More headlines: Hillary Clinton on Principles & Values
(Following are older quotations. Click here for main quotations.)
Using passages from other’s speeches is change you can Xerox
If your candidacy is going to be about words, then they should be your own words. That’s a very simple proposition. Lifting whole passages from someone else’s speeches is not change you can believe in, it’s change you can Xerox. If you look at the
YouTube of these videos, it does raise questions. There is no doubt that Obama is a passionate, eloquent speaker, and I applaud him for that. But when you look at what we face in this country, we do need to unite the country, but we have to unite it for
purpose around very specific goals. It is not enough to say, “Let’s come together.” We’ve got to look hard at the difficult challenges we face, especially after Bush leaves the White House. The world will breathe a sigh of relief once he is gone.
But then we’ve got to do the hard work of not just bringing the country together, but overcoming a lot of the entrenched opposition to the very ideas that both of us believe in, and for some of us have been fighting for, for a very long time.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin
Feb 21, 2008
Will release tax returns during general election campaign
Q: Cheney & Bush were famous for making deals behind closed doors. How can we believe that you are not going to do the same if you do not do something as simple as release your tax returns? We received this question over 300 times.A: Well, the
Obama campaign is telling people to send in that question. I’m going to release my tax returns when I’m the nominee. My entire ethics statement is on record at the Senate. I liquidated all of my holdings. I’m holding everything in cash so that there’s
not even a question of conflict. But transparency is an important issue. And it doesn’t only go to your personal finances but Senator Obama has some questions to answer about his dealings with one of his largest contributors,
Exelon, a big nuclear power company. Apparently he cut some deals behind closed doors to protect them from full disclosure in the nuclear industry. And we still don’t have a lot of answers about Senator Obama and his dealings with Mr. Rezko.
Source: 2008 Politico pre-Potomac Primary interview
Feb 11, 2008
AdWatch: Clinton didn’t cause Peter Paul fraud investigation
In a video that has logged millions of views on the Internet, Peter Paul, a felon who helped produce a gala fundraiser for the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign, makes a number of false or misleading charges. Among them:-
The video gives the false impression that the Clintons somehow caused Paul to be investigated for securities fraud as retaliation for a lawsuit he filed against them. But the investigation--and Paul’s indictment--came first.
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The video claims that a telephone conversation between Paul & Hillary Clinton shows that she had knowledge of and perpetrated illegal campaign activities, when the actual conversation shows Hillary thanking organizers of a fundraiser.
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The video says Hillary’s campaign included “the largest fraud in election funding history.” The campaign was fined for a reporting violation, not “fraud.” And the fine was relatively modest compared with other FEC fines.
Source: FactCheck.org: AdWatch on 2008 independent Internet video
Jan 18, 2008
Poll: support among women 13% higher than among men
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton accepted her party’s nomination for a second term as the New York senator in the Buffalo convention, but she sure didn’t sound as if she was running only for that seat. A new ABC News/Washington
Post Poll shows a huge gender gap among Clinton supporters, even among Democrats, with women more likely to support Clinton than men by a margin of 13 points. The gap continues with Republicans, where three in 10 women indicated a willingness to support
Clinton compared with two out of 10 Republican men.While Clinton has proved popular with the Democratic base in places like New York City, she is much weaker with the political center, the moderates and Independents in states like Ohio and
Florida that she will need to win a general election. A daunting 42 percent of all Americans say they’d never vote for her for president.
Source: 2008 speculation by Jake Tapper & Drew Millhon, ABC News
May 31, 2006
Early frontrunner based on name recognition and money
Dick Morris, the political consultant who advised the Clintons in the White House & who roughly personifies what people hate about political consultants, published a book called “Condi vs Hillary”, touting the thesis that only Condoleezza Rice could foil
Clinton’s ambitions.When Republican types meet, the Hillary-chat is the same. Formidable candidate... shedloads of money... unrivalled name recognition... impressive job in the Senate... husband a big asset... great hairdo.
Among Democrats, you will
find many who say she SHOULD be the next president-her admirers remain legion-but you will be very hard pressed to find many who say with confidence she WILL.
Early polls indicate that while she’s streets ahead for the Democratic nomination, she gets
soundly beaten by all the most plausible Republicans. So, among Democrats the snatches of conversation are like this: Hated on the Left... impossibly high negatives... terrible performer in public... too much Bill baggage... awful pantsuits.
Source: 2008 speculation by Gerard Baker in The Peninsula (Qatar)
Apr 8, 2006
Op-Ed: positioning herself as voice of reason & centrism
Bill taught Hillary the power of cutting against the image of your political party. In 1992, Bill ran as a “New Democrat,” advocating capital punishment, backing a work requirement for welfare, pledging to balance the budget & pass a middle-class tax cut
When Clinton criticized black rap star Sister Souljah for seeming to advocate black violence, he distinguished himself from the tapestry of liberalism that had been the backdrop of the failed candidacies of McGovern & Dukakis. Now, against the history of
another failed liberal candidacy, Hillary is set to emerge as the new Clinton, the moderate savior of a left-addicted party. Playing off the extreme liberalism of the new DNC chair, Howard Dean, Hillary will position herself as the voice of reason &
centrism.But Hillary’s newfound centrism focuses only on issues at the margins. She may attack sex on TV or call for more values in public life, but when the chips are down, she votes like a solid liberal, backing her party more than 90% of the time.
Source: Condi vs. Hillary, by Dick Morris, p. 15-16
Oct 11, 2005
Get New York a fair share of budget surplus & Medicaid
Q: As a junior senator, will you be able to ensure that N.Y. will receive its fair share of federal aid?CLINTON: One of the issues I’ve been talking about is how we can get more of New York’s fair share. We have a chance to do that because we
have a surplus. One of the biggest injustices is the Medicaid formula. I’ve come forward with a plan that would get us more money. I look forward to working with Chuck Schumer. I would be a vigorous proponent of what we need.
Source: Senate debate in Manhattan
Oct 8, 2000
New Yorkers are diverse, big dreamers
Q: Define a New Yorker. CLINTON: What it means to be a New Yorker is to be the best human being you can be, to do the best with your life you can do, to dream the biggest dreams, to demonstrate that we can make this wonderful
patchwork quilt of a place not only work but show the rest of the world that people from different backgrounds and experiences not only can get along but build a better future.
Source: Senate debate in Manhattan
Oct 8, 2000
New to the neighborhood, but not new to NY issues
For over 30 years in many different ways, I’ve seen first hand the kinds of challenges New Yorkers face today. I may be new to the neighborhood, but I am not new to your concerns.
I care about the same issues you care about. I understand them. I know that we can make progress on them. That’s why my friend, I want to be your Senator.
Source: Announcement Speech, SUNY Purchase
Feb 6, 2000
1992: Keep press on the issues, not on personal destruction
By the time of the New Hampshire primary in March, 1992, Hillary’s view of the vast right-wing conspiracy was taking more precise shape, for good reason.Hillary’s had acuity of judgment that George Bush would be reelected unless the Clinton campaign
could find a way to repel attacks and keep the attack machine silenced long enough to effectively trumpet the Clintons’ substantive message. Getting the public to listen to anything Bill said would be difficult because of what the press had become.
Hillary saw the press as out of control, hell-bent on personal destruction and manufactured controversy, while ignoring serious issues.
The big story of the campaign, she feared, would was going to be
Bill’s private life and hers, and a grotesque distortion of the Arkansas years. It is apparent in interview after interview that the guiding premise was: Keep them away from us and our private lives.
Source: A Woman in Charge, by Carl Bernstein, p.198-199
Jun 5, 2007
We’re better off than 1992; elect Gore & continue progress
We’re a stronger, better country than we were in 1992. When Bill, Al, Tipper and I got on that bus after our convention eight years ago, we began a journey that took us through America’s heartland. Along the way we saw faces of hope --
but also faces of despair -- fathers out of work, mothers trapped on welfare, children with unmet medical needs. How can we continue America’s progress? By electing Al Gore and Joe Lieberman!
Source: Address to the Democratic National Convention
Aug 14, 2000
Campaigning on strong coalition of women & minorities
Hillary’s nomination as the first woman candidate for president by a major political party would generate extraordinary excitement and give the Democrats an undeniable advantage in the general election. Consider this: If Hillary is nominated as
the first woman ever to run for president, she is very, very likely to win. By maximizing her support among the 54% of the vote that is cast by women--and tapping into the enthusiasm that her husband elicits among African Americans and
Hispanics--she is likely to sweep into office, easily defeating any conventional white male candidate the Republicans might send against her.
The Democratic Party cannot win without fully tapping all three pillars of its base: African Americans,
Hispanics, and white women. A Hillary Clinton candidacy is particularly strong because of her appeal to all three bastions of Democratic power.
Source: Condi vs. Hillary, by Dick Morris, p. 5 & 52
Oct 11, 2005
Accepted draft for Senate to avoid being “derivative spouse”
Hillary said, “For years, I have written legal briefs, I have given speeches, I have lobbied Congress. I have been standing on the outside, knocking on the door, while they set policy and pass laws. I’d like to be on the inside making the case.”
Why choose New York? Hillary confided that she’d investigated “some other states, but they have a number of qualified people running who had worked hard and long to be congressional candidates.”
Hillary said that the other thing that was appealing about a Senate run was that it would be a rare thing in American politics--a candidacy by acclamation. “I’m being drafted. It is so rare to be drafted in this way.
the nature of politics is such that you have to seize the moment when and if it comes, or it may never come again.” She wanted to be wanted.
Source: Her Way, by Jeff Gerth & Don Van Natta, p.208
Jun 8, 2007
Running for re-election with no promise to serve a full term
Q: In 2000, you promised to serve a full 6-year term. Will you make the same promise today?CLINTON: I am running for re-election. I have made no decisions about any future plans. If that’s a concern for any voter, they should factor that into their
decision on Nov. 7. We need a new direction, and that’s what I’m going to focus on.
Q: So you can’t make that promise then today?
CLINTON: I’m not looking past this election. But I’m going to be very clear with the voters, I can’t make a decision
now, but if that concerns any voter, they should factor that in.
Q: Are you saying don’t vote for you if that’s a concern?
CLINTON: No, I think they should vote for me, but they should balance that against everything that I’ve done, my record and
my values.
SPENCER: I’m the only one standing here today that wants to be a US Senator for the next 6 years for the people of New York. I commit that I am not running for President and I will serve for 6 years.
Source: NY 2006 Senate Debate, moderated by Bill Ritter
Oct 22, 2006
No problems with presidential transition; resolved by Xmas
First lady and U.S. Senator-elect Hillary Rodham Clinton predicted Wednesday that the presidential election would be resolved before Christmas if legal challenges over Florida’s disputed votes are handled in an “expeditious manner.” “I think both
campaigns have filed legal actions and we have the time to have those heard,” said Clinton, who endorsed Gore’s position in the dispute. “I believe that it certainly is important that every American have the confidence that his or her vote is counted and
certainly in Florida there are questions about votes that haven’t been counted. I think those should be resolved,“ she said.
America’s government institutions, including the presidency, are ”strong and resilient“ enough to weather the
current dispute, Clinton said. She added that Gore as well as his Republican rival, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, would ”certainly be able to hit the ground running“ after taking office.
Source: CNN.com
Nov 29, 2000
Rejected Independence Party; they include Pat Buchanan
CLINTON [to Lazio]: When the Independence Party was considering who to nominate, I made it very clear that I would not run on a party line with Pat Buchanan because of his anti-Semitic comments. You were more than happy to accept that particular line.
LAZIO: Mrs. Clinton, that’s not totally accurate. Your people were up there working hard for that.
CLINTON: I’ve specifically said publicly that I wouldn’t take it if they nominated Pat Buchanan. It was up to them to decide what to do.
LAZIO: I
condemned him and the fact that he has been intolerant.
CLINTON: You know, I can only respond because, you know, as The Forward said when they endorsed me, Jewish voters should reject smear campaigns and inaccurate information.
Q: Did you accept the Independence nomination?
LAZIO: No.
CLINTON: That’s because it wasn’t offered.
LAZIO: No. It wasn’t offered to either one of us, to be fair about that.
Source: NY Senate debate on NBC
Oct 28, 2000
Lazio’s a nice young man, but it’s about policy differences
Q: You would think that you dislike each other. Is that true?LAZIO: It’s not a matter of personal dislike, [but] to point at the differences between candidates and the philosophy between two candidates.
Q: Do you dislike him?
CLINTON: No. I think
that I have no personal animus at all toward Mr. Lazio. He seems like a very nice person.
Q: Well, name three things that you like about him.
CLINTON: Well, it seems like he has a very nice family. And that he has worked very hard. And that he’s an
attractive young man.
Q: And you name three things you like about her.
LAZIO: Well, I think you’re an attractive woman. And I think you’ve got a very nice family. I’m sure you’re a very good mother as well.
CLINTON: Thank you very much. But that’s
not what this election’s about. And what it is about are the very significant differences between us on everything like education and health care and the economy and the environment and guns and choice and Social Security and the budget surplus.
Source: NY Senate debate on NBC
Oct 28, 2000
Hillary: Lazio has chutzpah to call himself “mainstream”
CLINTON: Listening to the congressman’s response, reminds me of a word I’ve heard a lot of this past year: chutzpah. He stands here and tells us that he’s a moderate, mainstream, independent member of Congress. Well, in fact he was a deputy whip to
Newt Gingrich. He voted to shut the government down. He voted to cut $270 billion from Medicare. He voted for the biggest education cuts in our history. Time and time again when he’s had a choice to make, particularly at the critical turning point, when
our country was really on the line with Newt Gingrich’s Contract With America, he stood with the Republican leadership and Newt Gingrich. LAZIO: Mrs. Clinton’s last remark has to redefine the word chutzpah. Mrs. Clinton, you, of all people, shouldn’t
try to make guilt by association. Newt Gingrich isn’t running in this race, I’m running in this race. Let’s talk about my record. Let’s lower taxes. Let’s deregulate energy. And let’s build on my work in Congress already to get the job done.
Source: Clinton-Lazio debate, Buffalo NY
Sep 13, 2000
Support minimum wage & more teachers, in Senate or out
Hillary Rodham Clinton said she would “probably be connected with a foundation or academic institution in some way” if she loses her bid to be elected US senator from New York. “I’ll support the same issues --
raising the minimum wage, expanding the earned income tax credit for poor working people, and putting more teachers in the classroom to lower class size in our public schools,” she said in the
interview in Ladies Home Journal.When asked what accomplishments she’s most proud of as first lady, Mrs. Clinton noted her involvement in extending health care to children, making it easier for
people who lose or change jobs to keep their health insurance, and speeding up and providing tax incentives for the adoption and foster care systems.
Source: CNN.com
May 3, 2000
Has a Jewish step-grandfather
Dorothy’s mother was only 15 when Dorothy was born. Dorothy and her sister were sent to live with their father’s parents. After graduation from high school, Dorothy returned to Chicago because of the marriage of her mother to Max Rosenberg.
He was well-to-do and was involved in the hotel business. Rosenberg persuaded Della to send for her children and try and make amends for the past. It was the first time in ten years that Dorothy had been contacted by her mother.
The role of Rosenberg in the life of Hillary has always been clouded. The first time Hillary mentioned her step grandfather publicly was in 1999, during her
Senate campaign in NY. “I have nothing but fond memories of Max Rosenberg,” Hillary said. In Living History she wrote only that he was Jewish.
Source: A Woman in Charge, by Carl Bernstein, p. 23-24
Jun 5, 2007
Page last updated: Jan 27, 2010