Senator Clinton met with Iowa Labor this morning at an informal breakfast held at the Hotel Fort Des Moines. Most of my family here are union members, so I got lucky enough to snag me a seat to listen in and even ask a question. The event was scheduled to begin at 9:00. The Senator arrived about 9:15 (just as I was finishing my plate...lucky!). The following comes from the notes I took, so not much in the way of quotes, I'm afraid. Also a quick caveat. I haven't made any decisions on who I want to support for '08, yet, so please don't read this as anything other than a report (with a few brief comments by yours truly).
(Note: Also sent out in my newsletter, The Liberty Rag.)
The Senator started by talking about what her job was, which, due to her inability to just spell things out, came off as sounding like her job is to do her job. I think what she was trying to do was make a contrast with Bush and the Republican administration; that her job is to work for the people, not take vacations and give corporations and the wealthy 1% their own tax breaks. But she came off sounding like Bush, instead. She obviously needs to work on improving how she delivers this part of her message.
She also talked about how people expected to work hard and be fairly compensated for their efforts. How people expect their children to grow up in a better world because of that.
She expressed her belief that the middle class is at risk and how there is supposed to be a balance of power in the jobs sector as much as there is in the political sector. That balance is between unions and management, she says, which is obviously not balanced now.
She readily admits that we won't agree with everything she does and says. She also says that she doesn't have all the answers, and you better "think twice" about anyone who says they have all the answers
She doesn't like the ideas of Fair Trade or Free Trade. Rather, she wants Pro-America Trade. She talked about how China makes all our stuff and they're also our banker and calls it a "lose-lose" situation. How do we get tough on our banker? She admits this is a hard issue to solve and stressed wanting to hear from us (though, I got the impression she was more interested in hearing from labor leaders rather than joe-shmoe, but that's me reading into the atmosphere and underlying mood of the talk, so I could be wrong).
She talked about how important it is to change our energy policy and that by doing so we can actually create jobs. She talked about a new factory in New York that makes trucks that run on diesel that doesn't have as much sulfur in it. The oil industry fought it because it meant changing their refining process, but after they finally gave in, it created a couple thousand more jobs (I think I remember that correctly; anyone know where to go to double-check on that number?).
She then opened up to questions. The first two were about labor organization and benefits. She didn't say anything unexpected or new, so I didn't bother taking notes, but she did say that she supports Card Check, which if memory serves, is the premise behind better laws for labor to organize unions. Also she said that the health insurance industry is the biggest problem in our health care system, though she did so in her typical round-about fashion.
I got to ask about her thoughts and what she would do in the Senate if the House passed Universal Health Care. She basically said it's a no-go because, even if it managed to pass in the Senate, it wouldn't be veto-proof. But she also expressed how inspiring it is that these issues are being raised at all. She said that what she thinks might be possible is to give insurance to children and expand Medicare to cover people 55-65. She wants to build the foundations for when she's President (gotta love that positive thinking; also very smart strategy - get people thinking of you as the President now so that it feels natural to vote for her come election day) so that it'll be that much easier to get Universal Health Care. She also talked about how important it is to focus not on insurance but rather wellness and prevention. Help educate people on ways to stay healthy and make sure they get the care they need to prevent illnesses and injuries.
The guy after me mentioned his desire that Democrats stop appearing to be wimps. He's tired of the Republicans calling us anti-American because of our position on Iraq. Senator Clinton talked about how she's using the same technique her husband used to win his campaigns. If you're interested in what it is, re-read the title. And yes, that is a quote. Whatever else you may say about her, anyone who's going up against her is in for the fight of their lives.
Another question was about social security and what happens to it if Bush's tax cuts don't expire. She admits that while it's not in imminent danger, it's still possible to fix things, but that she doesn't know what to do about it right now. She's open to all debate at this point and is willing to work across the aisle.
The last question of the morning was about how to regain all our lost world capital, both socially via good-will and economic. She said she'd use the bully-pulpit that comes with the Presidency to enlist or embarrass CEOs. Enlist them to help improve our economy, or embarrass them for their greed. I don't have any notes on what she said about the other aspect, and I don't remember her talking about it. Personally, I think just getting rid of Bush and as many Republicans as we can will go a long way.
After that, it was time for her to leave, though she stayed a few more minutes to talk to people one-on-one. At this point, I got to ask her another question, this one about her stance on Voting laws. She gave a quick answer about wanting to ensure all voters can vote and then directed me to her website to read her full position. I think she had at least one more stop here in Des Moines before she had to travel to Ceder Rapids (about a 3 hour drive, if that's how she's going; wouldn't be much faster by plane after all other factors are taken into account). So I can understand why this was short.
My take-home impression is that while she might come across as being a little Martha Stewart, that's just a cover for her Rocky Balboa. She'll be all smiles and proper dress while she beats the ever-loving snot out of whoever's in her way. I hope that the rest of the Dem candidates can have that attitude because that's what's going to be necessary to win.