Hillary Clinton on Principles & Values
Not involved in pardons, neither with husband nor brother
Sen. Clinton said she was disappointed after learning her brother had been paid to help two convicts win clemency from her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Clinton said she had no knowledge that her brother Hugh Rodham had been paid almost
$400,000 for legal work for two applicants for presidential clemency, Carlos Vignali and Almon Braswell. Although she demanded he return the money, Clinton said she has not spoken with her brother at all since the news broke. “I knew nothing about
my brother’s involvement in these pardons,“ she said. ”I love my brother, but. I’m very disappointed and I’m very disturbed.“ Rodham’s lawyer said he had returned most of the fees to both clemency clients. She added that she had no role in any of her
husband’s 11th-hour pardons.
The disclosures opened up a new area for congressional investigators, who were already looking into a controversy over former President Clinton’s pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich and his business partner.
Source: Kate Snow & Eileen O’Connor, CNN.com
Feb 22, 2001
No problems with presidential transition; resolved by Xmas
First lady and U.S. Senator-elect Hillary Rodham Clinton predicted Wednesday that the presidential election would be resolved before Christmas if legal challenges over Florida’s disputed votes are handled in an “expeditious manner.” “I think both
campaigns have filed legal actions and we have the time to have those heard,” said Clinton, who endorsed Gore’s position in the dispute. “I believe that it certainly is important that every American have the confidence that his or her vote is counted and
certainly in Florida there are questions about votes that haven’t been counted. I think those should be resolved,“ she said.
America’s government institutions, including the presidency, are ”strong and resilient“ enough to weather the
current dispute, Clinton said. She added that Gore as well as his Republican rival, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, would ”certainly be able to hit the ground running“ after taking office.
Source: CNN.com
Nov 29, 2000
Rejected Independence Party; they include Pat Buchanan
CLINTON [to Lazio]: When the Independence Party was considering who to nominate, I made it very clear that I would not run on a party line with Pat Buchanan because of his anti-Semitic comments. You were more than happy to accept that particular line.
LAZIO: Mrs. Clinton, that’s not totally accurate. Your people were up there working hard for that.
CLINTON: I’ve specifically said publicly that I wouldn’t take it if they nominated Pat Buchanan. It was up to them to decide what to do.
LAZIO: I
condemned him and the fact that he has been intolerant.
CLINTON: You know, I can only respond because, you know, as The Forward said when they endorsed me, Jewish voters should reject smear campaigns and inaccurate information.
Q: Did you accept the Independence nomination?
LAZIO: No.
CLINTON: That’s because it wasn’t offered.
LAZIO: No. It wasn’t offered to either one of us, to be fair about that.
Source: NY Senate debate on NBC
Oct 28, 2000
Supported teacher tests & China women despite unpopularity
Q: Can you give me one example where you have taken an unpopular course despite what your advisers say because you thought it was right? CLINTON: Well, I’ll give you two. You know, back in 1983 - when I was probably
the first person in the country who said that we should test teachers - that was extremely unpopular, and it caused quite an uproar. But it was the right thing to do, and I still believe today that we should be testing new
teachers and raising standards for our teachers. And then in 1995, when I went to China to speak on behalf of women’s rights, there were many people, inside and outside our own government, people literally around the world,
who said I shouldn’t go, that I shouldn’t make a speech, that I shouldn’t criticize the Chinese government.
Source: NY Senate debate on NBC
Oct 28, 2000
Lazio’s a nice young man, but it’s about policy differences
Q: You would think that you dislike each other. Is that true?LAZIO: It’s not a matter of personal dislike, [but] to point at the differences between candidates and the philosophy between two candidates.
Q: Do you dislike him?
CLINTON: No. I think
that I have no personal animus at all toward Mr. Lazio. He seems like a very nice person.
Q: Well, name three things that you like about him.
CLINTON: Well, it seems like he has a very nice family. And that he has worked very hard. And that he’s an
attractive young man.
Q: And you name three things you like about her.
LAZIO: Well, I think you’re an attractive woman. And I think you’ve got a very nice family. I’m sure you’re a very good mother as well.
CLINTON: Thank you very much. But that’s
not what this election’s about. And what it is about are the very significant differences between us on everything like education and health care and the economy and the environment and guns and choice and Social Security and the budget surplus.
Source: NY Senate debate on NBC
Oct 28, 2000
Experience and choices as a woman will make me good senator
Q: Why did you stay with your husband?CLINTON: I have worked to make sure women had the choices that were right for them. I’ve made my choices. We have a family that means a lot to us. Many of my experiences will give me insights into what I can do
to be a good senator. I’ve had experience balancing family and work. I’ve had to worry about making sure that my parents were well taken care of, as well as taking care of my daughter. The choices that I’ve made are right for me. I can’t talk about
anybody else’s choice. I can only say that mine are rooted in my religious faith, in my strong sense of family, and in what I believe is right and important. I want to be sure that there’s a voice in the Senate that reminds us that we’re still threatened
with the right to choose that might disappear if the wrong person is elected president, the wrong people are elected to the Senate. I think my experience as a woman will make me the kind of senator who really understands what’s at stake.
Source: Senate debate in Manhattan
Oct 8, 2000
Get New York a fair share of budget surplus & Medicaid
Q: As a junior senator, will you be able to ensure that N.Y. will receive its fair share of federal aid?CLINTON: One of the issues I’ve been talking about is how we can get more of New York’s fair share. We have a chance to do that because we
have a surplus. One of the biggest injustices is the Medicaid formula. I’ve come forward with a plan that would get us more money. I look forward to working with Chuck Schumer. I would be a vigorous proponent of what we need.
Source: Senate debate in Manhattan
Oct 8, 2000
New Yorkers are diverse, big dreamers
Q: Define a New Yorker. CLINTON: What it means to be a New Yorker is to be the best human being you can be, to do the best with your life you can do, to dream the biggest dreams, to demonstrate that we can make this wonderful
patchwork quilt of a place not only work but show the rest of the world that people from different backgrounds and experiences not only can get along but build a better future.
Source: Senate debate in Manhattan
Oct 8, 2000
Hillary: Lazio has chutzpah to call himself “mainstream”
CLINTON: Listening to the congressman’s response, reminds me of a word I’ve heard a lot of this past year: chutzpah. He stands here and tells us that he’s a moderate, mainstream, independent member of Congress. Well, in fact he was a deputy whip to
Newt Gingrich. He voted to shut the government down. He voted to cut $270 billion from Medicare. He voted for the biggest education cuts in our history. Time and time again when he’s had a choice to make, particularly at the critical turning point, when
our country was really on the line with Newt Gingrich’s Contract With America, he stood with the Republican leadership and Newt Gingrich. LAZIO: Mrs. Clinton’s last remark has to redefine the word chutzpah. Mrs. Clinton, you, of all people, shouldn’t
try to make guilt by association. Newt Gingrich isn’t running in this race, I’m running in this race. Let’s talk about my record. Let’s lower taxes. Let’s deregulate energy. And let’s build on my work in Congress already to get the job done.
Source: Clinton-Lazio debate, Buffalo NY
Sep 13, 2000
We’re better off than 1992; elect Gore & continue progress
We’re a stronger, better country than we were in 1992. When Bill, Al, Tipper and I got on that bus after our convention eight years ago, we began a journey that took us through America’s heartland. Along the way we saw faces of hope --
but also faces of despair -- fathers out of work, mothers trapped on welfare, children with unmet medical needs. How can we continue America’s progress? By electing Al Gore and Joe Lieberman!
Source: Address to the Democratic National Convention
Aug 14, 2000
Support minimum wage & more teachers, in Senate or out
Hillary Rodham Clinton said she would “probably be connected with a foundation or academic institution in some way” if she loses her bid to be elected US senator from New York. “I’ll support the same issues --
raising the minimum wage, expanding the earned income tax credit for poor working people, and putting more teachers in the classroom to lower class size in our public schools,” she said in the
interview in Ladies Home Journal.When asked what accomplishments she’s most proud of as first lady, Mrs. Clinton noted her involvement in extending health care to children, making it easier for
people who lose or change jobs to keep their health insurance, and speeding up and providing tax incentives for the adoption and foster care systems.
Source: CNN.com
May 3, 2000
New Democrat: individual responsibility and community
I have gone from a Barry Goldwater Republican to a New Democrat, but I think my underlying values have remained pretty constant; individual responsibility and community. I do not see those as being mutually inconsistent.
Source: New York Magazine.com
Apr 3, 2000
National experience & ability to get along will serve NY
Whoever represents New York has to be able to get along with other senators from other places in order to make that argument, and to make it clear that it’s not just a New York problem.
Source: CNN.com
Feb 11, 2000
New to the neighborhood, but not new to NY issues
For over 30 years in many different ways, I’ve seen first hand the kinds of challenges New Yorkers face today. I may be new to the neighborhood, but I am not new to your concerns.
I care about the same issues you care about. I understand them. I know that we can make progress on them. That’s why my friend, I want to be your Senator.
Source: Announcement Speech, SUNY Purchase
Feb 6, 2000
End divisional politics
I will fight against the division politics of revenge and retribution. If you put me to work for you, I will work to lift people up, not put them down.
Source: Announcement Speech, SUNY Purchase
Feb 6, 2000
“Vast right wing conspiracy”
[On the Today show in Jan. 1998, one week into the Monica Lewinsky scandal] Mrs. Clinton said, “.the President has denied these allegations on all counts, unequivocally.... The real story here, for anybody willing to tell it and write about it and
explain it, is this vast right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for president. When all this is put into context... some folks are going to have a lot to answer for.”
Source: Hillary’s Choice by Gail Sheehy, p. 5 & 8
Dec 9, 1999
Stands by her man despite “pain in marriage”
[On the Today show in Jan. 1998] Q: You said in 1992 regarding Gennifer Flowers, “I’m not some Tammy Wynette standing by my man.” In the same interview, your husband admitted that he had “caused pain in your marriage.” Six
years later you are still standing by this man. Do you think he would admit that he again has caused pain in this marriage?
A: With utter certainty, Hillary declares that she and her husband “know everything there is to know about each other.”
Source: Hillary’s Choice by Gail Sheehy, p. 9
Dec 9, 1999
Decried 1980s materialism & excesses of corporate America
In 1987, Hillary expressed a fervent concern that corporate America was running amok and subverting bedrock American values. She cited a rogue’s gallery of corporate raiders--Ivan Boesky, Carl Icahn, and T. Boone Pickens--and bemoaned environmental
degradation caused by companies [such as at] Three Mile Island and Love Canal. Foreshadowing her later fascination with “the politics of meaning,” she talked about the excesses of yuppie materialism, hyper-individualism, and narcissism that were
Source: Hillary’s Choice by Gail Sheehy, p.173
Dec 9, 1999
Hillary’s choice: Co-president or White House wife?
In 1995, Hillary spoke at the dedication of Eleanor Roosevelt College. The focal point was choice: “Eleanor Roosevelt understood that every one of us every day has choices to make about the kind of person we are and what we wish to become. You can decide
to be someone who brings people together, or you can fall prey to those who wish to divide us. You can be someone who educates yourself, or you can believe that being negative is clever and being cynical is fashionable. You have a choice.”It sounded
like her own internal debate. What would be Hillary’s choice? Who to be? Hillary Rodham, co-president? Hillary Clinton, White House wife? Or Hillary Roosevelt? Her core vision of herself as a policy maker had been shaken by the outright rejection of her
health care reform plan. Hillary consoled herself with her favorite quote from ER: “To undo mistakes is always harder than not to create them, but we seldom have foresight. Therefore, we have no choice but to try to correct our past mistakes.”
Source: Hillary’s Choice by Gail Sheehy, p.261-262
Dec 9, 1999
Never left Bill because they were a team
[During the Monica scandal,] the obsessive question in the national conversation was: “Why doesn’t she leave him?” The most practical answer was that if she left him then, she would have been blamed, along with Monica, for bringing down his
presidency. Bill and Hillary Clinton were a team; this was their legacy; her self-interest did not lie in further tarnishing the record they had built together. The more pretinent question from her perspective was: How could she leave the White
House after all she’s endured to get there? Her life strategy, decided long ago, was to take the raw material of this brilliant, emotionally battered child with a good heart and a desperate ambition and shape him into a political star to which she could
hitch her wagon full of dreams for changing the world. It took Hillary to raise a president. Said a White House lawyer, “Hillary’s made a clear decision. She’s going to rise or fall with him. So she’s going to stand with him.”
Source: Hillary’s Choice by Gail Sheehy, p.302-303
Dec 9, 1999
Not some little woman standing by her man
I’m not sitting here like some little woman standing by her man like Tammy Wynette. I’m sitting here because I love him and I honor what he’s been through and what we’ve been through together.
If that’s not enough for people, then, heck, don’t vote for him.
Source: Unique Voice, p. 47: Campaign speech
Jul 2, 1992
Humanness goes beyond acquisitiveness
We are exploring a world that none of us understands. But there are some things we feel, feelings that our prevailing acquisitive and competitive corporate life.is not the way of life for us.
We’re searching for more immediate, ecstatic and penetrating modes of living. That attempt at forging for many of us. has meant coming to terms with our humanness.
Source: Unique Voice, p. 9: Commencement Address, Wellesley
May 31, 1969