Clinton Wins Nevada Caucus

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Today, Hillary Clinton won the Democratic Nevada caucus over Bernie Sanders. As of this posting, with 87% of precincts reporting, Clinton’s lead over Sanders is 52.5% to 47.4%. Clinton received strong support from women and the African-American community. During her victory speech at the Caesars Palace ballroom in Las Vegas, Clinton dedicated the win to “hotel and casino workers who never wavered” and “the thousands of men and women with kids to raise, bills to pay and dreams that won’t die.” A video from Clinton’s victory party is below.

The next primary is in South Carolina and will be held on February 27. For all the latest, follow our revamped Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: The New York Times

Hillary Clinton Speaks at Flint Community Event

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On Sunday, Hillary Clinton took a break from the campaign trail to meet with city leaders and residents of Flint, Michigan. Flint has been in the news for its struggle with poor water quality. During a town hall held at House of Prayer Missionary Baptist Church, Clinton spoke saying that what is happening in Flint is “immoral.” State officials have been criticized for being slow to act, but Clinton has brought up the struggle of Flint residents several times during the Democratic debates and has sent advisers to the city to keep up to date. Clinton praised Mayor Karen Weaver for her work to help her citizens, and urged Congress to pass a $200 million bill to upgrade the city’s crumbling infrastructure. A video from Clinton remarks is below.

Tomorrow, Clinton will return to New Hampshire for the final day of campaigning before Tuesday’s primary. For all the latest, follow our revamped Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: Detroit Free Press, Michigan Live, NBC News

Clinton Releases Plan to Protect LGBT Rights

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton listens to a question at town hall meeting at White Mountain Community College, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015, in Berlin, N.H. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton listens to a question at town hall meeting at White Mountain Community College, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015, in Berlin, N.H. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Hillary Clinton has released her plans to fight for the rights of the LGBT community. She has previously said that “gay rights are human rights,” and her plan outlines a mix of legislation and support. The full details of the plan are available on The Briefing, but an outline is below:

  • Fight for full federal equality for all LGBT Americans
    • Work with Congress to pass the Equality Act
    • Continue President Obama’s LGBT equality executive actions
    • Supper efforts underway to clarify that under federal statutes “sex discrimination” includes discrimination on the basis of “gender identity” and “sexual orientation”
  • Support LGBT youth, parents, and elders
    • End discriminatory treatment of LGBT families in adoptions
    • Improve school climate for all students
    • End LGBT conversion therapy for minors
    • Combat youth homelessness
    • Ensure LGBT elders can retire with dignity and respect
    • Correct national data to better serve LGBT individuals and families
  • Honor the military service of LGBT people
    • Upgrade service records of LGBT veterans dismissed due to their sexual orientation
    • Support efforts to allow transgender personnel to serve openly
  • Secure affordable treatment for people living with HIV and AIDS
    • Call on Republican governors to extend Medicaid coverage to provide life-saving health care to people living with HIV
    • Cap out-of pocket expenses for people with HIV/AIDS
    • Expand the utilization of HIV prevention medications, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
  • Protect transgender rights
    • Protect transgender individuals from violence
    • Streamline identity documents
    • Invest in law enforcement training on interactions with LGBT individuals
  • Promote human rights of LGBT people around the world

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: The Briefing

Clinton Attends Events in Massachusetts

8924367_GHillary Rodham Clinton attended a number of events across Massachusetts today. She began by attending a private fundraiser at the home of Linda Mason and Roger Brown in Belmont. Following the event, Clinton went to Boston where she hosted a substance abuse community forum. She has held a number of round table discussions in the Northeast to discuss drug abuse and has used the information to form her drug policy platform. She has stressed that substance abuse should be treated as a disease. Clinton said, “If you have heart disease, cancer, diabetes, you can find a place and you should be able to find a place, and I want substance abuse put on the same level. It saves people’s lives. There’s nothing more important. Save somebody’s life. Give somebody a second chance.”

This evening, Clinton attended a private fundraiser hosted by Boston for Hillary. The press was not in attendance for the private events, but if/when a video from the round table discussion is available, it will be posted.

Tomorrow, Clinton will take part in several events in Florida before attending the Human Rights Campaign’s National Dinner and appearing on Saturday Night Live on Saturday. For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: WWLP, WTOL, The Boston Herald

Clinton Back in New Hampshire – Day 1

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at the Community Forum on Substance Abuse at The Boys and Girls Club of America campaign event in Laconia, New Hampshire, September 17, 2015. REUTERS/Faith Ninivaggi
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at the Community Forum on Substance Abuse at The Boys and Girls Club of America campaign event in Laconia, New Hampshire, September 17, 2015. REUTERS/Faith Ninivaggi

Today, Hillary Rodham Clinton kicked off a 3-day visit to New Hampshire with stops in Nashua and Laconia. Her first stop in Nashua focused on substance abuse. In a Town Hall event, Clinton discussed her $10 million plan to address drug and alcohol abuse at the community level. She unveiled the initiative a few weeks ago. She expressed her surprise about how many people have talked to her about their struggles with substance abuse and how drugs has affected their community. She also answered a number of questions from those in attendance.

Clinton’s second stop was in Laconia at the Boys and Girls Club. The community event also focused on substance abuse and her plans to combat it. She stressed the importance of understanding the treatment of those affected saying, “This is a disease. This is a chronic condition that has to be interrupted and treated and prevented if possible. Left untended, it’s only going to get worse. The numbers are only going to get higher.” A video from Clinton’s speech in Laconia is below.

A videos from today’s event in Nashua will be posted when/if available.

Tomorrow, Clinton is scheduled to make two appearances in New Hampshire and one in Maine. At an event at the University of New Hampshire, she is expected to receive the endorsement of New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan. For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

UPDATE (9/22): Added a video from Laconia speech.

News Source: WCVB, The Wall Street Journal, Fosters

Clinton Addresses Substance Abuse in Op-Ed

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a campaign stop at River Valley Community College Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2015, in Claremont, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a campaign stop at River Valley Community College Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2015, in Claremont, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Yesterday, Hillary Rodham Clinton penned an op-ed in the New Hampshire Union Leader where she outlined her plans to combat the growing substance abuse issue in the United States. An estimated 23 million Americans suffer from addiction. The long-term plan calls for reforming prison and sentencing laws, bolstering community based support programs, and expanding mental health coverage so that it covers long term care. The plan is estimated to cost $7.5 billion over ten years. The full op-ed is below:

Another View – Hillary Clinton: How we can win the fight against substance abuse
By HILLARY CLINTON

ON MY first trip to New Hampshire this spring, a retired doctor spoke up. I had just announced I was running for President, and I had traveled to Iowa and New Hampshire to hear from voters about their concerns, their hopes and their vision for the future. He said his biggest worry was the rising tide of heroin addiction in the state, following a wave of prescription drug abuse.

To be candid, I didn’t expect what came next. In state after state, this issue came up again and again — from so many people, from all walks of life, in small towns and big cities.

In Iowa, from Davenport to Council Bluffs, people talked about meth and prescription drugs. In South Carolina, a lawyer spoke movingly about the holes in the community left by generations of African American men imprisoned for nonviolent drug offenses, rather than getting the treatment they needed.

These stories shine light on some harrowing statistics. Twenty-three million Americans suffer from addiction, but only 1 in 10 get treatment. Fifty-two million Americans over 12 have misused prescription drugs at some point, including one in four teenagers. In 2013, more Americans died from overdoses than car crashes.

This is not new. We’re not just now “discovering” this problem. But we should be saying enough is enough. It’s time we recognize as a nation that for too long, we have had a quiet epidemic on our hands. Plain and simple, drug and alcohol addiction is a disease, not a moral failing — and we must treat it as such.

It’s time we recognize that there are gaps in our health care system that allow too many to go without care — and invest in treatment. It’s time we recognize that our state and federal prisons, where 65 percent of inmates meet medical criteria for substance use disorders, are no substitute for proper treatment — and reform our criminal justice system.

Today I’m releasing a strategy to confront the drug and alcohol addiction crisis. My plan sets five goals: empower communities to prevent drug use among teenagers; ensure every person suffering from addiction can obtain comprehensive treatment; ensure that all first responders carry naloxone, which can stop overdoses from becoming fatal; require health care providers to receive training in recognizing substance use disorders and to consult a prescription drug monitoring program before prescribing controlled substances; and prioritize treatment over prison for low-level and nonviolent drug offenders, so we can end the era of mass incarceration.

Achieving these goals won’t be easy. It will take commitment from all corners — law enforcement, doctors, insurance companies and government at every level. That’s why my plan starts by partnering with states and communities across America to meet these goals and substantially expand access to treatment. We’ll ask states to design ambitious plans using the programs that make most sense for their communities’ needs. In return for strong proposals to address the substance abuse crisis, the federal government will draw on a new $7.5 billion fund to help states meet their goals.

My plan would also increase access to treatment by boosting funding for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant by 25 percent, so communities have more resources to work with immediately. I will ensure that existing federal insurance parity laws are enforced. I will direct the government to reevaluate Medicare and Medicaid payment practices, to remove obstacles to reimbursement and help integrate care for addiction into standard practice. And for those who commit low-level, nonviolent drug offenses, I will reorient our federal criminal justice resources away from more incarceration and toward treatment and rehabilitation. Many states are already charting this course — I will challenge the rest to do the same.

Every town and city I’ve visited so far in this campaign has stories of families upended by drug addiction. But I’ve also heard about second chances. The young mother who overcame her addiction to alcohol and heroin so her son would never see her with a drink or a drug. The man who served 11 years in prison who is now serving others through a prison ministry.

They all say the same thing: No matter how much time has passed, they’re all still in recovery. It’s a process — one that began when a family member, a friend, a doctor, or a police officer extended a hand to help. As one New Hampshire woman said, “We’re not bad people trying to get good, we’re sick people that deserve to get well.”

There are 23 million Americans suffering from addiction. But no one is untouched. We all have family and friends who are affected. We can’t afford to stay on the sidelines any longer — because when families are strong, America is strong. Through improved treatment, prevention, and training, we can end this quiet epidemic once and for all.

News Source: New Hampshire Union Leader, The New York Times

Clinton Address National Council of La Raza Conference

Hillary Rodham Clinton addressed the National Council of La Raza Conference in Kansas City, Missouri this afternoon. During her speech, she built upon her economic speech from earlier in the day and referenced the economic inequality in the Latino community. She promised to fight for better economic opportunities and comprehensive immigration reform.

Clinton was not the only Democratic presidential candidate to speak at the conference. Senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley were also featured speakers. All three candidates spoke about the similar topics, and all three attacked Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for his comments disparaging Latino  immigrants. Trump’s presidential opponents were slow to speak out against his comments, a fact which Clinton called out asking, “Why did it take weeks for most of you to speak out?”

Tomorrow, Clinton is expected to be in Washington, DC where she will meet with Democrats on Capitol Hill. For all the latest campaign news, be sure to follow along on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Video Source: YouTube

News Source: The Kansas City Star

Clinton Goes to Iowa – Day 1

Hillary Rodham Clinton kicked off her campaign by traveling (in a van she has nick-named “Scooby”) to Iowa. She made several appearances in the cities of Mount Vernon and Monticello. Instead of making stump speeches or meeting with donors, Clinton opted to meet with people going about their day. She stopped in and chatted with patrons at at least two coffee shops, walked down the street of LeClaire meeting with passers by and business owners, and she took part in a roundtable discussion with students at Kirkwood Community College. It is clear that Clinton’s early focus is reaching out to voters.

In her discussion at Kirwood Community College, Clinton began to outline her political platform referring to what she calls the “four big fights that I think we have to take on, because there are those who don’t agree with what I think we should be doing, and they’re pretty powerful forces.” The four big fights she referred to are: building an economy for America’s future, strengthening families and communities, reforming campaign finance, and continuing to focus on national security. Clinton will continue to flesh out her platform over the coming months.

Clinton is expected to make several more stops in Iowa tomorrow. You can get all the latest updates from Iowa by following Clinton’s Twitter account as well as the Hillary for Iowa Twitter account. And don’t forget to donate to the campaign.

New Source: CBS News, The Des Moines Register