Today’s Hillary News & Views is the final edition with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton as a candidate, and my hope and prayer is that tomorrow morning’s edition will be with her as our President-elect.
Clinton made her closing arguments across the country yesterday at rallies, on television, and with a powerful op-ed.
Hillary Clinton writes for USA Today:
First, we will put forward the biggest investment in new jobs since World War II. We’ll invest in infrastructure and manufacturing to grow our economy for years to come. We’ll produce enough renewable energy to power every home in America within a decade. We’ll cut red tape for small businesses and make it easier for entrepreneurs to get the credit they need to grow and hire — because in America, if you can dream it, you should be able to build it. We’ll pay for it all by asking the wealthy, Wall Street and big corporations to finally pay their fair share. And this commitment will go far beyond the first 100 days. Creating more good jobs with rising incomes will be a central mission of my presidency.
Second, we will introduce comprehensive immigration reform legislation. The last president to sign comprehensive immigration reform was Ronald Reagan, and it was a priority for George W. Bush. I’m confident that we can work across the aisle to pass comprehensive reform that keeps families together and creates a path to citizenship, secures our border, and focuses our enforcement resources on violent criminals. This is the right thing to do, and it will also grow our economy.
Third, to break the gridlock in Washington, we need to get secret, unaccountable money out of our politics. It’s drowning out the voices of the American people. So within my first 30 days, I will introduce a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. We should be protecting citizens’ rights to vote, not corporations’ rights to buy elections.
Fourth, we need to get started on end-to-end criminal justice reform. Too many people have been sent away for far too long for non-violent offenses. I believe our country will be stronger and safer when everyone has respect for the law and everyone is respected by the law.
There’s so much more we need to do together, and we certainly won’t get it all done in the first 100 days. But we’re going to roll up our sleeves and get to work for American families — and I’ll never, ever quit.
New York Times reports:
In Philadelphia, Mrs. Clinton drew the biggest crowd of her 19-month campaign to the vast plaza in front of Independence Hall, where Bruce Springsteen, the balladeer of working-class America, rhapsodized about her values and the candidate portrayed herself as a protector of freedom and equality.
“Tomorrow we face the test of our time. What will we vote for — not just against?” Mrs. Clinton asked. “Every issue you care about is at stake.”
She concluded with an appeal to those who have waited decades for a female president.
“Let’s make history together,” she said.
As she embarked on a four-state tour, Mrs. Clinton gave a sunny and optimistic summation of her candidacy for the White House.
“Tomorrow, you can vote for a hopeful, inclusive, big-hearted America,” she told a crowd in Pittsburgh.
Talking Points Memo reports:
"It's the most important election of our lifetimes," Clinton said.
"Our core values are being tested in this election, but my faith in our future has never been stronger," Clinton said. "I love our country, and I believe in the American people, and I know if we bring everyone together, we can set goals and we can move toward them and we can feel that sense of accomplishment that comes with being part of something bigger than ourselves."
"It's not just my name or Donald Trump's name on the ballot, it's the kind of country we want," she said. "Look, tomorrow night this election will end, but I want you to understand our work together will be just beginning."
She called again for unity, and for voters to "repair the breaches" that have come to light over the course of the election.
"We have to bridge the divides in this country," Clinton said. "We've got to be willing to start listening to each other again, respecting each other again."
"We all have a role to play in building that better future for our country and for each of you," she said.
Madonna performed a surprise concert for Clinton in Washington Square Park last night.
The Guardian reports:
“This concert is about unifying us,” said Madonna as she took to the stage, clutching a red guitar and flanked by a musician and her son David. “How are we going to keep America great?
“We are going to elect a president who does not discriminate against women, who does not discriminate against the LGBT community, who does not discriminate against people of color, that does not want to build a wall around our country and separate us from the rest of the world. This is a concert about peace.”
Earnest speeches about love were peppered with a caustic sense of humour. When asked to turn to her right during a song, Madonna quipped: “I’m a top and a bottom, but I don’t do sides.” Later she said: “Let’s hope I get invited to the White House.”
“Tomorrow’s the big day,” Madonna told us, expertly pausing for cheers and responses. “Do we want to become the laughing stock of the planet?”
Finally, after a medley that merged Pete Seeger’s If I Had a Hammer into Madonna’s Rebel Heart, she called, “Save this country, vote for Hillary Clinton.”
Washington Post reports on Pantsuit Nation:
The idea was to get a bunch of Hillary Clinton supporters to wear pantsuits to the polls on Nov. 8. But “Pantsuit Nation” has become something more than that. In just 17 days of existence, the “secret” Facebook group has become the sudden online home of passionate Clinton enthusiasts. Yes, they exist, and so far, there are more than 1.9 million people in the invite-only space.
“There’s an awakening that’s happening with each new member — ‘Wow! I’m not alone,’ ” said Libby Chamberlain, the 33-year-old founder of the Facebook group, who lives in Maine with her husband and two small children. “There’s this understanding that something special is happening.”
One of the keys to Pantsuit Nation’s growth is its privacy. “As much as possible,” Chamberlain said, “it removes the risk that they’re going to be attacked for their views.” Posting, say, on Twitter about supporting Clinton has been “an invitation for harassment” from all sides of online Clinton opposition. Posts on Pantsuit Nation are moderated, and moderators remove negative comments about any candidate. What’s left is a river of positive testimony.
And I close with the writer that I’ve included most often in HNV over the past seventeen months.
Melissa McEwan writes for Shareblue:
She is the most qualified candidate ever to seek the presidency, and she is unparalleled in her command of issues both foreign and domestic. She has gathered a colossal amount of experience, and she has done her homework.
She has campaigned relentlessly, making speeches until her voice nearly gave out, and drove herself to exhaustion making appearances even when she had pneumonia.
She has gone on a listening tour, held large rallies, done intimate town halls, met with small groups of people at their businesses, at schools, at community organizations, at places of worship.
She has met with, and talked to, and listened to, and taken selfies with countless people across the country. She has shaken thousands of hands, heard thousands of personal stories, written notes to people she has met, inquired about how to help those in need.
She has said, over and over, that she will be a president for the people who vote for her, and for the people who do not.
She has told her supporters, again and again, that she does not take their support, their donations, and their votes for granted.
She has, in sum, worked for every single vote.
That is not a candidate who feels “entitled” to anything. That is a candidate who knows she has to work for the office she seeks, and has done everything she can to earn it.
Crossposted at HillaryHQ, an independent, progressive blog committed to the electing Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States.