Thursday, May 07, 2015

clintonism is all we have to go on when anticipating a politican whose only core value is seeking high-office


theatlantic |  Hillary Clinton has already staked out multiple stances that contrast starkly with Bill Clinton's policies. This week, in Las Vegas, she laid out a set of immigration policies including "full and equal citizenship" for undocumented immigrants, protecting the parents of young "Dreamer" undocumented immigrants from deportation, and softening deportation policies. Bill Clinton, on the other hand, signed several restrictive immigration measures during his tenure, speeding deportations, increasing penalties, and making it harder for the undocumented to gain legal status. The measures were passed by the Republican Congress at the time.

Hillary Clinton recently expressed hope that the Supreme Court would make same-sex marriage a constitutional right; her announcement video even featured a gay couple talking about their upcoming wedding. Bill Clinton, in 1996, signed the Defense of Marriage Act to deny federal marriage protections to same sex couples—a law that the Supreme Court ruled largely unconstitutional in 2013.

As the campaign continues, progressives can be expected to push Hillary Clinton to take more stances that contravene Bill Clinton's record. Trade and financial regulation are two notable areas of liberal angst: Many critics blame Bill Clinton's repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act for the 2008 financial crisis, and the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he championed, is frequently cited in the current debate over trade authority as an example of a bad free-trade deal. Welfare reform is another Bill Clinton compromise that many modern-day progressives reject. The Hillary Clinton of 2016 has yet to take a position on these issues, though she issued a statement expressing concern about the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Obama strongly supports the deal, and Hillary Clinton previously advocated it as secretary of state.

NYTimes |  There are many ways for journalists to gain access to an inaccessible presidential candidate. Hang on the rope line and shout. Fire off questions via e-mail to media reps. Stake out. Ambush!

Now comes what we’ll call the “air question.” In a post this afternoon, New York Times reporter Amy Chozick notes that Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton has answered seven questions since launching her campaign on April 12. Or roughly three-tenths of a question per day.

Given that rate, Chozick and the New York Times have decided to disclose the questions they would have posed to Clinton if only they’d had the opportunity. Coming off of Clinton’s remarks Tuesday about immigration reform, the Times launches the first in a series:
“President Obama said his executive action on immigration went as far as the law will allow. You say you would go beyond what he did. How could you stretch the law further than the president of your own party and his Justice Department says it can go?”
The Erik Wemple Blog pledges another post on this series if the Times air-questions Clinton on her sparse Q-and-A availability, which would be a glorious meta-media moment.

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