Hillary Clinton appeared on Tuesday’s edition of Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSNBC. During the interview, Clinton refused to address the attacks directed and her and husband by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, but she did take the opportunity to criticize his and the other GOP candidates stance on a number of issues, particularly their anti-Muslim attitude. She said, “We need to have a sense of unity and purpose in combating terrorism. What I’m hearing from the other side is not only offensive and shameful; it’s dangerous.”
Clinton also discussed her support of gun control measures and the actions taken by President Barack Obama to expand background checks for gun buyers. She stressed how important the issue is and that, although it is a divisive issue, we can accomplish a lot by working together. The interview was broken into three parts which you can watch by following the links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
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
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during the Iowa Democratic Party’s Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
In an op-ed published in Time, Hillary Clinton voiced her support for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change which began today in Paris. Clinton called climate change a threat to the United States because it affects our economy and health. She criticized those who have denied climate change is occurring and the affect humans have had on it. The full text of Clinton’s op-ed is below.
Climate change threatens every corner of our country, every sector of our economy and the health and future of every child. We are already seeing its impacts and we know the poorest and most vulnerable people in the United States and around the world will suffer most of all.
Despite the seriousness of the threat, the world has not always rallied to respond. For years, international negotiations were stymied by deep divisions between developed and developing nations, and by resistance on the part of the Chinese and others to taking responsibility for curbing carbon pollution. While President Obama has made strong progress cutting pollution and deploying more clean energy in the United States, he faces a Republican Party that alternates between denial of the reality of climate change, defeatism about our ability to do anything about it, and outright obstruction of the tools and programs we need to solve the problem.
But President Obama remains committed to making the United States the global leader in the fight against climate change—and so do I. In Paris this week, world leaders have the best chance in years to forge a new, durable, ambitious international climate agreement. I believe they must be guided by three principles. First, all countries must take responsibility for combating this global crisis, and put forward commitments to curb their own greenhouse gas emissions. Second, the agreement should galvanize financial assistance for, and spur private investment in, developing countries to help them adapt and achieve sustainable economic growth.
And finally, it must be an agreement that can be strengthened over time. Countries should agree to come together regularly to raise their collective ambition. In the years ahead, technology will improve and become even cheaper; more companies and investors will put skin in the game; and city and state leaders will take actions that outstrip the ambitions of their capitals. Solving the climate challenge for the long term will take more than the solutions we have in 2015—it will require the new tools we build together.
In Copenhagen in 2009, President Obama and I had to burst into a secret meeting of leaders from China, India, Brazil, and South Africa to break a deadlock and deliver the first international climate agreement in which all major economies, not just the developed world, pledged to take action.
We’ve come so far since then. Over the past year, 164 countries accounting for 90 percent of global emissions have announced national targets and measures to reduce pollution that they are ready to codify in Paris, recognizing that cutting emissions and investing in clean energy isn’t just good for the planet—it’s good economic sense. The United States and China led the way with ambitious goals to cut carbon pollution and deploy more clean energy, and have already begun taking action to achieve them.
Still, getting the job done in Paris will require skillful diplomacy and robust American leadership — I know that from personal experience. As Secretary of State, I put combating climate change on the agenda for my first trip to Beijing and kept it there over the next four years. I appointed the first high-level special envoy for climate change and led an international effort to launch the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to reduce so-called “super pollutants” that make up just a fraction of emissions, but drive a disproportionate share of warming.
As President, I will protect and build on the progress President Obama has made at home. I will set ambitious goals—to see 500 million solar panels installed within four years and enough renewable electricity to power every home in America within 10 years. I’ll also pursue a new North American Climate Compact, because the United States, Canada and Mexico should work together to build a clean energy future for our continent.
And the Republican deniers, defeatists and obstructionists should know—their cynical efforts will fail. Not only are they on the wrong side of science and of history, they are increasingly on the wrong side of their own voters, as a majority of Republicans accept the science of climate change, and support solutions like clean energy.
We must reject the false choice between combating climate change and fostering strong economic growth. If any country can prove that, it’s the United States. Under President Obama, we’re leading the world in the fight against climate change. I won’t let anyone to take us backward, deny our economy the benefits of harnessing a clean energy future, or force our children to endure the catastrophe that would result from unchecked climate change.
Once again, the world looks to Paris—this time in hope. Global challenges demand global solutions. The fight against climate change will be long. It will take the efforts of every country, every industry, and every community. It will take the leadership of every President. But at last—in Paris—the framework of a lasting solution is within reach. We must seize this moment.
Yesterday, Hillary Rodham Clinton unveiled her energy plan after coming out against the Keystone XL Pipeline earlier this week. In a blog post on Medium, Clinton announced her plan to make the United States “the clean energy superpower of the 21st century”. Her plan calls for a series of infrastructure improvements including repairing and replacing outdated oil and gas lines, increase safety of railroad transpiration, and enhancing the security of the current energy grid. She is also calling for new resources including a National Infrastructure Bank, grants, accelerated federal investment, and innovation. She is also proposing the creation of a North American Climate Compact to encourage the US, Canada, and Mexico to work together to reduce their impact on the environment and combat climate change. Full details of Clinton’s plan can be viewed on The Briefing.
In her blog post, Clinton outlined this and explained why she opposes the building of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Her full post is below:
When I was secretary of state, the department began reviewing an application to build a pipeline that would bring Canadian oil sands crude across the border, run more than a thousand miles through the American heartland, and terminate in Nebraska — Keystone XL.
As the secretary who initiated the review, I refrained from commenting on the pipeline after I left the federal government. I didn’t want to get ahead of President Obama while the process was still underway — because the decision was and is his to make.
Since the application was filed, the effects of climate change have grown more acute. More than 8 million acres have burned in the United States so far this wildfire season. California is in the fourth year of a historic drought scientists say has been made worse by climate change. More severe storms and extreme heat waves have wreaked havoc around the world.
I have come to feel I can’t stay silent on an issue that matters so much to so many. Though I wanted to give the president space to make a decision, the process has taken far longer than I expected. I want the American people to know where I stand. That’s why I am making it clear:
I am opposed to the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
We shouldn’t be building a pipeline dedicated to moving North America’s dirtiest fuel through our communities — we should be focused on what it will take to make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century. For too long, the Keystone XL pipeline has been a distraction from the real challenges facing our energy sector — and the job-creating investments that we should be making to meet them. Building a clean, secure, and affordable North American energy future is bigger than Keystone XL or any other single project. That’s what I will focus on as president.
That’s why today I am announcing a comprehensive strategy to modernize American energy infrastructure and forge a new partnership with Canada and Mexico to combat climate change across the continent, unleashing billions in investment, delivering reliable and affordable energy, protecting the health of our families and communities, and creating good-paying jobs and careers.
The United States trades as much energy with Canada and Mexico each year as with all other countries combined, through a deeply integrated pipeline network, rail system, and electrical grid. As President, I will immediately launch negotiations with Canada and Mexico to forge a North American Climate Compact that sets strong national targets to cut carbon pollution, so all three countries demonstrate a commitment to climate action; provides accountability measures, so each country has confidence that the others are living up to their end of the bargain; and creates certainty for investors and confidence in the future of our climate, so we can all marshal resources equal to the challenges we face.
In recent years, American communities have endured toxic pipeline spills and rail car explosions. We have yet to harness new technologies that reduce costs and increase consumer choice or to sufficiently protect the grid against the growing threat of cyber-attack. Even as states and the Obama administration have worked to accelerate clean energy deployment, we need to do more. Simply put, our infrastructure has not kept pace with the changing energy sector.
To help unleash the investment we need, I will create a national infrastructure bank that leverages public and private capital, and work with Congress to close corporate tax loopholes and increase transportation funding to cut commute times, oil consumption, and pollution. Along with my Clean Energy Challenge to boost low-carbon electricity, improve building efficiency, and make our cars and trucks cheaper to fuel and cleaner to operate, these steps will create jobs and opportunity across the country.
Our more than 2 million miles of oil and natural gas pipes are in disrepair, resulting in oil spills, chronic methane leaks, and even devastating explosions. I will strengthen national pipeline safety regulations and partner with pipeline operators, local regulators, and technology providers in repairing and replacing thousands of miles of the country’s oldest pipes.
Over the past five years, a 20-fold increase in the amount of oil shipped by rail has led to devastating accidents. My plan speeds up the retirement of the oldest and riskiest train cars, repairs track defects, and guarantees first responders and the public have better information about oil and hazardous materials passing through their communities.
We must also invest in grid security and resilience. My plan creates a new threat assessment team to improve coordination and protect our grid from cyberattack, and strengthens the grid to reliably and affordably meet both base load and peak demand.
American energy policy is about more than a single pipeline to transport Canada’s dirtiest fuel across our country. It’s about building our future — a future where the United States will once again lead the world by constructing state-of-the-art infrastructure, creating new jobs and new markets, accelerating the transition to a clean energy economy, and improving the health, safety, and security of all Americans.
6/13 UPDATE: A full transcript of the speech is available from Time by CLICKING HERE.
In her first official campaign rally held at Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island in New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton outlined what she called the “four fights” of her campaign. Throughout the 45 minute speech, Clinton made references to her experience as a lawyer, Senator, Secretary of State, and as a mother and grandmother. The theme of the speech was the prosperity of Americans, and she shared stories from people she has met and her mother to make her points. In her speech, Clinton also criticized Republicans for not looking forward and believing too much in “yesterday.” She vowed to fight for everyday Americans and prepare the United States for the future.
The key to her speech was the “four fights.” She outlined what those will be, but said that said will outline specific policy changes in the coming weeks. Nevertheless, her vision is clearly outlined by the four fights:
Economy: Clinton outlined a number of changes that would serve to strengthen the economy including strengthening the middle class, increasing the minimum wage, providing equal pay for women, making it illegal to discriminate against LBGT workers, rewriting the tax code, and focusing on lifelong learning that will allow works to adapt to a changing workplace. She also called for more affordable college for everyone and improving the infrastructure by creating an infrastructure bank that would sell bonds to help fund improvements roads, bridges, power grids, and broadband Internet. She called for protecting the environment by investing in clean energy and ending the denial of climate change. All these changes, which she will continue to outline in the coming weeks, will create jobs and improve the lives of American workers.
Family: Families have struggled since the recession and Clinton believes that more attention needs to be paid to helping families by guaranteeing paid sick days, paid family leave, pre-school and child care. She also wants to focus on the uneven incarceration polices and provide help to those suffering with mental health issues and addiction.
America’s Leadership: America has long been the leader in the world, but for America to maintain its leadership and influence, Clinton argues that we have not only show strength in our military, but we have to create economic and diplomatic partnerships across the globe. At the same time, we have to stand up to our adversaries and stand by our allies. We need to be better prepared against cyber attacks and provide better services to our veterans after they have served our country.
Governmental Reform: Clinton argued that now is the time to take government out of corporate hands and back into the hands of Americans. She called for stopping the flow of unaccountable campaign funds, undoing Citizens United, and improving government technology so it is more open to the pubic. She also called for improvements to voting including universal registration, longer early voting periods, and ensuring that voting rights are protected despite the Supreme Court’s recent decision.
Clinton’s speech is only the beginning of the next phase of her campaign. Over the coming weeks, Clinton will travel across the country to spread her message and continue to flesh out her campaign platform. We will follow along and continue to cover her campaign events as she continues to build a strong platform for America’s future.
Join Hillary for America by donating, or you can text JOIN to 47246. As always, you can also follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and her all new Instagram page.
Today, President Barack Obama announced that the United States and Cuba would begin to exchange in normal diplomatic relations and that he would push for further reform of the US-Cuba policy. With the news came the release of prisoners in Cuba and the return of prisoners to Cuba. This included the release of Alan Gross, who had been imprisoned for five years.
While this move has been met with with some criticism, it is something that Hillary Rodham Clinton has called for. In her book, Hard Choices, Clinton called for an updated strategy in regard to Cuba. She released a statement tonight supporting this move stating:
“I am deeply relieved by Alan Gross’s safe return to the United States, and I support President Obama’s decision to change course on Cuba policy, while keeping the focus on our principal objective — supporting the aspirations of the Cuban people for freedom. It is great news that Alan is finally home with his family, where he belongs.
As secretary of state, I pushed for his release, stayed in touch with Alan’s wife, Judy, and their daughters, and called for a new direction in Cuba. Despite good intentions, our decades-long policy of isolation has only strengthened the Castro regime’s grip on power.
As I have said, the best way to bring change to Cuba is to expose its people to the values, information, and material comforts of the outside world. The goal of increased U.S. engagement in the days and years ahead should be to encourage real and lasting reforms for the Cuban people. And the other nations of the Americas should join us in this effort.”
Hillary Clinton Speeches 