There have been a lot of interesting news and opinion articles this week about Hillary Clinton and her 2016 campaign. Each time I read one of them, I thought, "Maybe I'll do a diary about that!"
Instead, I thought it might be beneficial to do occasional roundups of articles for those who are interested in reading about Clinton in more depth or from a different perspective.
So I give to you, Hillary News & Views: The Inaugural Edition.
Leading off is an article previewing her forthcoming policy reveals on Student Loan Reform. Clinton's been working closely with allies of Senator Elizabeth Warren on this issue, and like with immigration, voting rights, and criminal justice reform, she's going big and bold.
From Politico: Clinton student loan reform plan has Warren stamp
But on the table is a plan to support debt-free college — including in that reducing the cost of attendance...
It’s not clear yet exactly what form Clinton’s debt-free college proposal will take — whether students will pay based on a percentage of their income or carry some obligation based on their ability to pay.
But covering the cost of attendance is appealing to the progressive policymakers advising Clinton. “The total cost of attendance is a more expansive view of the actual cost of higher education,” said Huelsman. “We and other groups have encouraged Clinton to include the cost of attendance as the definition of debt-free college. That would be a big deal.”
Also under discussion is allowing students to refinance their loans, an issue that Warren championed in a bill that was defeated last year by Republican opposition. “It would help a lot of middle-class families with student debt,” said Huelsman.
More News & Views after the Fold.
The New York Times is reporting that Clinton's big campaign kickoff speech on Saturday will focus heavily on her economic policy agenda:
The speech, at an event shaping up to be the most ambitious public gathering undertaken by the campaign since Mrs. Clinton began her quest for the White House in April, will be shaped by symbolism as she seeks to make the case for why she should be president.
It will be held in New York City on an island named for Franklin D. Roosevelt, in the shadow of diverse middle-class neighborhoods, as Mrs. Clinton tries to evoke the legacy of the New Deal and lay out her vision for a federal government substantially engaged in lifting American families that feel economically insecure and increasingly left behind.
And she will channel her personal hero, Eleanor Roosevelt, in emphasizing women’s and civil rights and her assertion that the Republican Party is out of touch with an increasingly diverse electorate.
The speech will build upon some themes already established early on in the campaign:
She has defined her campaign as taking on “four fights,” including strengthening the economy, helping families and communities, getting unaccountable money out of politics and protecting the country from foreign threats.
She is expected to evoke Roosevelt’s policies to reiterate her belief that government is needed to help lift wages, create jobs, make college and health care more affordable, and rebuild antiquated infrastructure.
The Washington Post reports on Clinton's recent conversations with the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers:
Hillary Clinton makes a promise to union leaders: I’ll listen to teachers.
“She used the most important word that I was personally looking for, the word ‘listen’,” said Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the NEA, which represents mostly K-12 teachers and paraprofessionals and has 3 million members.
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Clinton pledged to examine standardized testing from the perspective of the teacher, Garcia said.
“She said ‘I think we have to question how we’re testing, how we’re using the tests’,” Garcia said. The candidate said she wanted to know whether annual tests give teachers and parents good information about a student’s strengths and weaknesses, and whether they help educators improve instruction.
Clinton was the first candidate the NEA has interviewed.
“She basically said ‘What kind of fool would be making public policy without listening to the people who live in those communities, the people who know the names of the kids’?” Garcia said. “I loved that.”
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Last week, Clinton met with AFT leadership as part of its vetting process.
“It’s just dead wrong to make teachers the scapegoats for all of society’s problems,” Clinton told the AFT, according to selected quotes released by the union. “Where I come from, teachers are the solution. And I strongly believe that unions are part of the solution, too.”
In a forward-looking opinion piece for
The Hill, Brent Budowsky envisions "
Hillary's 4 aces in the Hole" should she be the party's nominee for the general election:
Ace No.1: the prospect that Clinton would be the first female president and could do more to champion better pay and greater financial security for women than any presidential candidate or president in the history of American politics.
Ace No. 2: the GOP’s “pope problem,” juxtaposed against Clinton’s support for issues championed by Pope Francis and a majority of voters. This includes reducing income inequality, creating more economic opportunity to lift the economic boats of all Americans, supporting pay equity legislation for women and increasing wages for all workers, establishing fair and just immigration laws, and dealing with the mortal and undeniable threat to the earth from climate change and environment degradation.
Ace No. 3: that by Election Day 2016, Clinton will be campaigning as the only credible and trusted champion of change who vows to name Supreme Court justices who will reverse widely despised court decisions that corrupt our democracy by allowing special interests with unlimited money to buy our elections and dominate our government.
Ace No. 4: the magic of Bill Clinton and the vast experience of Hillary Clinton, which I discussed at length in a recent column and which no Republican can match.
Writing for the Washington Post, Greg Sargent believes that
Hillary’s lurch to the left has been greatly exaggerated:
I thought I’d go through Clinton’s stances on the issues, to see if that sheds more light on what she’s really up to. Short version: Clinton is indeed ministering to Obama coalition voter groups — minorities, millennials, college educated whites. But nonetheless, she’s thus far campaigning like a mainstream Democrat. In fact, those things are now two sides of the same coin. Meanwhile, very few of her positions thus far preclude reaching beyond those groups.
Politico Magazine analyzes the potential impact of
Hillary's Game-Changing Voting Reform:
It’s been years since a major candidate made democracy reform a central issue. But the most important thing about the speech was her embrace of a transformative policy innovation: automatic, universal registration of voters once they turn 18. It’s an idea that’s already begun to gain ground across the country, building on reforms with bipartisan support. Now we have a chance to take it even further.
In a campaign season criticized for a dearth of big new ideas, this one’s a doozy.
Why is it so important? Between a third and a quarter of all eligible Americans remain unregistered and therefore cannot cast a ballot. Automatic, permanent registration as Clinton proposes would add up to 50 million to the rolls. It would cost less than today’s paper-clogged system. And it would curb the potential for fraud. Amid rising political inequality and declining voter interest, this could give the ailing political system a much-needed jolt of citizen energy.
And to end on a lighter note, Quartz has decided that
It’s official: Hillary Clinton’s logo is actually perfect:
It is through all these iterations that Clinton’s logo fully displays its iconic value: It is highly recognizable despite the changes, and the much-criticized right-facing red arrow is now appears as it was likely meant to: pointing the way forward. The different backgrounds aren’t just an innovative graphic solution—they are the visual embodiment of the values Clinton is building her campaign around. It vehicles a leadership based on collectivity and inclusiveness rather than the elitist individualism Clinton is often accused of.
That's all for now.
If you find a news or opinion piece you think should be featured in a future edition of Hillary News & Views, please send it my way via message.
H/T to the Hillary HQ Twitter, which is where I saw all of these articles in the first place!