On Monday, Tim Kaine campaigned in North Carolina where he began the day at an event in Jacksonville. During his speech, Kaine outlined a number of Hillary Clinton’s key platform points including her plans to create jobs and continue the economic growth started by the administration of President Barack Obama. He said that the goal is to build an economy that works for everyone, and not just those at the top. Kaine also spoke about Donald Trump and attacked Trump for his disrespect for the military. As the father of a Marine, Kaine said, “We need someone who has known about (the military) in the past and know what we look for in the future, even know what the military stands for other than fighting.” Kaine wrapped up the event by asking everyone to vote and to take advantage of the state’s early voting adding, “You are not the kind of people to stand by. We’re going to go out on November 8 and make history and do something that’s never been done.” A video from the event is below.
In Sanford, Kaine continued to focus on the economy and Clinton’s plans to create jobs by investing in infrastructure, manufacturing, clean energy, education and training, and helping small businesses. Kaine urged everyone to not become complacent by current polls indicating that the gap that favored Clinton in the polls is closing, something he said they knew would happen. “I’m the underdog until they call me the winner,” he said asking everyone to vote on November 8th or to take advantage of early voting. A video from the Sanford event is below.
Meanwhile, Kaine’s wife, Anne Holton, was in Omaha, Nebraska where she held two events in appreciation of campaign volunteers. Full coverage from Holton’s events will be posted when/if available.
Chelsea Clinton campaigned on behalf of mother today in Wisconsin. Chelsea spoke at events in La Crosse, Stevens Point, and Madison, and at each, she focused on the importance of voting because this election will have a profound impact on everyone’s future, and as a mother, electing Donald Trump concerns her. “Whomever we elect to replace President Obama will help shape the future for my children and your children and grandchildren,” she said. She spoke about a number of Hillary Clinton’s platform points including her plans to promote economic growth, create jobs, raise the minimum wage, and make college more affordable. Chelsea concluded each event by urging everyone to vote and to take advantage of the early voting available in the state. A video from the event in Stevens City is below and videos from the other events today will be added when/if available.
First Lady of Arkansas Hillary Rodham Clinton with her daughter Chelsea, 13th May 1984. (Photo by Mike Stewart/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)
Today, an op-ed by Hillary Clinton was published by Fortune magazine. In the article, Clinton discusses what she learned from being a working mother. She writes about how she had to struggle her career as a lawyer and raising her daughter. She goes to say that while progress has been made, more needs to be done. Clinton then outlines a number of her proposals aimed at helping working and single mothers including raising the minimum wage, ensuring that women receive equal pay, ensuring everyone has access to affordable childcare, and providing paid leave for new parents. Read the full op-ed below or on Fortune.
Hillary Clinton: What I Learned From Being a Mom Who Works September 29, 2016
We’ve made progress, but have a ways to go.
When I was pregnant with my daughter Chelsea, I asked about the maternity leave policy at the law firm where I worked. I was surprised to find out that we didn’t have one. I soon learned why: No woman who worked in our office had ever come back to work full-time after having a baby.
Well, I wanted to come back. I loved what I did. And it was important to me to contribute to my family’s finances, especially now that we were having a baby.
Finally, as my due date approached, I decided to take matters into my own hands. When Chelsea was born, my employer agreed to grant me four months off to be home with her. I’d still earn an income, though it would be smaller; part of my income was determined by the fees I generated for the firm, which would fall to zero while I was on leave. That made sense to me. And it meant a lot that I could have that time with my new daughter, knowing that my job would be waiting for me when I came back.
These kinds of situations are commonplace today, with more women entering the workforce than ever before. Today, nearly half of all full-time employees are women. Through our contributions, talent, insights, and very presence, we’ve changed the workplace forever. There’s no going back to the days when women were fired for getting married or pregnant, or were excluded from entire professions. Thank goodness.
But let’s be real. We still have a long way to go. Our policies just haven’t kept up with the challenges women and families face today.
Too many women still aren’t paid fairly. On average, women earn 20% less than men do for full-time, year-round work. Women of color earn even less. And when a working mom or grandmother earns less than she deserves, she’s not the only one who pays the price. Her children or grandchildren—whoever’s counting on her salary—do, too.
Women also make up the majority of minimum-wage workers, which means they make as little as $14,500 a year for full-time work. That’s below the national poverty line. Many of those women are raising kids on that income. Raising the federal minimum wage would do a lot for those families.
Meanwhile, even though the number of women running companies, labs, universities, and philanthropies is growing, it’s still too small. So is the number of women serving in elected office. That means women aren’t always included in decision-making, and their needs and concerns aren’t always reflected in government policy or workplace norms.
And we’re making it too hard to balance work and family. That’s true for all parents, but especially mothers. Women are breadwinners in more households than ever, yet they still do the lion’s share of childcare.
Many are feeling the squeeze. I’ve had moms break down in tears as they describe the heartbreak of returning to work just a few days after delivering their baby, because they don’t have paid leave at their jobs. Staying with their child for a few months would mean losing too many paychecks, maybe even their job.
In April, I met a mom in Newton, Iowa, who held her four-and-a-half-month-old in her arms. She said to me, “I’m counting on you to know what it’s like to be a working mother. Please help us working mothers and fathers have more time with our babies.”
I’m not going to let her down.
One thing we can do is invest in affordable childcare. Right now, childcare is more expensive than college tuition in many states. Let’s make sure no family has to spend more than 10% of their income on childcare by making historic investments in childcare assistance and providing tax relief to working families.
Let’s finally join every other advanced economy in the world and guarantee paid leave. I’m proposing 12 weeks of paid medical leave to recover from a serious illness, and 12 weeks of paid family leave to care for a new child or a sick relative. After all, moms and dads both deserve to spend time with their babies.
Let’s encourage employers to adopt family-friendly work policies, like flexible and fair scheduling and tele-work, so parents can both work and be there for their families.
Let’s raise the minimum wage. No one who works full-time should be forced to raise their kids in poverty.
And at long last, let’s finally ensure equal pay for women. It’s time for Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act—which I cosponsored when I was in the Senate—to give women the tools they need to fight discrimination in the workforce. We also need to promote pay transparency so that women have the information they need to negotiate fairly for their wages.
These aren’t just women’s issues. They’re economic issues and family issues. And they need to be a top priority for our next president. If we’re going to build a globally competitive workforce, we can’t afford to leave any talent on the sidelines. We can’t keep short-changing working families.
I’ll never forget what it was like to be a mom at work. It wasn’t easy. And I was lucky: I had financial security, a supportive employer, and affordable childcare. Too many families don’t. I’ve met so many parents stuck in impossible situations, at their wits’ ends trying to make it all work. It just shouldn’t be this hard to work and have a family.
As president, it’ll be my mission to bring our economy and workplaces into the 21st century, so all of our contributions are respected—both women’s and men’s—and families can thrive.
The members of the Mothers of the Movement group spent Monday and Tuesday of this week campaigning on behalf of Hillary Clinton across North Carolina. The group of three mothers, united by the loss of a child due to gun violence, held a series of roundtable discussions and community events in Fayetteville, Durham, Greensboro, and Charlotte. At each event, the group told their stories and discussed a number of points outlined by Clinton including her plans for criminal justice reform and her proposal to reduce gun violence.
The mothers taking part in each event were Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner; Geneva Reed-Veal, the mother of Sandra Bland; and Maria Hamilton, the mother of Dontre Hamilton. Videos from the events will be posted when/if available.
Also on Tuesday, two fundraisers were held on behalf of Hillary for America in Denver, Colorado. Each of the events featured a conversation with Maya Harris, HFA Senior Policy Advisor.
Tim Kaine, Anne Holton, and Chelsea Clinton were on the campaign trail today in various states. Kaine spoke at a rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan where he told a crowd of students and supporters about Hillary Clinton’s plan to reduce the debt of college students and ensure that students whose families make less than $125,000 a year can attend a public college or university debt free. Speaking at the University of Michigan, Kaine also expressed his confidence in Hillary’s judgement saying, “I want a commander-in-chief with judgment. I would trust Hillary Clinton with my son’s life and Donald Trump scares me to death.” A video of Kaine’s speech is below.
Chelsea was in North Carolina where she began two days of campaigning in the area. She began in Winston-Salem where she took part in a panel discussion about women in leadership. The group discussed a number of topics including the importance of an education and the wage gap. Chelsea then traveled to Durham where she spoke at the opening of a campaign office. She thanked volunteers and urged them to get out and talk to voters. She spoke about the importance of the election saying, “This is the most important presidential election of my lifetime,” she said. “Whomever we elect will play a fundamental role in shaping the future that my children and their generation grow up in.” A video from Chelsea’s panel at Wake Forest University is below.
Anne Holton, the wife of Kaine, attended an event at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. The former Secretary of Education for the state of Virginia spoke about Hillary’s plans to help college students repay debt and ensure that future college students do not go into debt. She explained, “Part of Hillary’s plan is to make community college tuition free, to make Pell grants year-round so that students can continue their education in the summers when otherwise appropriate and then to make college debt-free for everybody.” Holton then answered questions from students in attendance. A video from the event will be added when/if available.
Meanwhile, three fundraisers were held on behalf of Hillary for America. The first was an evening with BD Wong in Boston, Massachusetts. Then, in Atlanta, Georgia, a LGBTQ Friends and Allies for Hillary event was held. The final event was a discussion of the environment and election with Ion Yadigaroglu and Kristina Costa. The event was held in New York City.
Hillary Clinton and her newly announced running mate, Senator Tim Kane, appeared at their first joint campaign rally since yesterday’s announcement. Speaking in Miami, Florida, the event served as an introduction of Kaine to her supporters and the American people. While Clinton introduced Kaine and praised his public service record, she wasted no time going after Republican Donald Trump and his running mate saying, “I have to say, Senator Tim Kaine is everything that Donald Trump and Mike Pence are not.”
Kaine then took the stage and spoke about a number of topics including religion (he is Catholic while Clinton is Methodist), family, and the military. He spoke about how is son, a Marine, will soon be deployed, and he criticized Trump’s waffling support of America’s military veterans. Kaine followed Clinton’s lead in attacking Trump’s business record, his record in supporting the military, and his thin skin. He acknowledged that some people may not know who he is joking, “Now, I know for a lot of you, this might be the first time you’re hearing me speak. And hey, let me be honest, for many of you, this is the first time you’ve even heard my name.” He continued, “But that’s OK because I’m excited for us to get to know one another.” A video from the event is below.
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Campaign Manager Robby Mook and State Representative Brian Sims held a fundraising event. The event was billed as a LGBT and Allies Convention Kick-Off in preparation of the DNC beginning on Monday.
On Saturday, Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky announced the birth of their son Aidan Clinton Mezvinsky. He is the second child of Chelsea and Marc. Their daughter, Charlotte, was born in 2014. Both Hillary and Bill Clinton had light schedules this weekend and several wondered if the impending birth of their second grandchild was the reason. A statement released by former President Clinton said, “We are all over the moon as Chelsea and Marc welcome Charlotte’s little brother to the world and grateful for our many blessings. Chelsea and Aidan are both doing well and enjoying this very special time together.”
We congratulate the parents and look forward to seeing both of Clinton’s grandchildren on the campaign trail!
Hillary Clinton Speeches 