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Hey everybody. Here is Saturday’s HNV. I found some good material for today’s edition of HNV, so it is pretty big today.
Index:
1. Speech to Planned Parenthood
2. Hillary meets with Elizabeth Warren
3. Warren for VP speculation and opinions
4. Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton might be closer than you’d think
5. It’s time to admit Hillary Clinton is an extraordinarily talented politician
6. Hillary is suddenly cool again
7. How Hillary Clinton’s historic win changes the game for girls
8. If Hillary Clinton Wins the Election, Women Really Could Run the World
9. Many of the factors that helped Hillary beat Bernie will let her crush Trump
10. Hillary Clinton Is the Queerest Presidential Candidate Ever
11. Here's what the world thinks of Hillary Clinton's historic candidacy
12. Celebrities React to Hillary Clinton's 'Milestone' Victory
13. Democrats will rally around Hillary Clinton — destroying Donald Trump is just too fun
Four major endorsements, and Martin O’Malley endorses, too.
After the banner day on Thursday when Hillary scored four major endorsements on the same day — Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Warren, and Joe Biden — Friday was a bit quieter. Hillary gave a speech at Planned Parenthood on Friday, she met with Elizabeth Warren for 66 minutes, and with that started a new round of VP speculation, and in terms of the media the coverage changed dramatically. Focus has shifted to the VP search (and primary speculation centers around Elizabeth Warren) and to postmortems of the primary that make me rub my eyes in amazement. Is this the same race they are covering?
Let’s get to it:
1. Speech to Planned Parenthood
Hillary gave a speech to Planned Parenthood, and she used the opportunity to hit Donald Trump on women rights, reproductive rights, and Trump’s overall treatment of women.
Mother Jones reports:
Hillary Clinton Defends Reproductive Rights in First Speech as Presumptive Nominee.... And she tears into Donald Trump.
For her first general election speech, Hillary Clinton chose a venue that made a statement about her candidacy and her role as the first woman to gain a major-party's presidential nomination. Clinton addressed the Planned Parenthood Action Fund in Washington, DC, on Friday, and offered a pointed defense of the right to legal abortion and general reproductive rights. "I've been proud to stand with Planned Parenthood for a long time," she said. "And as president, I will always have your back."
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Clinton raised Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan, pointing out that going back to a prior time wouldn't be so great for the women in the room. "Back to a time when opportunity and dignity were reserved for some, not all," she said. "Back to the days when abortion was illegal, women had far fewer options, and life for too many women and girls was limited. Well, Donald, those days are over."
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Clinton used her speech Friday to call out Trump's past disparaging comments about women. "This is a man who has called women 'pigs,' 'dogs,' and 'disgusting animals,'" Clinton said. "Kind of hard to imagine counting on him to respect our fundamental rights?" She particularly singled out Trump's statement from earlier in the campaign that women who seek abortions should be punished under the law. Trump later walked back that line, but Clinton wasn't buying it. "Anyone who would so casually agree to the idea of punishing women—like it was nothing to him, the most obvious thing in the world—that is someone who doesn't hold women in high regard," she said. "Because if he did, he'd trust women to make the right decisions for ourselves."
More articles about the Planned Parenthood speech:
Hillary Clinton Ended Her Great Week With A Masterful Pummeling Of Donald Trump
Hillary Clinton put an exclamation point on her great week with a speech that completely dismantled Donald Trump.
Now that’s what I believe and you won’t be surprised to hear – Donald Trump believes something very different.
He actually thinks guaranteeing paid family leave would leave America less competitive. He says if women want equal pay, we should just – and this is a quote – ‘do as good a job’ as men – as if we weren’t already.
He wants to appoint justices who want to overturn Roe V. Wade. He of course wants to defund Planned Parenthood. And he wants to go after so many of the fundamental rights we have, including safe and legal abortions. And he actually said, ‘women should be punished for having abortions.’ Now, once he said that there was an outcry, as there should have been, and he tried to walk back his comments. He’s doing that a lot lately.
But anyone who would so casually agree to the idea of punishing women – like it was nothing to him, the most obvious thing in the world – that is someone who doesn’t hold women in high regard. Because if he did, he’d trust women to make the right decisions for ourselves.
But don’t worry. Donald assures us that, as President, he’ll be – and I quote again – ‘the best for women.’
Anyone who wants to defund Planned Parenthood, and wipe out safe, legal abortion has no idea what’s best for women.
And after all this is a man who has called women ‘pigs,’ ‘dogs,’ and ‘disgusting animals.’ Kind of hard to imagine counting on him to respect our fundamental rights?
When he says pregnant women are an ‘inconvenience’ to their employer, what does that say about how he values women – our work, our contributions?
2. Hillary meets with Elizabeth Warren
A meeting between Hillary and Elizabeth Warren took place on Friday. The two spoke for over an hour.
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ABC News reports:
Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren Huddle for 66 Minutes
Sen. Elizabeth Warren huddled with Hillary Clinton at the presumptive Democratic nominee'sWashington, D.C., home this morning, the day after the Massachusetts Democrat endorsed Clinton's bid for the White House.
Warren's visit to Clinton's home lasted 66 minutes. As she departed, Warren ignored questions from the media about what the two discussed in their meeting. A source familiar with the meeting tells ABC News that the two conferred about how they can work together in the upcoming general election campaign to advance the progressive agenda and defeat Donald Trump.
Basically, a strategy session between the two to forge a great partnership moving forward with a common goal — defeating Donald Trump. Of course, it set off a new round of speculation that Hillary might be looking at Elizabeth Warren as a potential VP choice.
3. Warren for VP speculation and opinions
There is rampant speculation that Hillary might tap Elizabeth Warren as her VP choice. Warren is a champion for the Progressive wing of the party and she has been very active in very strongly going after Donald Trump via Twitter and in speeches.
The Week speculates:
Why Hillary Clinton really might tap Elizabeth Warren for VP
For a long time, those in the know would tell you that as much as liberal Democrats would love to have Warren on the ticket in November, it just wasn't in the cards (I made the argument myself). The cautious Clinton wouldn't risk an all-female ticket, the two don't have much of a personal relationship, and Warren doesn't have foreign policy or national security experience, among other reasons. But the clamor for Warren is rising, and it's still possible Clinton just might pick her.
Warren’s stock in the VP sweepstakes is sky high. The big question is whether she wants it (although common wisdom is generally that once the VP slot is offered it is very rarely, if ever, turned down) and whether Hillary feels that Warren is the right choice (factors here are the Senate seat that would be lost temporarily to the GOP, is Warren’s age and relative FP inexperience a factor, etc.).
There are a substantial number of Democrats who absolutely worship Warren, not just for her policy positions (there are plenty of other Democrats who share them) or even for her effectiveness in actually getting some things done on finance issues (she's responsible for the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau), but mostly because of her effectiveness as an advocate for liberal causes. Warren has a folksy charisma that few politicians can match; on TV she comes across as friendly, smart, and cheerful all at the same time. She has an ability to present complex ideas in understandable ways, connect policy questions to people's actual lives, and infuse dry issues with emotion and passion.
Which may be why Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is apparently pushing for Clinton to name Warren to the ticket. And depending on how you look at it, Warren is either a skillful manager of the media, or a press darling; either way, she gets plenty of attention when she wants it, and it's usually positive.
Reid is pushing for Warren, and that may factor in here.
In regards to the Senate seat that we would lose temporarily to a GOPer (appointed by the GOP governor) this segment is interesting:
But it may not be quite as much of a problem as it appears. According to Massachusetts law, when a senator resigns, the governor appoints a successor, and then a special election must be held between 145 and 160 days later. But it turns out that Warren could start that clock ticking merely by writing a letter stating her intention to resign at a later date — say, when the next president takes office. We're still over 220 days from inauguration day next January, meaning the special election to fill her seat could occur before the vacancy would do Democrats any harm.
Even in Massachusetts, there's no guarantee a Democrat would win that seat; as you may remember, when Ted Kennedy died, Republican Scott Brown won the special election and served until Warren beat him two years later. But the odds would be in Democrats' favor.
So, the special election to get a Democrat back into Warren’s Senate seat could be timed to occur before Hillary’s inauguration. That could potentially weigh heavily into the decision making process.
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Salon’s Amanda Marcotte calls for a Warren VP appointment:
Warren For VP! Screw it, Hillary Clinton should definitely pick the Massachusetts senator as her running mate
Even though it means losing her as a senator, Warren is such a great running mate idea that Clinton should do it
Going nuts because such face-to-face meetings in someone’s home during campaigns are frequently the harbingers of a running mate announcement. Warren is wildly popular amongst Democrats, especially those who put a priority on fighting income inequality and the shenanigans of Wall Street and other capitalist vultures who have done so much damage to our economy. Because of this, there’s been chatter for months about Warren as a potential running mate for Clinton, to shore up Clinton’s image as a true progressive and to keep these issues at the forefront of the campaign as Bernie Sanders does his fade-out.
The author then points out that she had major reservations in the past because of the loss of the Senate seat, but she has now changed her mind.
But screw it. My heart soared when I saw that Clinton and Warren were having a meeting and I realized that I really, really want this. Yes, losing Warren as a senator wouldn’t be great, but there’s so much to be gained from having her as Clinton’s running mate that it’s worth it. Here are the reasons why:
1) After a bruising primary, the threat of a Donald Trump win means the Democrats need to unify the base.
2) Warren is a better spokesperson for economic justice than Sanders.
3) Two women are better than one.
4) Warren is better poised than most to redefine the vice presidency.
The article has all these points fleshed out and makes a pretty compelling argument.
4. Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton might be closer than you’d think
There are a lot of similarities between Hillary and Elizabeth Warren that make them a better pairing than many assume initially. I am not talking just about the VP sweepstakes, but in general as these two forge a working relationship that could blossom into a long-term partnership.
This Boston Globe article explores those similarities:
Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton might be closer than you’d think
The two met at Clinton’s brick mansion in Northwest Washington, focusing on ways to push a “progressive agenda” and strategies for stopping presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, according to a Clinton aide.
The campaign wouldn’t say whether another topic came up: the potential of adding Warren to the Democratic ticket.
As an aside, this is exciting to me. Two brilliant women plotting strategy on ways to push a “progressive agenda” and how to stop Donald Trump? First of all, WHAT? Hillary is strategizing with Warren to PUSH A PROGRESSIVE AGENDA? With the nomination done where is the pivot to the middle? The turned back at Hillary’s progressive campaign promises? Instead, she is huddling with Warren on how to push a Progressive agenda? Fellow Progressives, this is great news. A strongly Progressive agenda is going to be what we will be going with for the general election against Donald Trump. I also like that Hillary and Elizabeth are talking about how to take nasty, thin-skinned, money hungry Donald Trump down together. I am giddy over the two of them teaming up to take Trump down. Two brilliant women combining forces to eviscerate this sexist and racist clown? All day, every day.
Back to the article:
The notion that Clinton and Warren might run together is a reminder that both women might be more similar than it would seem by looking at their voting records. Each has racked up wins and losses in Washington and knows how to put aside differences and work together despite previous battles.
One person who has worked with both women explained that both approach problems like attorneys, in a logical, step-by-step way consistent with their legal training.
Clinton, 68, graduated from Yale Law School in 1973, while the 66-year-old Warren’s degree came from Rutgers School of Law in 1976. (Warren would go on to become a professor at Harvard University’s law school.) Ed note: Hillary was, like Elizabeth Warren, herself also a law professor. She taught law (criminal law, criminal procedure, prison project, trial ad and legal clinic) from 1974 through 1976 at the University of Arkansas.
Two brilliant politicians who are both accomplished lawyers and were professors and taught law at the university level. Quite the personal commonality there.
On legislative matters — including the Dodd-Frank overhaul to financial services legislation — Warren has played the validator to the left, according to those who have worked with her. Her support of that legislation — and other bills on Capitol Hill — can serve as a signal to liberals that “this is the best deal you’re going to get.”
Warren’s pragmatism is clear when examining the senators she has backed, not all of whom vote with her on legislation. Exhibit A is Ted Strickland, the Senate candidate in Ohio.
As a member of the US House, he voted for industry-friendly bankruptcy legislation that Warren spent years fighting against.
But Warren endorsed Strickland in the Democratic primary over a liberal challenger with little name recognition. He also happens to have the best chance of defeating incumbent Republican Senator Rob Portman, polls show.
Elizabeth Warren is a pragmatist in that she understands that to get things accomplished you can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. What good does it to re-elect GOPer Portman because you backed a challenger without a chance when a politician with a really good shot at winning is available? Perhaps not quite as far to the left, but sufficiently so that it made sense to back Strickland and hopefully win that Senate seat.
In 2014, Warren headlined rallies in West Virginia and Kentucky and backed two conservative Democrats. The rationale perceived among Democratic strategists: Warren wanted a Democratic majority in the Senate and wouldn’t sacrifice the good for the perfect.
Another way of understanding how Clinton and Warren might mesh is via their overlapping set of advisers and confidants.
Top of the list is Gary Gensler, the Goldman Sachs banker turned Wall Street reformer picked by Clinton to be the chief financial officer of the campaign. He’s been a Warren intermediary over the last year and seems to move smoothly in both worlds.
Mandy Grunwald, Clinton’s current ad-maker, played the same role for Warren. Warren’s past campaign manager and former chief of staff Mindy Myers was a former staffer to Bill Clinton.
These two are a lot more alike than one would think. That can make for a great working relationship down the road, whether as (perhaps) President/Vice President or as a Senator and President.
5. It’s time to admit Hillary Clinton is an extraordinarily talented politician
Ezra Klein over a Vox opines that Hillary is underappreciated for her political acumen, and explores possible reasons for why that is so.
It's time to admit Hillary Clinton is an extraordinarily talented politician
This is the paradox of Hillary Clinton: She has achieved something no one else in the history of American politics has even come close to doing, yet she is widely considered an inept, flawed candidate.
America has hosted 56 presidential elections — 33 of them before women received the right to vote. Exactly zero of those elections featured a female nominee from one of the two major political parties.
Until Hillary Clinton.
There is a narrative that has emerged in the Democratic primary, and it goes something like this: Hillary Clinton locked up the Democratic establishment long before the primary began in earnest. She's the wife of an ex-president. She was endorsed by virtually every elected official in the party and pretty much every major interest group. Her dominance of the inside game was unprecedented for a non-incumbent candidate. And she used this elite firewall to choke off Sanders's revolution.
When Sanders's supporters argue that the election was rigged against their candidate, this is what they are talking about. Sanders, they feel, did what you normally have to do to win an election: He generated more enthusiasm, brought in more voters, raised more money, gave better speeches, and polled higher in head-to-head matchups against the Republican candidate. It was only Clinton's pact with the Democratic establishment that stopped his rise.
But another way to look at the primary is that Clinton employed a less masculine strategy to win. She won the Democratic primary by spending years slowly, assiduously, building relationships with the entire Democratic Party. She relied on a more traditionally female approach to leadership: creating coalitions, finding common ground, and winning over allies. Today, 208 members of Congress have endorsed Clinton; only eight have endorsed Sanders.
Interesting opinion piece that goes into detail on how exactly Hillary built the relationships over many years with other politicians and groups of people that enabled her to beat her opposition.
6. Hillary is suddenly cool again
Winning does that. Oh well. We’ll take it. All the way to the Presidency.
Vanity Fair has discovered that Hillary is the “cool” candidate again.
HILLARY CLINTON IS SUDDENLY COOL AGAIN --- Inside the presidential hopeful’s very good week.
After weeks of bad press and plummeting favorability ratings, Hillary Clinton seems to have turned a corner in the court of public opinion. With two new major endorsements and a string of minor victories (and with Donald Trump’s campaign once again imploding) the former secretary of state is looking more presidential by the day. In fact, she might even be cool again.
Clinton started the week off right when she literally made history by clinching the Democratic nomination ahead of Tuesday’s primaries. By passing the 2,383 delegate threshold, the former New York senator became the first woman in history to lead a presidential ticket for a major U.S. political party.
I guess winning makes you as cool as a cucumber. If you lose you look “beleaguered” and “worn down”.
Then came the endorsement from Barack Obama. On Thursday, her former rival gave his blessing to succeed him in the White House, proclaiming, “I’m with her.” On the heels of a meeting with Sanders, the president gave Clinton some pretty high praise—with a side of self-deprecation—when he said, “I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office.” Self burn.
It was immediately after receiving Obama’s endorsement, however, that the “texts from Hillary” lady boss that Democrats fell for in 2012 suddenly returned to the spotlight with a well-timed tweet. When Trump took to Twitter and fired off a dismissive tweet (“Obama just endorsed Crooked Hillary. He wants four more years of Obama—but nobody else does!”), Clinton responded by retweeting Trump’s attempted insult with the simple message, “Delete your account.” The tweet instantly blew up and had garnered more than 426,000 retweets and over 526,000 likes by Friday afternoon.
“Delete your account”. 3 words that changed the perceived coolness factor of a major Presidential candidate. We’ll take it.
7. How Hillary Clinton’s historic win changes the game for girls
CNN reports:
How Hillary Clinton's historic win changes the game for girls
So many girls for so long were told -- overtly and subtly -- what they could and could not be. Housewives? Yes. Teachers? Sure. President? Unlikely.
They were told to not express their opinions too strongly -- it's not polite. To not challenge a man -- it's not ladylike.
For those girls -- many of them now mothers with daughters of their own -- what happened Tuesday night was more than a political triumph.
Regardless of party persuasion, Hillary Clinton's victory is the definition of historic: She became the first female presidential nominee of a major political party.
An amazing feat. But, lots of works still to be done. A Trump to defeat.
Her chances of becoming president -- the first woman head of state in America's 238-year history -- are now much closer to reality.
Be what you want to be
The impact of the moment was not lost on Clinton.
Before she took the stage to a euphoric victory rally, she posted two photos to her Instagram page.
The first was a picture of her in a hallway with a little girl.
"To every little girl who dreams big: Yes, you can be anything you want—even president. Tonight is for you," the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said.
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To be sure, Clinton still has to duke it out with Donald Trump to win the presidency. But many mothers across the country said that for her to even reach this point is an uplifting example to young girls.
"Alalys and Mirabella will both be of age to vote this year," one woman posted on Instagram. "Regardless of who they vote for, the fact the they will have a choice to vote for a women is beyond exciting!"
Fathers and grandfathers also celebrated.
"I just tucked in my daughter and told her that we can go vote tomorrow for President Hillary," one father said. "She said 'me too when I grow up!'"
8. If Hillary Clinton Wins the Election, Women Really Could Run the World
Interesting to contemplate that women in power are becoming more and more common. A Hillary presidency would make her a top leader in a large field of leaders who are women. Progress!
New York Magazine is on that one:
If Hillary Clinton Wins the Election, Women Really Could Run the World
Like a lot of women, I spent part of last night pinching myself. A woman. A woman! A woman. Finally, a woman. Eight years after Hillary Clinton conceded to Barack Obama, telling us, “Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it.” One hundred years after the first woman was elected to Congress. And 240 years after this country’s founding.
The moment could not be more historic. Or could it?
Let’s imagine that it is January, post-inauguration, with Clinton finally occupying the Oval Office and the Orange Man finally more farce than threat. She chooses the strongest liberal candidate to head the Treasury Department. Lael Brainard accepts.
She chooses the person most often tipped as next in line to lead the Pentagon. Michèle Flournoy agrees. For State, she goes with a seasoned, trusted diplomat, Republican opposition be damned: Susan Rice. And for her chief of staff, she appoints Neera Tanden, currently the president of the Center for American Progress.
Now, with her cabinet in place and her White House up and running, Clinton decides to get to work. She calls the single most powerful person on Earth without an army at her beck and call. Janet Yellen picks up. She calls Europe, the world’s largest economy. Angela Merkel picks up. She rings over to the world’s most important international financial institution. Christine Lagarde picks up. This is not fantasy. If Hillary wins, this is simple reality. Her most powerful peers — save for the president of the People’s Republic of China — will all be women.
Pinch yourselves again, ladies. Come 2017, it won’t just be a woman running America. It could be women running America. And it will be women running the world.
No wonder my 11 year old is so giddy these days. She instinctively understands, ever since she watched Hillary’s victory speech (which made her the first female nominee for the party) that we are in a new era, one where women assert more of their electoral power and translate it into major leadership positions. And, that’s a great thing.
9. Many of the factors that helped Hillary beat Bernie will let her crush Trump
Matt Yglesis from Vox opines:
Many of the factors that helped Hillary beat Bernie will let her crush Trump
Hillary Clinton is about to head into a general election battle against the most entertaining presidential candidate in a very long time. Her plan of attack is boring. And it's also exactly right. The strategies that worked against Bernie Sanders will work even better against Donald Trump — a candidate who's very different ideologically, but whose campaign shares many of Sanders's structural weakness in terms of overreliance on slogans, mega rallies, and aggressive white male supporters.
Basically, the Bernie campaign served as a good testing ground for what to expect with a Trump general election run.
Clinton is heading into the general not only with an edge in current polls but with a campaign — and a candidate — that is dramatically sounder on the fundamentals.
One of the clearest differences between Clinton's approach and Sanders's is that Bernie's campaign was overwhelmingly focused on a handful of big ideas — rally slogans — while Clinton's was drenched in policy detail. Over the course of the primary, her campaign generated 53 different policy proposals and put out more than 200 pages' worth of text detailing those proposals.
Hillary is very detail oriented. Both Bernie and Trump really aren’t.
Clinton's more contemporary style of campaign, which featured a bigger investment in a large data organization and extensive field operation, ultimately paid dividends in the form of narrow, organization-driven wins in tough races like Iowa, Nevada, and Kentucky while helping her maximize her delegate count from friendly states in places like the South and New York.
This is going to hurt Trump increasingly badly as the campaign switches out of a primary season dynamic, where merely getting attention is a win, and into a general election dynamic, where the nature of what people are hearing about you — and who is hearing what — is much more decisive.
10. Hillary Clinton Is the Queerest Presidential Candidate Ever
Hillary is running a strongly LGBT oriented campaign.
Hillary Clinton just won the Democratic primary and made history in her run for the White House. Yes, she is campaigning to be the first female President of the United States. But she is also the most pro-equality presidential candidate in our country’s history. While hyperbole hits a precarious high during presidential elections, this statement is backed up by a decades-long record of accomplishments and support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community in the U.S. and globally.
Hillary has had a queer fan base for some time now. I admit that I wasn’t always part of it. As the former New York State LGBTQ organizing director when Hillary was Senator Clinton, I wanted her to come out for marriage equality sooner, just as I wanted other candidates to do the same. I was openly criticized for not supporting her when collecting signatures to put Barack Obama on the New York ballot in 2008. “Candidate Clinton” was far from perfect.
But then I witnessed the impact that she had on our global LGBTQ community as Secretary of State. She changed policies to recognize our relationships and our gender identities, directed the diplomatic corps to explicitly advocate for LGBTQ equality, and changed the world forever by declaring, “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.”
Five years after that historic speech, Hillary has earned a title that may come as a surprise to some of her critics: the most LGBTQ-supportive presidential candidate in our country’s history.
Hillary is a champion to the LGBT community now. Her hard work for the LGBT community has not gone unnoticed.
11. Here's what the world thinks of Hillary Clinton's historic candidacy
The LA Times reports:
Here's what the world thinks of Hillary Clinton's historic candidacy
Hillary Clinton earned plenty of banner headlines in the United States this week for becoming the first woman to clinch a major party’s nomination for president.
That achievement was hailed in some parts of the world, though viewed as less-than-remarkable elsewhere;
In Germany, Clinton is being welcomed as a strong competitor to defeat Trump, who is widely disliked there.
“I feel sick whenever I think that Trump could become president and in control of the nuclear codes,” columnist Franz Josef Wagner wrote in Germany's biggest-selling newspaper, Bild. “Hillary Clinton, please save us from this man. Please save America. By saving America you'll save the world. What a wonderful thought to think that the fate of the world could end up in the hands of a woman.”
One March poll found that 78% of Germans would vote for Democrat Clinton compared with 6% for Republican standard-bearer Trump.
“Clinton is seen in Germany as someone who would have a steady hand,” Thomas Jaeger, a political scientist at Cologne University, said in an interview. “No matter who you talk to in Germany in any of the parties, most people say they hope the hell that Clinton beats Trump in November.”
Mexico City residents were similarly looking forward to Clinton’s matchup with Trump in November.
“Hillary’s candidacy gives Mexicans a breather after the craziness of Donald Trump,” said Guillermo Garcia, a 40-year-old engineer. “All the hate he is generating against Mexicans is very worrisome. I believe that Hillary brings hope.”
“Of course it’s good news,” said Rosalia Sandoval, a 21-year-old law student, who worries she won’t be able to study in the U.S. if Trump is elected. “She’s an intelligent woman and knows Mexico, and it appears that she supports immigration.”
Federico Lopez, a 45-year-old merchant, said he hoped the “señora” beats Trump.
“A Trump win would not suit our countrymen there,” Lopez said of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. “They’re very worried about getting deported and are putting their hope in the señora. I hope she wins the elections and becomes president of her country for the good of all Mexicans there.”
The mood was more divided in the Middle East. Clinton’s victory dominated coverage on Israeli radio, Internet and television, with most media noting the historic moment in American politics.
“The Clinton brand is very strong in Israel,” said Stephen Miller, an Israeli American pollster and political strategist, noting that she is seen as strongly pro-Israel and as a leader who would be tough on terrorism. “She is someone who is very familiar with the maps and the leaders of the region … and has received very positive coverage in Israel.
Palestinians and Syrian rebels are somewhat less enthusiastic about Hillary.
12. Celebrities React to Hillary Clinton's 'Milestone' Victory
From ABCNews:
Celebrities React to Hillary Clinton's 'Milestone' Victory
The stars are reacting to Hillary Clinton's historic victory Tuesday, when she became America's first female presumptive presidential nominee for a major party.
Clinton reached the delegate threshold needed to clinch the Democratic nomination on Monday night with new commitments from superdelegates. On Tuesday, she won four of six state contests, further solidifying her victory. She celebrated the "milestone" at a rally in Brooklyn.
"Thanks to you, we've reached a milestone," Clinton said during a speech in Brooklyn. "Tonight's victory is not about one person. It belongs to generations of women and men who struggled and sacrificed and made this moment possible."
Before her speech, she told ABC News’ David Muir in an exclusive interview, "It is, of course, symbolic, but symbols mean something, and symbols can often can spark hope and action in people, particularly young people."
But it wasn't just young people celebrating Clinton's achievement.
Today, Barbra Streisand wrote in a statement, "I feel a tremendous rush of pride because this is a woman who is more than qualified to be president. Isn't it interesting how a barrier seems insurmountable -- until it comes down? I hope girls across the country are thinking, 'That could be me.' And like I said after the first woman got a best director Academy Award, it's about time!'
Others took to Twitter to express their excitement.
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Finally, a Slate article on why Democrats will strongly rally around Hillary: “Destroying Trump is just too fun”.
13. Democrats will rally around Hillary Clinton — destroying Donald Trump is just too fun
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Democrats Will Rally Around Hillary Clinton - Destroying Trump is just too fun
As Hillary tries to rally Sanders supporters behind her campaign for the general election, there will always be the stray shirt-burner. But what’s going to ultimately unite the party is what was always going to unite the party: Donald Trump. It’s not just a fear of Trump, either. It can also be a sense of glee—a glee that’s fully bloomed this week—over the prospect of thrashing him for the next few months.
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Democrats went through a few rough weeks after Trump locked up the Republican nomination at a time when the Clinton and Sanders camps seemed further apart than ever. The winds have switched this week, as Clinton lined up the delegates needed to ensure her nomination and Trump flailed in a pool of racism that few could defend. The state of the race as determined by ephemeral news cycles will bob up and down from time to time, but this week’s events seemed to reaffirm its basic landscape: Trump is the underdog, and Democrats are going to have the time of their lives knocking the crap out of him.
The giddiness to get on with the obliteration process has been palpable over the past 24 hours.
President Obama endorsed Clinton in a cheery video released Thursday afternoon. The New York Times reported earlier in the week that Obama is “eager to hit the stump” for Clinton, as he will do on Wednesday, and “is particularly enthusiastic, aides said, about taking on [Trump].” It’s been awhile since a sitting president was popular enough to actively campaign for his replacement. It’s been awhile since a sitting president both felt and could openly express such withering disrespect for a man who might replace him.
Vice President Joe Biden also expressed his support for Clinton at the convention of the American Constitution Society on Thursday, and also called the presumptive Republican nominee a deplorable racist. “I find Donald Trump’s conduct in this regard reprehensible,” he said of Trump’s attacks on Judge Gonzalo Curiel, “evidenced by the bipartisan condemnation of the action for what it is: a dangerous attack on a vital pillar of democracy, the independent judiciary, by threats of intimidation and undercutting the legitimacy of a judge by suggesting that because of his heritage he is incapable of being fair."”
“In addition to this,” he continued, “it is racist.”
And then there’s Sen. Elizabeth Warren. She’s been abusing Trump on the regular for a while and continued that Thursday at the same event where Biden spoke, saying, “Donald Trump is a loud, nasty, thin-skinned fraud who has never risked anything for anyone and serves nobody but himself.” After delivering the speech, she rushed over to the Washington studio of MSNBC to endorse Clinton in a live interview. The difference between Warren’s past pugnacious attacks and these is that now she will be speaking directly on behalf of Clinton. This is good for Clinton.
The best way to stop Donald Trump is to hit him and hit him and hit him to the point that it seems like cruel overkill, and then hit him some more, and then, when he starts crying, to begin really hitting him. Every Democrat is going to want to participate in this, despite what misgivings some may have about the milquetoast neoliberal.
Bernie Sanders: “If you didn’t know, Donald Trump, among his many other extraordinary attributes, is an incredibly brilliant scientist,” Sanders said to laughs and jeers at his rally. “He doesn’t like to brag because he’s a modest guy. And he has studied climate change for decades. And after exhaustive study, he has come to the conclusion that climate change is a hoax.”
Standing immediately in front of Sanders, behind a security gate, was a woman holding a sign throughout his speech reading, “DON’T QUIT BERNIE.” She was laughing, too. Thrashing Trump is easy, fun, and—now that there are real stakes—thrilling, and morally necessary. Stopping Trump gives purpose to life, and life to a divided party.
Making Trump into a human pinata is going to be a lot of fun for all, and that includes obviously Hillary, Elizabeth Warren, Obama, Biden, and also Bernie. That will bring us all together in a hurry.
Thanks for reading. Have a great Saturday and weekend, everybody.