnerable to cyber breaches.
“If all that she had was standard technology . . . it would be merely a speed bump for a sophisticated adversary to gain access to everything there,” a former National Security Agency cybersecurity officialtold the Washington Post in March.
Clinton has insisted she did not send or receive classified information through her two personal email addresses, hdr22@clintonemail.com and hrod17@clintonemail.com. However, emails released by the State Department last month show she did receive information subsequently classified by the FBI.
Revelations that neither Clinton nor her two top aides underwent standard IT security training procedures could revive concerns about the vulnerability of sensitive information sent to her personal email addresses.
At the very least, foregoing such training set a bad example for State Department subordinates.
“That sends a message that security is, in fact, unimportant to the organization,” Bucci said.

 

[russ1945]

Its so funny to see this womans attempt at charisma.

She is un electable. The republicans should just back off till the primary. Has there ever been a candidate with more skeletons?

You are right on. Why don't the Dem's seek out another candidate? Makes you wonder.

 

[Acebb]

This is funny:

[h=1]Hillary campaign manager denies poll reality[/h]
Despite numerous polls showing that voters do not trust Hillary Clinton, her campaign manager Robby Mook repeatedly asserted on CBS's "Face the Nation" Sunday that "no poll shows that voters don't trust Hillary."
A new CNN/ORC poll that found 57% of Americans do not find Clinton "honest and trustworthy" and that more people have an unfavorable view of her now than at any time since 2001.
Even Democrats and people who want Hillary to win believe "the biggest problem for her is trust," said host John Dickerson. "The voters and the polls have shown this. Voters do not trust her. How does she overcome that?"
"First of all, no poll shows that voters don't trust Hillary," said Mook.

====
Um, every poll shows voters don't trust Hillary.