Clinton Pens an Open Letter to Latina Millennials

POPSUGAR published the following message from Hillary Clinton:

An Open Letter to Latina Millennials From Hillary Clinton
POPSUGAR
By Hillary Clinton
October 7, 2016

As Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close, I want to take the opportunity to say thank you to the amazing, inspiring young Latinas I’ve met as I’ve crossed the country for this campaign.

Your generation is unlike any that has come before. You’re growing up at a time when you have an incredible opportunity to write our nation’s next chapter. Many of you are the first in your family to go to college or own your own business. You’re the daughters of trailblazers who broke barriers so you could pursue your dreams. You’re activists, entrepreneurs, and dreamers, and you know what it means to work hard and never let anything get in your way.

From actors like Gina Rodriguez to DREAMers like Larissa Martinez, the high school valedictorian who came out as undocumented in her graduation speech, each of you is building the legacy we celebrate this month. And you’re doing it by writing your own story.

But despite all your hard work and success, there are still too many barriers holding you back. I see Latina students trying to get a college education, slammed with rising tuition costs and student debt. I see entrepreneurs eager to start new businesses, navigating too much red tape. I see mothers balancing work and family as best you can, but still struggling to find safe, affordable childcare.

HERE ARE THE MAIN PARTS OF MY PLAN

More and more women are the breadwinners in families across America, yet on average Latinas make 55 cents for every dollar a white man makes. We need to update our policies to match how families live and work today. Let’s close that pay gap, raise the minimum wage, guarantee paid family leave, and make childcare available to every family.

We’ll put in motion a plan I created with Bernie Sanders to make college tuition-free for working families and debt-free for all families. If you already have student loans, we’ll help you refinance them or defer them to start a business. The number of Latina-owned small businesses has more than tripled in the last twenty years. That’s amazing. We should be doing more to support Latina entrepreneurs, because you’re a big force for economic growth.

And I will fight to pass comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship. This is a goal whose time has long since come. I know many families are disappointed that we haven’t achieved it yet — I am too. But we can’t give up or become resigned. We need to stand together and fight to get this done, for as long as it takes. And if I’m elected, I’m going to make this a top priority of my presidency.

When I listen to Latinas talk about your culture, the importance of family stands out. You tell me that when someone in your family succeeds, everyone succeeds. When someone is struggling, you all come together to help them. To me, this is the definition of community. And I want our country to start thinking this way too. That’s what I mean when I say that we’re stronger together.

And I think we need to spread that message far and wide, especially now. Because this election has left a lot of people feeling anxious or scared. I hear it everywhere I go. We’ve seen the rise of a presidential candidate who began his campaign by declaring that Mexicans are rapists and murderers. He said a distinguished federal judge couldn’t be trusted to do his job because of his Mexican heritage. And he derided Alicia Machado, a former Miss Universe and new American citizen, calling her “Miss Housekeeping” because she’s Latina.

So much of his rhetoric is full of prejudice and paranoia. So I understand why so many young people tell me they wonder if our country even sees their value — as Latinos, as Latinas, as Americans.

So let me be clear. Whether you’re Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Afro-Latino . . . whether your family just arrived or has been here since before the United States even existed . . . you make our nation stronger, smarter, and more creative. You belong. And millions of your fellow Americans respect, value, and appreciate you. I am one of them.

This is your chance — your chance to shape America’s future, your chance to stand up to racism and exclusion and say, “This is my country too.” So let’s stand together.

Millennials make up nearly half of Latino eligible voters in this election. This is your chance — your chance to shape America’s future, your chance to stand up to racism and exclusion and say, “This is my country too.” So let’s stand together. Let’s show the world once and for all that, in America, love always trumps hate.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: POPSUGAR

Clinton Publishes Op-Ed About What She’s Learned from Millennials

On Monday, Mic published an op-ed by Hillary Clinton titled “Here’s What Millennials Have Taught Me.” In the article, Clinton explains that the millennial generation is the most open and diverse generation of Americans, and she has learned a great deal by talking with millennial voters over the past year and a half. She then outlines three things she plans to do to help millennials: reduce college debt, create jobs, and cap the maximum out of pocket cost for childcare. Clinton asks for voters support at the conclusion of the op-ed saying, “So let’s stand together to show the world what our country, and your generation, really stands for. Let’s overwhelm division and intolerance with compassion, understanding and unity. Let’s make clear that Love Trumps Hate — not just this November, but always.” A copy of the op-ed is below and can be read HERE.

We hear a lot of things about the millennial generation. But too often, the people who are busy trying to define you are the ones who have spent the least time listening to you.

Here’s what I have learned: Your generation is the most open, diverse and entrepreneurial generation in our country’s history. And if we work together to take on the barriers that are holding you back and unleash your full potential, that won’t just improve your lives — it’ll make our entire country stronger.

From the first days of this campaign, you have shared the problems that keep you up at night and the hopes that get you up in the morning. You’ve reached for the opportunities that come with a college education at the highest rates of any generation in history — but faced ballooning tuition costs and crushing student debt like never before. Many of you entered the workforce during the worst recession since the Great Depression. And you’ve come of age during two deadly, costly wars in the Middle East.

And yet, despite all these challenges, you’ve never given up. Not even close.

Instead, you’re leading the way to a brighter future for all of us. You’ve fought for some of the most important accomplishments in our nation’s history, like the Affordable Care Act and marriage equality. You’ve come together to challenge our country to protect human rights and strengthen families by fixing a broken immigration system, reforming our criminal justice system and ending the era of mass incarceration. And you’ve demanded that people of color be able to live their lives without fear of being killed at a routine traffic stop.

And it’s nothing short of inspiring.

Around the time I graduated from college, our country was in its own moment of soul-searching. We were mired in a war in Vietnam, and reeling from the shooting of peaceful protesters at Kent State and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. At the same time, we were making progress on important fronts. The Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, and the Voting Rights Act broke down barriers that prevented too many people of color from casting their ballot. Women were entering the workforce like never before, challenging attitudes and expectations. It felt like all of America was struggling to decide who we were going to be.

Today, many of you have told me you feel the same way. We’ve seen the rise of a presidential candidate who pits Americans against each other and traffics in prejudice and paranoia. I’ve heard how uneasy this race has made many of you feel — how chilling it is to see protesters beaten at political rallies while the candidate eggs them on. When he talks about making America great again, it’s code for taking America back to a time when many of us — women, people of color, immigrants, LGBT Americans, people with disabilities — were marginalized, ostracized and treated as less-than.

But that’s not what our country is made of. And it’s not what I see when I look to your generation. In large part because of all of you, I am convinced that America’s best days are ahead of us.

There’s a lot that needs fixing — and we’re going to fix it together.

To make it happen, we need to change both hearts and laws. Starting with my first job at the Children’s Defense Fund, I’ve learned that if you want to help the greatest number of people in our democracy, you have to push for reform from both the outside in and the inside out. So we need activists and advocates, entrepreneurs and innovators, teachers and mentors, and everyone who changes lives every day in a million quiet ways. But we also need to do the slow, hard business of governing. We need to win elections, write laws, allocate resources and find common ground. Doing both is the secret to making change.

Let me tell you about a few things I want to work with you to change as your president.

First, everyone who wants to go to college should be able to without drowning in debt. That’s why I worked with Sen. Bernie Sanders to design a plan that will let everyone attend college debt-free. If you already have loans, we’ll let you refinance them, defer them to start a business or forgive them if you spend 10 years in public service. You can even see how much you and your family could save under our plan by looking at the “college calculator” on our website. And we’ll make sure a four-year degree isn’t the only path to a good-paying job by supporting apprenticeships and other high-quality training programs.

Second, everyone should be able to get a job that pays the bills and can support a family. And not only that, you should be able to do work you love and find meaningful. So we’ll create more good-paying jobs, raise the minimum wage and guarantee equal pay. This will help a lot of Americans, especially young people struggling to find footing in a difficult economy.

Third, no new parent should have to face the impossible choice between caring for a child or family member and losing a paycheck or even a job. It’s outrageous that in 2016, the United States is the only developed country in the world without paid family leave of any kind. So we’ll make high-quality child care and preschool available to every family in every community.  I’ve spent my career fighting to make a difference for children and families, and I can’t wait to do even more as president.

Of course, to do any of these things, we can’t have secret unaccountable money poisoning our politics. So I’ll appoint Supreme Court justices who will overturn Citizens United and even propose a constitutional amendment to do the same. And by doing that, we’ll make sure that no special interests can get in the way of protecting and expanding civil rights, LGBT rights and all human rights.

Many of you have shared with me that it feels like you’re out there on your own — like no one has your back. It shouldn’t be that way. If I’m fortunate enough to be elected, you will always have a champion in the White House. But I can’t do it on my own. I need you to work with me, keep fighting for what you believe, hold me accountable. I can’t promise we’ll win every fight on our first try. But I can promise you this: I’ll never stop fighting for you.

So let’s stand together to show the world what our country, and your generation, really stands for. Let’s overwhelm division and intolerance with compassion, understanding and unity. Let’s make clear that Love Trumps Hate — not just this November, but always.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: Mic

Clinton Addresses Congressional Black Caucus Foundation

On Saturday evening, Hillary Clinton spoke at the annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation gala in Washington, DC. During her speech, Clinton vowed to work for everyone and ensure that the progress stated by President Barack Obama continues. She then ripped Donald Trump for his “dangerous and divisive vision” for the United States. She said that she is the best candidate for the presidency because she has real plans to continue growth for everyone. Clinton said, “We need ideas not insults, real plans to help struggling Americans in communities that have been left out and left behind, not prejudice and paranoia. We can’t let Barack Obama’s legacy fall into the hands of someone who doesn’t understand that, whose dangerous and divisive vision for our country will drag us backwards.” A video of Clinton’s speech is below.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: NBC New York, Politico

Hillary Clinton Apologizes for “Basket of Deplorables” Comment

Last night, Hillary Clinton made a comment during a New York fundraiser that has gotten negative press. In her remarks, Clinton spoke about the supporters of Donald Trump saying that half of them are a “basket of deplorables.” Today, Clinton apologized for making the comment saying she was being “grossly generalistic.” She went on to outline her criticisms of Trump saying that she understands that many of his supporters are hard working Americans that, if elected, she will work for because she wants to build a country that is “strong together.” A copy of Clinton’s statement is below.

“Last night I was ‘grossly generalistic,’ and that’s never a good idea. I regret saying ‘half’ — that was wrong. But let’s be clear, what’s really ‘deplorable’ is that Donald Trump hired a major advocate for the so-called ‘alt-right’ movement to run his campaign and that David Duke and other white supremacists see him as a champion of their values. It’s deplorable that Trump has built his campaign largely on prejudice and paranoia and given a national platform to hateful views and voices, including by retweeting fringe bigots with a few dozen followers and spreading their message to 11 million people. It’s deplorable that he’s attacked a federal judge for his ‘Mexican heritage,’ bullied a Gold Star family because of their Muslim faith, and promoted the lie that our first black president is not a true American. So I won’t stop calling out bigotry and racist rhetoric in this campaign. I also meant what I said last night about empathy, and the very real challenges we face as a country where so many people have been left out and left behind. As I said, many of Trump’s supporters are hard-working Americans who just don’t feel like the economy or our political system are working for them.  I’m determined to bring our country together and make our economy work for everyone, not just those at the top. Because we really are ‘stronger together.’”

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: USA Today

Hillary Clinton Statement on Actors’ Equity Association Endorsement

Hillary Clinton received the endorsement of the Actors’ Equity Association. In a statement, the group said this is the first time they have endorsed a presidential candidate, but they felt the need to speak out. Executive Director Mary McColl expressed the importance of unions and the reason for their endorsement of Clinton. “Our union has historically chosen to remain nonpartisan and above the fray. But at such a critical time in our country’s history, this union does not have that luxury if we hope to protect our members. We have to fight with everything we have for our survival.” Clinton responded to the endorsement with the following statement.

“I am honored to have earned the first-ever endorsement of the Actors’ Equity Association.

I have spent my life fighting to even the odds for those who have had the odds stacked against them. That means making it possible for every child to live up to his or her God-given potential, no matter where they come from, what they look like, or who they love. And, although this is an unusual thing for a candidate for President to say, it means working to create more love and kindness in our country. 

The Actors’ Equity Association shares these core values. And I couldn’t be prouder to have them standing with me in this election. The stakes could not be higher.

From the beginning, Donald Trump has based his campaign on prejudice and paranoia. He has insulted immigrants and demeaned women. He has called for banning 1.5 million people from so much as entering this country because of their religion. He mocked and mimicked a reporter with a disability. He would appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn marriage equality, and when the time came to choose a running-mate, he selected a man who signed a law that would have allowed Indiana businesses to discriminate against LGBT people.

Donald Trump does not understand a basic truth about America: we are stronger together.

Americans don’t tear each other down—we lift each other up. We don’t build walls—we break down barriers. Together, we’ll fight to finally guarantee equal pay for women, protect workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively, and build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. We’ll pass the Equality Act and make it illegal to discriminate against LGBT people in employment and housing—and we won’t let up in the fight against HIV and AIDS until we reach the goal of an AIDS-free generation, which is finally in sight. We will face up to the reality of systemic racism and fix it—and we’ll fight back against those who are trying to deny Americans their fundamental right to vote. And above all, we will never forget that we are in this together, one nation, indivisible.

The future we want is within our reach—let’s build it together.”

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: Actors’ Equity Association

 

Clinton Criticizes Trump’s Extreme Views in Reno Speech

Hillary Clinton sharply criticized the extreme views of Donald Trump during a speech in Reno, Nevada today. Clinton said that Trump is “taking hate groups mainstream” with his hateful rhetoric. She blamed him for allowing the extreme right take over the Republican Party. “From the start, Donald Trump has built his campaign on prejudice and paranoia. He’s taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical fringe take over one of America’s two major political parties. His disregard for the values that make our country great is profoundly dangerous,” Clinton said.

Hillary for America also released a report outlining how Trump has given “Alt-Right” groups the control of the Republican Party. The report takes several of Trump’s policy proposals in quotes into consideration. The report concludes, “This kind of hatred is impacting our families, our communities and the public discourse – the so-called “Trump effect” – and we must recognize and stand up against it in order to keep the fringe extremism out of the White House.” A video from Clinton’s speech in Reno is below, and the full report can be read on The Briefing.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: Reno Gazette-Journal, The Washington Post, Business Insider