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31 October 2016
24 October 2016
22 October 2016
QOTD - Ben Franklin
21 October 2016
The Perennial 29th Birthday
My typical response is, "I'll be celebrating my 29th birthday." And it's a factual statement. One can celebrate anything one chooses, and I happen to choose to celebrate my 29th birthday. But it's not for the reason most people would think.
Many may deem such a response to be a sign of vanity. There is, after all, an increasing amount of anxiety surrounding the entrance to one's fourth decade of life (or in layman's terms, turning 30).
There also is the common myth among many gay men—especially those young adults and 20-somethings—that crossing the boundary into one's thirties is the death knell of gay life. Worst of all, thirty becomes that age when one no longer can get laid and instantly transforms one into an old troll or, worse, a chicken hawk.
The thirties are when society expects one to have one's life together. Thirty-somethings are supposed to be set in their careers, starting families, and buying homes in the suburbs, not living in cramped studio apartments struggling to make ends meet eating ramen and taking the bus. They're supposed to have sizeable retirement accounts, family sedans, and take holidays in the Poconos, not South Beach. Perhaps this more mundane thirtysomething lifestyle is a reason the show failed to gain traction? But I digress...
Most people don't find life in their thirties to be terribly interesting. From the time one enters this "seriously senior" stage of desultory adulthood until one's retirement, life pretty much is the daily grind that is the butt of few, if any jokes. SSDD (and we're not talking the antiquated acronym we learned in the 1980s defining the storage capacity of certain removable, magnetic media here, folks) becomes the acronym de l'époque as untoward machinations comport the free spirits of hopeful twentysomethings.
The outlook is even worse if one is queer/LGBTQ, especially if one doesn't yet have a partner. There is little hope for the single gay to find that special someone as dating past one's twenties morphs into this unwieldy hot mess of nightmarish complications involving way too much time requiring Getting to Know You (getting to know all about your issues, too!). The thirtysomething gay must deal not only with their own issues but also those of their date and all of their date's friends' issues, in addition to their friends' and family's issues, as well. And there simply aren't enough drugs and alcohol on the planet to get us through that!
But for me, celebrating my 29th birthday isn't about any of that.
While I've written (briefly) about my hospitalization, I've usually left it that I spent most of that year in hospital. What I haven't stated (often) was that from January through May, I was in the physical hospital. Some time between May and June, without getting into the nitty gritty of it, I wound up in the behavioral health hospital, instead of being moved into inpatient rehab. I thus spent the physical rehab portion of my recovery locked up in an inpatient psychiatric unit.
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| Nurse Ratched |
My car accident was in January, and I was 28 years old at the time.
On my 29th birthday later that year on October 21st, I was still in the (mental health) hospital being treated for severe depression, suicidal ideation, PTSD, and anxiety, among other things (I was still receiving inpatient physical rehabilitation services, as well, thrice weekly). During my daily appointment with the treating psychiatrist, I broke down into uncontrolled fits of sobbing simply because he wished me a happy birthday.
I was so broken—not just physically but financially, mentally, spiritually and just about every other aspect—that I couldn't let anyone even say, "happy birthday" to me without turning into a blubbering mess. I quite literally could not celebrate my 29th birthday. My session began with my shrink giving me a birthday greeting and me spending the remainder of the session sobbing uncontrollably, unable to even explain why I sounded more like a banshee than a birthday celebrant.
For the next five years, I invariably spent my birthday locked up in an inpatient psychiatric unit of one mental health hospital or another, primarily to treat depression and suicidal ideation (or otherwise). I've never really been able to celebrate my birthday, at least in anything forming a semblance to what one normally would consider a celebration, birthday or otherwise.
I still can't explain why I broke down so badly in front of the first (or any) person to wish me a happy 29th birthday. But ever since then, I haven't been able to celebrate a birthday. I can celebrate life, and the fact that I'm alive, and a few other things, but not my birthday.
Even to this day, my birthday still remains an elusive something I am unable to celebrate. I feel numb, empty, and devoid. There is nothing inside—no joy, no hope, not even sadness. I am a vacuum of emotion. While I can at least now go through the motions of celebrating, what I feel on the inside is anything but feeling. How can one feel celebratory when one simply can't feel?
I've previously written that I spent a good number of years existing in a "living coma" after my accident. This "half-vegetative state" existed until I returned to the scene in Montauk, NY a number of years later, where I spent a good deal of time taking in some of the ocean's healing energies.
The feeling—or lack thereof, more specifically—I have on my birthday is quite different from that, though. I spend the days, and sometimes weeks, leading up to my birthday gripped in the throes of paralyzing fear, anxious of ... I don't know what. It's similar to the anxiety I feel when I know I should do something but can't quite bring myself to do it.
So when people ask me my age, I tell them that I'll be celebrating my 29th birthday not because I'm vain or care how old I am but rather because I have not been able to celebrate my 29th (or any other) birthday to this very day. As such, I will continue to celebrate my 29th birthday until that changes and I'm actually able to celebrate my 29th birthday.
To me, it's not a matter of vanity, it's a matter of living life and continuing to grapple with the mental health issues of depression and anxiety I battle on a daily basis.
For the record, I'm at the age now where I can't quite remember how old I am, which also happens to be the age where one no longer can be arsed to do the math.
Or to put this in terms that millennials may better relate to:
Q: Why do you celebrate your 29th birthday when you're not 29?
A: Because, I can't even.
15 October 2016
12 October 2016
The Failure of Runaway Imaginations
Journalist Can't Fathom How Information Spreads in
Today's Social Media-Fixated Society
A "senior writer" at Newsweek published this "news" story earlier today, describing the situation as "terrifying.". The story accuses Donald Trump, the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, and Russian media of being in collusion with each other to interfere in our election by undermining Hillary Clinton's coronation campaign.
The Russians engage in a sloppy disinformation effort and, before the day is out, the Republican nominee for president is standing on a stage reciting the manufactured story as truth.
Apparently, Eichenwald can't fathom how information, in today's age of social media, the Internet, and related technologies, could possibly have wound up in the hands of a candidate hours—HOURS—after it was released by a media outlet he labels (with no proof) as being a propagandist machine. This is, after all, the 21st century, where information moves at the speed of The Pony Express, is it not? Perhaps this failure of runaway imaginations is the result of the story not having originated from America's own propagandist machine—oops, I mean mainstream media?
Or more likely, it is yet one more peg in the machinations designed to deflect attention away from Hillary Clinton and her seemingly unending stream of gaffes, misstatements, and "mistakes" that otherwise would have doomed such lesser candidates as Richard Nixon not less than half a century ago. Everyone from MSNBC to even sardonically tongue-in-cheek satire site The Onion has gotten into the artful production of illusory deception concerning the most important facts (you know, the things we should actually be concerned about instead of the irrelevant things we're being told we should be concerned about, such as who or where the facts come from).
And I'm not the only one who holds this view. Glenn Greenwald (of Intercept fame) stated in a July 30, 2016 "conversation" with Isaac Chotiner (of Slate fame):
Now, obviously, there are separate newsworthy questions about who did the [DNC] hack, and the reasons for it, and what the implications are that also ought to be journalistically examined. But in terms of the content of the material itself, whether it has been stolen by a whistleblower, or hacked by an adversarial government for nefarious ends, or for fun by some hacker, I ask one question: Is it in the public interest? And if the answer is yes, that’s the end of the inquiry.
But I digress, lest I be led down that conspiracy-theory road that American mainstream media worked overtime so as to enable Clinton to steal the Democratic primary election from US Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Alleging Russian conspiracies to undermine Hillary Clinton's coronation is, as they say, all the rage in Paris these days. Anti-Russian sentiment has been the en vogue narrative and trend du jour of the mainstream media in its collusion with Hillary Clinton this past year, and now the Democratically-controlled branches of our federal government (which I'll analyze in the future).
There is no proof offered by Eichenwald (or the US government, for that matter) for any of his claims, that this was orchestrated by the Russians, or that Trump was even involved. It is, at best, conjecture and innuendo and, at worst, libellous and defamatory accusations.
Moreover, Clinton herself confirmed the authenticity of the Wikileaks data when she responded to a question during the second presidential debate on maintaining both public and private views, not by dismissing the question as fraudulent but rather defending the statements contained in the emails released by Wikileaks. If the emails—and the statements they contain—are anything other than authentic, why defend them?
What is perhaps most telling is that Eichenwald calls the Sputnik story "manufactured." What is it they say about guilty minds or guilty consciences? I believe Lady Macbeth knows a thing or two about that ... but I digress. (See how easy it was to insert baseless innuendo into an argument?)
It's no wonder his Wiki page describes him as a writer and former investigative journalist. Perhaps he should go back to writing best-selling novels that can be turned into major motion pictures—that's something he appears to actually be good at.
Perhaps this is why he lists himself as a "Senior Writer" instead of using "reporter" or some other moniker for a salaried journalist at an organization dedicated to reporting the news. Then again, given the media's collusion with Clinton, one must wonder whether there are any journalistic organizations left dedicated to the pure reporting of real news.
Eichenwald might do better to leave the reporting to true journalistic organizations, like Wikileaks, which has an untarnished reputation for veracity with a sterling record—one of the many reasons more than one hundred major international news outlets rely on Wikileaks as a primary source. At the very least, he should stick strictly to the facts, leaving the conjecture to others who can be quoted. As a seasoned, former investigative journalist from The New York Times, Eichenwald should know better.
UPDATE: Eichenwald's "news" article elicited a response from The Intercept's Greenwald, who dismantled Eichenwald's entire article piece by piece in a lengthy dissection of the facts. It is well worth the read.
You may also be interested in:
HRC Paid Speeches Flags - 74 page fileThe full text of the file attached to the Wikileaks email dump of John Podesta, from Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential primary campaign. This email is from Tony Carrk to the campaign team, containing selected extracts from the transcripts of some of the paid speeches that Hillary Clinton gave to Wall Street, among others, which she has refused to release.
09 October 2016
07 October 2016
HRC Paid Speeches Flags - 74 page file
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| Hillary Clinton must release the transcripts of her paid speeches. #ReleaseTheTranscripts |
Following is the text of a file attached to the Wikileaks email dump of Tony Carrk, from Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential primary campaign, to the campaign team. It contains certain extracts from the transcripts of various paid speeches Hillary Clinton gave to Wall Street, among others, that she has refused to release.
I'm publishing it here so people don't have to download the .docx file.
I performed a copy & paste from the attached file as noted above, and made the following minor changes for formatting purposes:
- Conformed the typeface to be the same throughout the document (done on a global basis).
- Tightened and conformed line spacing wherever possible.
- Changed the font size for the document title.
- Inserted beginning and ending reference points, so there is no doubt as to where, exactly, the contents of the file begin and end.
No modifications or changes have been made to the text, and no other modifications or changes have been made to the file except as stated above.
### Beginning of File ###
HWA
Speech Flags
Awkward 3
Benghazi 5
Big
Government 6
Budget 7
Campaign
Contributions 7
China 8
Clinton
Foundation 11
Giustra,
Frank 13
Cruz,
Ted 13
Cuba 13
Cybersecurity 13
Debt
Limit 14
Education 14
Egypt 15
Equal
Pay 18
Email 19
Emanuel,
Rahm 20
Energy 21
Continuing
to Use Fossil Fuels 21
Domestic
Gas Production 22
Keystone
Pipeline 24
Nuclear
Power 25
Promoting
Fracking Globally 25
Reducing
Emissions 27
Europe 27
Government
Surveillance 27
Guns 31
Haiti 31
Health
Care 32
Affordable
Care Act 32
Employer-Based
Model 33
Improving
on the Fee-for-Service Model 34
Lowering
Costs 34
Medical
Devices 35
Rx 35
Single-Payer
Health Care 35
Universal
Coverage 36
Canada 37
Helping
Corporations 37
Housing 40
Immigration 41
American
Jobs 41
Security 42
Visas 42
Income
Inequality 43
Iran 45
Islam 48
Israel 48
Japan 49
Marijuana 49
Mexico 50
Media 50
North
Korea 50
Personal
Stories 51
Marine
Recruiters 51
Immigrant
Grandparents 51
Father’s
Football Scholarship 51
Personal
Wealth 51
Pivot
to Asia 52
Politics 52
Pro-Free
Trade 56
Reducing
Regulations 60
Refugees 61
Russia 61
Shanghai
Expo 63
Simpson-Bowles 63
Syria 65
Taxes 70
Corporate
Taxes 70
Simplifying
Tax Code 72
Terrorism 72
Unpaid
Internships 72
Wall
Street 73
Blame
for Financial Crisis 73
Futures
Markets 73
Goals
of Wall Street 74
Praising
Wall Street 74
Dodd-Frank 76
Regulators
from Wall Street 76
Representing
Wall Street 76
Wal-Mart 77
Awkward
When A
Questioner At Goldman Sachs Said She Raised Money For Hillary Clinton
In 2008, Hillary Clinton Joked “You Are The Smartest People.”
“PARTICIPANT:
Secretary, Ann Chow from Houston, Texas. I have had the honor to
raise money for you when you were running for president in Texas. MS.
CLINTON: You are the smartest people. PARTICIPANT: I think you
actually called me on my cell phone, too. I talked to you
afterwards.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual
Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Joked That If Lloyd Blankfein Wanted To Run For Office, He
Should “Would Leave Goldman Sachs And Start Running A Soup Kitchen
Somewhere. “ “MR.
BLANKFEIN: I’m saying for myself. MS. CLINTON: If you
were going to run here is what I would tell you to do --
MR. BLANKFEIN: Very hypothetical. MS. CLINTON: I think you would
leave Goldman Sachs and start running a soup kitchen somewhere.
MR. BLANKFEIN: For one thing the stock would go up. MS.
CLINTON: Then you could be a legend in your own time both when you
were there and when you left.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD
Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Noted President Clinton Had Spoken At The Same Goldman Summit
Last Year, And Blankfein Joked “He Increased Our Budget.”
“SECRETARY
CLINTON: Well, first, thanks for having me here and giving me a
chance to know a little bit more about the builders and the
innovators who you’ve gathered. Some of you might have been here
last year, and my husband was, I guess, in this very same position.
And he came back and was just thrilled by— MR. BLANKFEIN: He
increased our budget. SECRETARY CLINTON: Did he? MR.
BLANKFEIN: Yes. That’s why we -- SECRETARY CLINTON:
Good. I think he—I think he encouraged you to grow it a little,
too. But it really was a tremendous experience for him, so I’ve
been looking forward to it and hope we have a chance to talk about a
lot of things.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit,
10/29/13]
Benghazi/Libya
Hillary
Clinton Discussed Libya’s Struggles After Gaddafi’s Fall. “In
Libya, they had one of the best elections in the whole region after
the fall of Gaddafi, but they've not been able to assert control over
the security of their nation in any way yet. So they have a lot of
the right impulses and desires, but don't know how to move the levers
of authority to provide security for citizens, business interests and
the like.” [Hamilton College Speech, 10/4/13]
Clinton
Said Libya Was A Challenging Situation And That Benghazi Was Very
Much On Her Mind. “Libya is a
very challenging situation for everybody. There the people of Libya
wanted help. Neither the United States nor Arab countries imposed
their campaign against Gaddafi on them. They were demonstrating. He
was going after them. We helped in an unprecedented coalition
between NATO and the Arab League. Gaddafi is thrown off, but,
remember, this is a man who did not permit any institution to be
firmly established. He didn't have an army because he came out of
the army, and he knew that if he had an army somebody like him might
come out after him. So he had mercenaries, and militias were heavily
armed, largely with the weaponry they stole from Gaddafi's
storehouses. They had an election, which was really a promising
election, broad cross-section of people elected, but they're
insecure, and a government's first job is to secure its people, and
they can't figure out how to do it, and it's
a big debate in our country and Europe what can we do to help them
because, you know, obviously I'm sitting up here with Benghazi very
much, you know, in my mind. You try
to help, you try to create relationships, and, you know, the hard
guys with the guns have a different idea. So if you don't have
overwhelming force, it's difficult. So Libya is an open book yet.”
[Clinton Speech For General Electric’s Global Leadership Meeting –
Boca Raton, FL, 1/6/14]
Clinton
Discussed Lack Of Institutions In Libya After Gaddafi’s Fall. “Now,
you know, in Libya, the United Nations voted how to protect
civilians. And the coalition that was put together was
unprecedented. It was NATO plus the Arab League. That had never
happened before. The over flights, the boat, air, sea and land
efforts included Arab nations as well as Europeans, Canadians and
Americans. Khadafy was told but then, you know, the lid was taken
off. You have a country that had been under the thumb of Khadafy and
his henchmen for 42 years. All institutions were destroyed. There
was not even a military because he didn't trust anybody since he had
been a Colonel who had done a coup, so he had mercenaries, there were
African mercenaries and some European mercenaries that were in his
direct pay. They had really just conducted themselves as if the
entire Libyan oil fortune was personally theirs.” [Clinton Remarks
At Boston Consulting Group, 6/20/13]
Clinton
Said Libya Could Not Provide Security “As We Found Much To, You
Know, Our Terrible Experience In Benghazi.” “So
what happened? Well, Khadafy is gone. They start to organize. They
had one of the best elections that any of these new countries had.
They did not elect extremists. They had a very good outcome of
people representing the various factions, but they didn't, they don't
have a military. They can't provide security as we found much to,
you know, our terrible experience in Benghazi, but we see it all over
the country. So the jury is out but it is not for lack of trying by
the people who have inherited the positions of responsibility.”
[Clinton Remarks At Boston Consulting Group, 6/20/13]
Clinton:
“My Biggest Regret Is The Loss Of Our Four Americans In Benghazi
With The Attack On Our Mission, Our Post There.”
“My biggest regret is the loss of our four Americans in Benghazi
with the attack on our mission, our post there. It wasn't a
consulate. That was ‑‑ I knew the ambassador.
I had sent him there. I had picked him as someone during the Libyan
revolution to actually go to Benghazi, because he understood Libya,
he spoke great Arabic and French. And he built relationships with a
lot of the local people. And of course it was just devastating that
there was this attack on our post and on our CIA annex, which I can
talk about now, because it's all been made public. And that the kind
of reliability that governments have to count on from the governments
in which they operate, like we're responsible for the security
ultimately of every embassy in Washington. Well, the Libyan
government has no capacity to deliver and the people that we had
contracted with were incapable or unwilling to do it. So that was a
deep regret. And you learn from these events, just as we have over
the last 30-plus years, where embassies have been attacked or taken
over, or the terrible events in Beirut in 1983-84. You learn from
them, but it always comes down to this very hard choice, should
American civilians be in dangerous places?” [Remarks at Cisco,
8/28/14]
Hillary
Clinton Said Worst Event On Her Watch Was Benghazi, Saying It Was
Motivated By “Militias As The Others In Eastern Libya.” “Well,
the worst thing that happened on my watch was Benghazi. There is no
doubt about that. It was a terrible, tragic event that, you know, was
motivated by, you know, the militias and the others in eastern Libya
and in which, unfortunately, you know, killed four brave Americans,
including one Chris Stevens, who I knew quite well. I had sent him as
a diplomat to Benghazi during the Libyan uprising. He had served
there. He spoke flawless Arabic. He knew a lot of the people. He had
been in Tripoli as our what's called Deputy Chief Of Mission, DCM. We
had to close the embassy because Gaddafi and his thugs were
threatening our diplomats. So Chris was back home, and when we saw
what was happening, I said, ‘You know, we need somebody to connect
with the uprising, the rebels, the militias.’ He held up his hand.
He volunteered. He went to Benghazi during the war, came back. I
recommended him for ambassador. Of course the President agreed. So he
was out in Tripoli. He really knew the country as well as any
American and assessed that it was important for him not to just be
behind the walls, but to get out, and, you know, really connect with
Libyan leaders and citizens. And it was just a terrible crime that he
was killed doing what was really in the best interests of both the
United States and Libya.” [Hillary Clinton remarks to Global
Business Travelers Association, 8/7/13]
Big Government
Clinton:
“My Father Raised Me To Be Suspicious Of Big Everything, Big
Government, Big Business, Big Anything.” “I'll
just end by, you know, my father was a rock-ribbed republican, he and
my mother always split the votes, they started what is called the
gender gap in American politics, but my father raised me to be
suspicious of big everything, big government, big business, big
anything, you know, people lose touch with what really is happening
if they're not held accountable, if they don't have the right
information because it can't get to them, you are going to run into
problems. And so for me growing up with a small businessman father in
the middle west, having great experiences I've had in practicing law,
in teaching law, in working on public company boards and certainly,
you know, serving in many not for profit as well as public service
positions, running for office, holding office, winning, losing, yeah,
I come out of it all even more optimistic about our country, but I'm
well aware that we have to get our act together, and by getting our
act together, we will be able to look at the next hundred years as an
American century that will have benefits for all of us, and that's
really my core conviction and what I will spend my time trying to
contribute to for the years to come.” [Hillary Clinton remarks at
Sanford Bernstein, 5/29/13]
Budget
Hillary
Clinton: “You’ve Got To Have Spending Restraints And You’ve Got
To Have Some Revenues In Order To Stimulate Growth.” “And
there are other ways that we can put ourselves on a better footing,
like passing a decent immigration law and dealing with our budget and
being smart about it and realizing there is two sides to the
equation. You’ve got to have spending restraints and you’ve got
to have some revenues in order to stimulate growth.” [ Speech to
Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Campaign Contributions
Clinton
Said That Because Candidates Needed Money From Wall Street To Run For
Office, People In New York Needed To Ask Tough Questions About The
Economy Before Handing Over Campaign Contributions. “Secondly,
running for office in our country takes a lot of money, and
candidates have to go out and raise it. New York is probably the
leading site for contributions for fundraising for candidates on both
sides of the aisle, and it's also our economic center. And there are
a lot of people here who should ask some tough questions before
handing over campaign contributions to people who were really playing
chicken with our whole economy.” [Goldman Sachs AIMS Alternative
Investments Symposium, 10/24/13]
Clinton:
“It Would Be Very Difficult To Run For President Without Raising A
Huge Amount Of Money And Without Having Other People Supporting You
Because Your Opponent Will Have Their Supporters.”
“So our system is, in many ways, more difficult, certainly far more
expensive and much longer than a parliamentary system, and I really
admire the people who subject themselves to it. Even when I, you
know, think they should not be elected president, I still think,
well, you know, good for you I guess, you're out there promoting
democracy and those crazy ideas of yours. So I think that it's
something -- I would like -- you know, obviously as somebody who has
been through it, I would like it not to last as long because I think
it's very distracting from what we should be doing every day in our
public business. I would like it not to be so expensive. I have no
idea how you do that. I mean, in my campaign -- I lose track, but I
think I raised $250 million or some such enormous amount, and in the
last campaign President Obama raised 1.1 billion, and that was before
the Super PACs and all of this other money just rushing in, and it's
so ridiculous that we have this kind of free for all with all of this
financial interest at stake, but, you know, the Supreme Court said
that's basically what we're in for. So we're kind of in the wild
west, and, you know, it would be very difficult to run for president
without raising a huge amount of money and without having other
people supporting you because your opponent will have their
supporters. So I think as hard as it was when I ran, I think it's
even harder now.” [Clinton Speech For General Electric’s Global
Leadership Meeting – Boca Raton, FL, 1/6/14]
2013:
Hillary Clinton Said Someone Running For President In 2016 Would Need
To Be Raising Money “Sometime Next Year Or Early The Following The
Year.” “So let’s give some
space and some attention to these issues instead of who is going to
run and what they’re going to do and: Oh, my gosh. What is
happening tomorrow? But if someone were going to run, given the
process of raising money, given the—you know, for better or worse I
apparently have about a hundred percent name recognition. Most of it
my mother would say is not true, but I live with it. So for me it
might be slightly different than for somebody else, but you certainly
would have to be in raising money sometime next year or early the
following year.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual
Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said She Admired Peter King Because He Told New York Donors
To Not Give Money To Republicans Who Voted Against Sandy Aid. “MS.
CLINTON: Well, you know, I really admire Peter King. He’s a
Republican representative from Long Island. He and I did a lot of
work together after 9/11 on terrorism and all of that. But when the
vote on Sandy came up—and a lot of Republicans voted against aid
for New York and New Jersey, Peter King said to the New York funders:
Don’t give any of them any money because somehow you have to get
their attention. So I thought it was pretty clever. I know what it’s
like. I mean, everybody is New York on Mondays.” [ Speech to
Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Politicians Treat NYC Like An ATM And “Political
Givers” Need To Tell Politicians “Here Are Things I Want You To
Do For The Country.” “So I
think that we’re going to have to take seriously how we fund
disasters, but I think Peter’s point was a larger one, which is—you
know, New York is kind of an ATM machine for both Democrats and
Republicans, and people come up and they visit with many of you and
they ask for money, and often they’re given—if they’re coming
they’re going to get it. And at some point the American public—and
particularly political givers—have to say: Here—and it’s not
just about me. It’s not just about my personal standings. Here
are things I want you to do for the country and be part of that
debate about the country.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo
Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “Those Who Help To Fund Elections, I Think It’s
Important That Business Leaders Make It Clear, Why Would You Give
Money To Somebody Who Was Willing To Wreck The Full Faith And Credit
Of The United States.” “And
then it comes down to who we vote for and what kind of expectations
we set and who we give money to. Those who help to fund elections, I
think it’s important that business leaders make it clear, why would
you give money to somebody who was willing to wreck the full faith
and credit of the United States. I mean, that just makes no sense at
all because the economic repercussions would have been very bad, and
the long-term consequences with, you know, the Chinese saying, let’s
de-Americanize the world and eventually move to a different reserve
currency wouldn’t be, you know, beneficial, either.” [Goldman
Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
China
Clinton
Praised The New President Of China Xi Jinping As “Much More
Sophisticated” Than Hu Jintao, Praised His “Far-Reaching” Plans
For Economic And Social Reform.
“Well, I think it is such a consequential relationship. And the
new president of China is a much more sophisticated actor than his
predecessor. He lived in the United States for a short period of
time, actually lived in Iowa on a -- on a farm. He was working in
agricultural issues within the Communist party, you know, about 30
years ago. He is a better politician than his immediate predecessor,
Hu Jintao. He has consolidated his power quite quickly over the
military and over the Communist party. He has set forth a plan for
economic reform, some of which is quite far-reaching, and some social
reform as well like, you know, saying they're going to end, at least
to some extent, the one-child policy.” [Remarks to CME Group,
11/18/13]
Hillary
Clinton Called Xi Jingping “He’s A More Sophisticated, More
Effective Public Leader Than Hu Jintao Was.”
“I think it’s a good news/maybe not so good news story about
what is going on right now in China. On the good news side I think
the new leadership—and we’ll see more of that when Xi Jinping
gets here in the United States after having gone to Latin America.
He’s a more sophisticated, more effective public leader than Hu
Jintao was. He is political in the kind of generic sense of that
word. You can see him work a room, which I have watched him do. You
can have him make small talk with you, which he has done with me. His
experience as a young man coming to the United States in the
1980s—going to Iowa, spending time there, living with a family—was
a very important part of his own development.” [Speech to Goldman
Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
-
Hillary Clinton Said “He Understands The Different Levers And The Constituencies That He Has To Work With Internally And Externally.” “So he’s someone who you at least have the impression is a more worldly, somewhat more experienced politician. And I say that as a term of praise, because he understands the different levers and the constituencies that he has to work with internally and externally. That’s especially important because of the recent moves he’s making to consolidate power over the military.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Chinese Leaders Don’t Like People Knowing Most Of
Their Children Attend American Universities. “MR.
BLANKFEIN: His daughter is at Harvard? MS. CLINTON: Yes. They
don’t like you to know that, but most of the Chinese leadership
children are at American universities or have been. I said to one
very, very high ranking Chinese official about a year, year and a
half ago—I said: I understand your daughter went to Wellesley. He
said: Who told you? I said: Okay. I don’t have to punish the
person then.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual
Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said “President Xi Is Doing Much More To Try To Assert His
Authority, And I Think That Is Also Good News.”
“One
of the biggest concerns I had over the last four years was the
concern that was manifested several different ways that the PLA, the
People’s Liberation Army, was acting somewhat independently; that
it wasn’t just a good cop/bad cop routine when we would see some of
the moves and some of the rhetoric coming out of the PLA, but that in
effect that were making some foreign policy. And Hu Jintao, unlike
Jiang Zemin before him, never really captured the authority over the
PLA that is essential for any government, whether it’s a civilian
government in our country or a communist party government in China.
So President Xi is doing much more to try to assert his authority,
and I think that is also good news.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs,
2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Warned Of Rising Nationalism In China, Saying “I Had High
Chinese Officials In Their 60s And 50s Say To Me: We All Know
Somebody Who Was Killed By The Japanese During The War.” “On
the not so good side there is a resurgence of nationalism inside
China that is being at least condoned, if not actively pushed by the
new Chinese government. You know, Xi Jinping talks about the Chinese
dream, which he means to be kind of the Chinese version of the
American dream. There has been a stoking of residual anti-Japanese
feelings inside China, not only in the leadership but in the
populace. It’s ostensibly over the dispute that is ongoing, but
it’s deeper than that and it is something that bears very careful
watching. Because in my last year, year and a half of meetings with
the highest officials in China the rhetoric about the Japanese was
vicious, and I had high Chinese officials in their 60s and 50s say to
me: We all know somebody who was killed by the Japanese during the
war. We cannot let them resume their nationalistic ways. You
Americans are naive. You don’t see what is happening below the
surface of Japan society.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo
Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said “The Biggest Supporters Of A Provocative North Korea
Has Been The PLA.” “Now,
that looks back to an important connection of what I said before.
The biggest supporters of a provocative North Korea has been the PLA.
The deep connections between the military leadership in China and in
North Korea has really been the mainstay of the relationship. So now
all of a sudden new leadership with Xi and his team, and they’re
saying to the North Koreans—and by extension to the PLA—no. It
is not acceptable. We don’t need this right now. We’ve got other
things going on. So you’re going to have to pull back from your
provocative actions, start talking to South Koreans again about the
free trade zones, the business zones on the border, and get back to
regular order and do it quickly.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013
IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said She Warned China That If North Korea Continued
Developing Its Missle Program, The US Would “Ring China With
Missile Defense.” “You know,
we all have told the Chinese if they continue to develop this missile
program and they get an ICBM that has the capacity to carry a small
nuclear weapon on it, which is what they’re aiming to do, we cannot
abide that. Because they could not only do damage to our treaty
allies, namely Japan and South Korea, but they could actually reach
Hawaii and the west coast theoretically, and we’re going to ring
China with missile defense. We’re going to put more of our fleet in
the area. So China, come on. You either control them or we’re
going to have to defend against them.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs,
2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The Chinese “Have A Right To Assert Themselves” In
The South China Sea But The US Needed To “Push Back” So They
Don’t Get A Chokehold Over World Trade.“48
percent of the world’s trade, obviously that includes energy but
includes everything else, goes through the South China Sea. Some of
you may have seen the long article in the New York Times Magazine on
the South China Sea this past weekend, an issue that I worked on for
the entire time was in the State Department because China basically
wants to control it. You can’t hold that against them. They have
the right to assert themselves. But if nobody’s there to push back
to create a balance, then they’re going to have a chokehold on the
sea lanes and also on the countries that border the South China Sea.”
[Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said She Told The Chinese They Can’t Just Claim The South
China Sea And By Their Argument The US Could Claim The Pacific
Because Of World War Two. “I
think that—you know, one of the greatest arguments that I had on a
continuing basis was with my Chinese counterparts about their claim.
And I made the point at one point in the argument that, you know, you
can call it whatever you want to call it. You don’t have a claim
to all of it. I said, by that argument, you know, the United States
should claim all of the Pacific. We liberated it, we defended it.
We have as much claim to all of the Pacific. And we could call it
the American Sea, and it could go from the West Coast of California
all the way to the Philippines. And, you know, my counterpart sat up
very straight and goes, well, you can’t do that. And I said, well,
we have as much right to claim that as you do. I mean, you claim it
based on pottery shards from, you know, some fishing vessel that ran
aground in an atoll somewhere. You know, we had conveys of military
strength. We discovered Japan for Heaven sakes. I mean, we did all
of these things.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit,
10/29/13]
-
Hillary Clinton Said The Chinese Said In That Case They Would Claim Hawaii And She Joked They Would Give China A “Red State.” “MR. BLANKFEIN: These are more technical conversations than I thought they would be. (Laughter.) SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes, yes. And then he says to me, well, you know, we’ll claim Hawaii. And I said, yeah, but we have proof we bought it. Do you have proof you brought any of these places you’re claiming? So we got into the nitty-gritty of -- MR. BLANKFEIN: But they have to take New Jersey. (Laughter.) SECRETARY CLINTON: No, no, no. We’re going to give them a red state.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The Most Important Advantage The US Has Over China Was
“Freedom.” “MALE ATTENDEE:
Madam Secretary, what is the most important competitive advantage
that you think the U.S. will keep as compared to a country like
China? SECRETARY CLINTON: Freedom. I think freedom.
Freedom of the mind, freedom of movement, freedom of debate, freedom
of innovation. You know, I just—I don’t think we fully value—we
sometimes take it for granted, and we sometimes even dismiss it, how
much stronger we are. Because in addition to that individual freedom
that we have in great abundance compared to China, for example, we do
have checks and balances. We have constitutional order. We have
protection of intellectual property, we have a court system that we
use for that purpose. We have a lot of assets that support the free
thinking and free acting of individuals. And in the long run, that’s
what I would place my bet on. I think that is what gives us such a
competitive advantage.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators
Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Freeing Chen Guangchen Was One Of Her Proudest Moments
As Secretary Of State. “On the
opposite end was helping a blind Chinese dissident get safety in the
American Embassy in Beijing and then negotiating with the Chinese to
get him and his immediate family out of China. That was one of those
moments where you have to think hard about what America really stands
for so when I got a call late one night saying that Chen Guangcheng
had escaped from his house where he had been under house arrest, he’d
been picked up by sympathizers and he was on his way to Beijing and
he wanted safety in the American Embassy, there were many who said,
‘Don’t do it, we’ll totally destroy our relationship with the
Chinese government.’” [Jewish United Fund Of Metropolitan Chicago
Vanguard Luncheon, 10/28/13]
Clinton Foundation
Clinton
Cited Morocco As A Country Managing Turmoil In The Middle East Well.
“So where are we now? Well, I think let's take them one at a time.
Let's take North Africa first, and I won't start with Egypt. I'll
start with Morocco. I give King Mohammed the VI a lot of credit for
managing a process of change in Morocco. It would be much better to
have orderly change that opens up these societies than the kind of
terrible carnage we're seeing in Syria and the great confusion and
reaction we've seen in Egypt and elsewhere. I don't know what the
future holds for Morocco, but that's another country that I would be,
you know, advising people to look at and invest in because it seems
to have made a transition, at least in this first phase,
successfully.” [Clinton Speech For General Electric’s Global
Leadership Meeting – Boca Raton, FL, 1/6/14]
Clinton
Thanked BCG For Its Commitment To Clinton Global Initiative During
Speech. “I especially want to
thank you for your commitment through the Clinton Global Initiative
to educate multi-national manufacturing companies about opportunities
for expanding and reshoring operations in the United States.”
[Clinton Remarks At Boston Consulting Group, 6/20/13]
Clinton
Said Canadians, Per Capita, Are The Biggest Supporters Of The Clinton
Foundation. “Well,
I should say thank you because Canadians per capita are the biggest
supporters of the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global
Initiative, so it's great to be supported by so many Canadians.”
[Remarks at Mediacorp, 11/13/13]
Hillary
Clinton Noted Gap Inc. Program’s Connection To Clinton Global
Initiative. “I also want to
salute your Personal Achievements and Career Enhancement Program
known as PACE, P-A-C-E. In partnership with the Clinton Global
Initiative that my husband started, PACE has helped more than 14,000
women garment workers in factories in seven countries across
Southeast Asia.” [Hillary Clinton remarks to Gap Inc., 5/8/13]
Hillary
Clinton Thanked Qualcomm For Its Work To Help Women Enter Technology
Sector Through Clinton Global Initiative Commitments. HILLARY
CLINTON: “Technology, especially mobile technology, has become a
crucial tool in promoting participation. That's why we want to see
mobile technology in the hands of more people, particularly women and
girls. Now, Qualcomm's leadership to this mission has been vital.
Your commitments, especially those I would thank you for through the
Clinton Global Initiative, are bringing innovative, new approaches to
this challenge, like WeTech, which is helping more women and girls
get into the technology sector, or your work with the Cherie Blair
Foundation to provide online mentoring programs to women in Malaysia,
or your Digital Inclusion effort connecting thousands of people in
rural Sub-Saharan Africa with communication technology in their own
languages.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks for Qualcomm, 10/14/14]
Clinton
Thanked Bank Of America For Its “Exemplary” Work With The Clinton
Foundation’s Vital Voices. “Well,
let me start with a thank you. I mean, I think Bank of America's
partnership with Vital Voices is just exemplary. I mean, what you're
doing to support Vital Voices in the mentoring and development arena
really matters.” [Remarks at Bank of America, 11/13/13]
Hillary
Clinton Promoted The Clinton Foundation’s Climate Initiative In
Delhi, India. “So a few
examples of what we're doing at the Clinton Foundation. First, the
Clinton Climate Initiative has a solid waste management program that
works with governments and with businesses to reduce their dependency
on landfills and develop systems to convert waste into new products
or into sources of energy. For example, we are working with the city
of Delhi in India to develop that country's first integrated solid
waste management system.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at the Institute
of Scrap Recycling Industries Convention, 4/10/14]
Hillary
Clinton Bragged About The Clinton Climate Initiative Convinced
Walmart To Start A Pilot Program On Recycling. “Now,
closer to home the Clinton Climate Initiative wanted to show that
recycling can be a better alternative than landfills, even for a huge
company like Wal-Mart in a state like Texas, which has, as you know,
some of the lightest regulations and lowest landfill costs in the
country. So we convinced Walmart to start a pilot program for
recycling food waste at three of their superstores in Houston. It has
proven to be such a success that the company decided to expand it to
every store in the United States that sells groceries, and they're
working on taking it global.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at the
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Convention, 4/10/14]
Giustra, Frank
Clinton
Praised Frank Giustra’s Work In Latin America. “At
the Clinton Foundation we have a partnership with Frank Justra (ph),
a Canadian businessman, working in Latin America, again focusing on
women and their economic agencies, and we used a very old fashioned
idea: door-to-door sales in the Andes. We weren't going to bring a
big factory or some other large employer but through recruiting
dozens at first, then hundreds and maybe eventually thousands of
women to be their own employee, their self-employed business, by
selling products that would otherwise not be available, we see a
ladder of opportunity that had never been created before.”
[International Leaders' Series, Palais des Congrès de Montréal,
3/18/14]
Cruz, Ted
Told
That Ted Cruz Wanted To Renounce His Canadian Citizenship, Clinton
Joked, “Don’t Let Him.” FRANK
MCKENNA: “And by the way, Teddy Cruz who is one of the apostles or
disciples of the Tea Party was born in Canada and wants to renounce
his Canadian citizenship. HILLARY CLINTON: Don't let him.” FRANK
MCKENNA: “Well, there's a lot of us -- a lot of us are prepared to
take up a collection if it would help.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at
the Vancouver Board of Trade, 3/5/14]
Cuba
Clinton
Described Latin America As Coming Out Of “Two Good Decades” And
Described Countries Were “By And Large” Democratic, Except For
Cuba. “That's a great
question. You know, I think that we, in America, don't pay enough
attention to our neighbors in Latin America. They are our biggest
trading partners, bigger than China, bigger than Europe. They have
had a good two decades coming out of, in some cases, civil wars,
gorilla wars, conflicts, military dictatorships. They are by and
large democratic. There are some
notable exceptions such as Cuba, but
they are have had a good run, and I think there's some adjusting
going on in some places right now, but I'm quite optimistic about the
entire hemisphere.” [Clinton Speech For General Electric’s Global
Leadership Meeting – Boca Raton, FL, 1/6/14]
Cybersecurity
Clinton
Said Issuing An Executive Order On Cybersecurity Would Be In Top Five
Executive Order Priorities. “QUESTION:
Hi there. We're had a lot of cyber attacks this year, Target, Home
Depot, JP Morgan, not Deutsche Bank. If you were ever in a position
to issue an executive order, where would cyber be in your
administration? SEC. HILLARY CLINTON: I think cyber security, cyber
warfare are in the top five, because it's a growing threat. And it
is a complicated threat to deal with. A lot of the attacks are
traced back to either Russia or China, but not exclusively. We've
had some Iranian attacks, as some of you know, on distribution of
disruption of service in financial institutions. And it's a
relatively cheap, labor-intensive way to take advantage of our
dependence on the Internet, both for criminal purposes, as well as
strategic national purposes.” [Clinton Remarks to Deutsche Bank,
10/7/14]
Clinton:
“At The State Department We Were Attacked Every Hour, More Than
Once An Hour By Incoming Efforts To Penetrate Everything We Had. And
That Was True Across The U.S. Government.”
CLINTON: But, at the State Department we were attacked every hour,
more than once an hour by incoming efforts to penetrate everything we
had. And that was true across the U.S. government. And we knew it
was going on when I would go to China, or I would go to Russia, we
would leave all of our electronic equipment on the plane, with the
batteries out, because this is a new frontier. And they're trying to
find out not just about what we do in our government. They're trying
to find out about what a lot of companies do and they were going
after the personal emails of people who worked in the State
Department. So it's not like the only government in the world that is
doing anything is the United States. But, the United States compared
to a number of our competitors is the only government in the world
with any kind of safeguards, any kind of checks and balances. They
may in many respects need to be strengthened and people need to be
reassured, and they need to have their protections embodied in law.
But, I think turning over a lot of that material intentionally or
unintentionally, because of the way it can be drained, gave all kinds
of information not only to big countries, but to networks and
terrorist groups, and the like. So I have a hard time thinking that
somebody who is a champion of privacy and liberty has taken refuge in
Russia under Putin's authority. And then he calls into a Putin talk
show and says, President Putin, do you spy on people? And President
Putin says, well, from one intelligence professional to another, of
course not. Oh, thank you so much. I mean, really, I don't know. I
have a hard time following it. [Clinton Speech At UConn, 4/23/14]
Hillary
Clinton: “The State Department Was Attacked Hundreds Of Times Every
Day, Some By State-Sponsored Groups, Some By More Independent
Operators.” “And it’s not
only on the government side that we should be worried about. I mean,
the cyber attacks on businesses, and I’m sure many in this room
have experienced that, is aimed at commercial advantage. In some
instances, when it’s aimed at defense businesses, it’s aimed at,
you know, security and strategic advantage. But, you know, the State
Department was attacked hundreds of times every day, some by
state-sponsored groups, some by more independent operators. But it
was the same effect. People were trying to steal information, use it
for their own purposes.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators
Summit, 10/29/13]
Debt Limit
Clinton
Said The Business View Speaking Out During The Debt Limit Debate Was
Helpful In Getting Through The Crisis. “So
what you saw was a relatively small group in the House of
Representatives and very few in the Senate who were trying to achieve
one objective, namely make a political point about the health care
law by holding hostage the entire rest of the government and putting
the full faith in credit of the United States at risk. Although it
went up to the last hour, the fact that they were a minority and that
there were much more level heads, even in the same political party,
that the business view started speaking out after having been
relatively silent, thinking this is going to work out, but then
people of experience and expertise began speaking out, it was
possible to get through that crisis.” [Goldman Sachs AIMS
Alternative Investments Symposium, 10/24/13]
Education
Clinton:
Because Of The Way Our Education System Is Governed, “Unless You’re
A Governor Or Maybe A Mayor…There’s Not Very Much That Most
Politicians Can Do.” In her
remarks at Knewton, Hillary Clinton said, “I think there have been
a number of politicians in the last 35 years, going back to A Nation
at Risk, who have been very engaged in and outspoken about education.
But unless you're a governor or maybe a mayor who has authority over
your schools, there's not really very much that most politicians can
do because of the way our system of education is governed.
Obviously, local school boards, colleges and universities, they have
separate governance. And we don't want politicians interfering too
much in the independence of the governance of education. What we
want is for politicians to be more knowledgeable about what actually
works in education and support that, as opposed to seizing on past
ideas and just driving those without regard to evidence.” [Hillary
Clinton’s Remarks at Knewton, 7/22/14]
Hillary
Clinton: Common Core Was “A Political Failure.” In
her remarks at Knewton, Hillary Clinton said, “The common core is a
perfect example. I mean, the common core was negotiated by a
bipartisan group of governors. And maybe they thought -- I mean, I
think this was a political failure because they negotiated something
and they had no real agreed-upon program for explaining it and
selling it to people so that they left an opening for those who were
always in the education debate, who don't think anybody should be
told anything about what to study, even if it's the multiplication
tables. You know, that that should all be left to local control. And
then you get into more complicated areas, as we all know, that that's
just totally off limits. And then using common core results for
teacher evaluation when everybody knew that it was going to be
complicated to implement.” [Hillary Clinton’s Remarks at Knewton,
7/22/14]
Egypt
Clinton
Said After The Egyptian Revolution “We Had To Admit Our Ability To
Shape Events Was Highly Limited.”
“In our foreign policy that means, among other things, getting good
at balancing our long-term interests against short-term pressures.
That's what we tried to do when the revolution broke out in Egypt.
And the National Security Team gathered around the table in the
situation room day after day facing a difficult set of choices. First
of all, we had to admit our ability to shape events was highly
limited. The Mubarak Regime had refused to reform despite our
warnings over years and was crumbling in the face of widespread
popular protest. Egyptian citizens were, after all, demanding the
chance to shape their own destinies. On the one hand this was
encouraging. We believe in democracy, not just on moral and
philosophical grounds, but because over the long run, democracy gives
us more partners and fewer adversaries. But let's be honest. Mubarak
had been an ally of the United States for many years. We have
important interests in the region in addition to democracy including
our fight against terrorism; defense of our allies, especially
Israel; and a secure supply of energy. There are times in government,
as in business, when not all of our interests align. Now, we work to
align them, but that's just the reality.” [Clinton Speech For
Morgan Stanley, 4/18/13]
Clinton:
“The Muslim Brotherhood Won. In The Beginning We Said They Won
Legitimately. We Worked With Them.”
“But, I have to say I was not convincing. I did not persuade the
young people to do that and you know what happened. The Muslim
Brotherhood won. In the beginning we said they won legitimately. We
worked with them. We tried to persuade them, starting with President
Morsi, to run an inclusive government, to make every Egyptian feel
that they had a place at the table. They became much more interested
in promoting their ideology, that produced a reaction. The military
took over and now a general has become president. So those were very
hard decisions to try to figure out how to manage on all of these
fronts. But, the point I hope you take away is change for the sake
of change is not going to make the difference you hope for unless you
are prepared and organized to follow up on that change and politics,
small P politics, is the way people in democracies work together to
try to institutionalize the changes that you are seeking and I don't
know if we're going to see any renewal of that kind of hopefulness in
the Arab world for quite some time, because of the problems that
arose as a result of overthrowing existing regimes without anything
to fill the vacuum.” [Remarks to Fundacion TelMex, 9/5/14]
Hillary
Clinton Said Egypt Posed A Threat To The Israelis Due To The
Unpredictability Og The Morsi Government, And To The Saudis And
Emiratis Because Their Version Of Political Islam Was A Threat To
Their Status Quo. “Certainly
Egypt posed very direct threats to Israel because of the, number one,
instability and then number two, the unpredictability of the Morsi
government. That also posed in the eyes of the Saudis and the
Emiratis a threat to them because they view the organized efforts for
political Islam to be threatening their status quo. We also
were very concerned about the breeding of instability in terrorist
havens in the Sinai which could be used just as the FATA between
Pakistan and Afghanistan had been used by Al-Qaeda as launching sites
for extremist attacks against Egypt, against Israel, against Jordan
and further afield in the Gulf.” [Jewish United Fund Of
Metropolitan Chicago Vanguard Luncheon, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Mubarak Prevented The Formation Of Any Opposition, Which
Made The Muslim Brotherhood The Only Organized Opposition When His
Regime Fell. “Well, I am one
who was very cautious about the aftereffects of the Arab Spring, in
part because there was no organized opposition that was not the
Muslim Brotherhood. What Mubarak had done, unfortunately, for more
than 30 years was to really prevent any other outlets for political
positions, for any letting off of steam, any organization of groups
that had policy or political goals. And the Muslim Brotherhood,
despite Mubarak’s best efforts to try to break it, was able to
continue to develop because it had the mosques, and it had small
businesses. And it had a network that he could never penetrate, but
the non-Islamic opposition was decimated.” [2014 Jewish United Fund
Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said She Went To Egpyt After The Uprising And Found The
Opposition To Be “Political Neophytes To The Nth Degree.” “So
after Tahrir Square, I went to Egypt to see what was going on. That
was before the presidential election had been held; it was still
while the military was in charge trying to figure out how to run
presidential elections. And I met with representatives of a lot of
the groups that had been at Tahrir Square with all of their optimism
and enthusiasm and their inclusivity between Muslims and Christian
Copts and all the Twittering and Facebooking that they were doing,
and they were political neophytes to the nth degree.” [2014 Jewish
United Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Her Meetings With The Political Opposition Left Her
Pessimistic About Their Ability To Be An Opposition For The Muslim
Brotherhood. “They had no
experience, no understanding about how to organize political parties,
how to run candidates, how to conduct campaigns. They didn’t have
platforms. They were totally divided, and I came away feeling very
pessimistic that there could be a vigorous opposition to the Muslim
Brotherhood. And yet at the same time, holding elections is
something we favor in our country, and we believe that elections are
not in and of themselves sufficient because too many people believe
in one election one time and then they never give up power. So we
tried hard to continue to work to build up a secular opposition.”
[2014 Jewish United Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The US Couldn’t Not Support An Election In Egypt But
Eventually Morsi’s Government Became “More Authoritarian,”
Which Caused His Removal. “So
it put the United States, it put Europeans, it put everybody in a
difficult position because you can’t say you are for democracy and
not support democratic aspirations, something that the United States
governments have been pushing Egypt to do for decades, both
Republican and Democratic administrations, and you have to try to do
everything you can to influence, in a democratic way, those who win.
Upshot was that as time went by, it became more and more
apparent, first and foremost to Egyptians, that the Morsi government
was becoming more authoritarian, much less open, and that caused, as
we saw, the upheaval leading to his removal.” [2014 Jewish United
Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Morsi Was Very Naïve About Al Qaeda And Extremism.
So he came into office quite naive. I remember one of my very first
meetings with him saying ‘What are you going to do to prevent
Al-Qaeda and other extremists from taking up positions inside Egypt
and, in particular, in the Sinai?’ His response was, ‘Well,
why would they do that? We have an Islamist government now. Why
would they do that?’ And I said, ‘Because you will never be
pure enough. It does not matter. I don’t care what your positions
are. You cannot be a president of a country and not do everything
you can to protect your country against these internal threats.’”
[2014 Jewish United Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said What Happened In Egypt Was A “Military Takeover” And
No One Was Willing To “Make The Hard Reform Necessary For The
Economy.” “We are kind of
back to the future. We have a military takeover. We have a
planned-for election, likely winner to be one of the generals, if not
al-Sisi himself, and we have a lot of continuing instability and
violence within Egypt and a deteriorating economy because neither of
the Morsi government nor the military leadership is willing to make
the hard reform necessary for the economy to be stabilized and grow
in a way to meet the needs of the Egyptian people.” [2014 Jewish
United Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Implied That America Was “Pretty Close” To Doing Nothing
In Egypt And That No One Likes The US There At The Moment. “MR.
LESTER CROWN: Do we then have actually three choices: Either
military, Muslim Brotherhood or do nothing? Under those
circumstances, should we have suspended aid to the one who was at
least the least bad of those three? Because we really can’t do
nothing. Egypt is tremendously important to the region, to us, to
Israel, to everything else. So doing nothing is really not an
option. MS. HILLARY CLINTON: Well, there are some who would
argue that’s pretty close to what we’re doing because we put
into—I say we, the Administration, was put into a very difficult
position and I think did all that it could under our own laws to not
be pushed into taking action that could sever the relationship that
we had built up over the years since the Camp David Accords with the
Egyptian military. Nobody likes us in Egypt right now. It doesn’t
matter whether you are on the military side, the Muslim Brotherhood
side, the young blogger side. Everybody thinks we supported the
other guy, and what I believe the Administration tried to do was to
support principles and values and keep pressure on the Muslim
Brotherhood and others to try to move toward actions that would be
much more democratically recognizable, embedded in the Egyptian
government and society.” [2014 Jewish United Fund Advance &
Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The Military Would Govern Egypt For As Long As They
Wanted And Were Being Supported By The Saudis And Emiratis. “So
it’s, right now, playing itself out. The military is going to
remain in charge for as long as they choose to, really. They are
going to face more internal threats that they are going to have to be
very tough in dealing with, and they are going to try to, in as much
as they can, squash the Muslim Brotherhood and their political arm.
And they are getting a lot of help from the Saudis to the Emiratis—to
go back to our original discussion—because the Saudis and the
Emiratis see the Muslim Brotherhood as threatening to them, which is
kind of ironic since the Saudis have exported more extreme ideology
than any other place on earth over the course of the last 30 years.”
[2014 Jewish United Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The Saudis Opposed The Muslim Brotherhood, “Which Is
Kind Of Ironic Since The Saudis Have Exported More Extreme Ideology
Than Any Other Place On Earth Over The Course Of The Last 30 Years.”
“And they are getting a lot of
help from the Saudis to the Emiratis—to go back to our original
discussion—because the Saudis and the Emiratis see the Muslim
Brotherhood as threatening to them, which is kind of ironic since the
Saudis have exported more extreme ideology than any other place on
earth over the course of the last 30 years.” [2014 Jewish United
Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The US And Israel Would Need To Continue Working The
Egyptian Military, “But Egypt Is Going To Go Through Its Own
Turmoil For A While.” “But
they see the current situation as one that they have to help the
Egyptian military manage and control. So it’s not that we take a
position of doing nothing. It’s that right now we are continuing
most of the aid to the Egyptian military. We are continuing the kind
of ongoing contacts that we’ve done for decades. We are working
with the Israelis who are reestablishing their connections and on an
ongoing, consultative basis working to keep the Sinai under control
and try to head off other threats. But Egypt is going to go through
its own turmoil for a while, and they need a leader and a leadership
ethos that will actually try and improve the lives of Egyptian
people.” [2014 Jewish United Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner,
10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “I Mean The Biggest Rebuke To Mubarak Is That He Was In
Power For More Than 30 Years And In Many Ways The Country Was Worse
Off When He Left Than When He Came.”
“I mean the biggest rebuke to Mubarak is that he was in power for
more than 30 years and in many ways the country was worse off when he
left than when he came on literacy, on health, on all kinds of
indicators, and the jobs for educated Egyptians are few and far
between and on and on.” [2014 Jewish United Fund Advance &
Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Equal Pay
Asked
What Needed To Change To Close The Pay Gap, Clinton Said We Needed To
Enforce The Laws Already On The Books. “MS.
TINKHAM: Okay. What about the wage gap? So the U.S. Census Bureau
released data recently that in 2012, women still earned only 77 cents
to every dollar on men. What do you think needs to change to make
that more even? SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I think we have laws on the
books. Enforcing them is the first step. And too often it is very
difficult for the woman who herself is being discriminated against.
You know, the Lilly Ledbetter case which established firmly the
absolute right to be paid equally for equal work was a great step
forward, but if people don't know about it, if they don't have a safe
harbor to go to to get somebody to advocate for them, you know, it's
not going to increase the number of women being paid what they should
be paid. So I think first and foremost, we have to enforce the law.”
[Accenture Women’s Leadership Forum, 10/24/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “When I Got To The State Department, It Was Still Against
The Rules To Let Most -- Or Let All Foreign Service Officers Have
Access To A Blackberry.” “I
mean, let's face it, our government is woefully, woefully behind in
all of its policies that affect the use of technology. When I got to
the State Department, it was still against the rules to let most --
or let all Foreign Service Officers have access to a Blackberry. You
couldn't have desktop computers when Colin Powell was there.
Everything that you are taking advantage of, inventing and using, is
still a generation or two behind when it comes to our government.”
[Hillary Clinton Remarks at Nexenta, 8/28/14]
Hillary
Clinton: “We Couldn't Take Our Computers, We Couldn't Take Our
Personal Devices” Off The Plane In China And Russia. “I
mean, probably the most frustrating part of this whole debate are
countries acting like we're the only people in the world trying to
figure out what's going on. I mean, every time I went to countries
like China or Russia, I mean, we couldn't take our computers, we
couldn't take our personal devices, we couldn't take anything off the
plane because they're so good, they would penetrate them in a minute,
less, a nanosecond. So we would take the batteries out, we'd leave
them on the plane.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at Nexenta, 8/28/14]
Clinton
Said When She Got To State, Employees “Were Not Mostly Permitted To
Have Handheld Devices.” “You
know, when Colin Powell showed up as Secretary of State in 2001, most
State Department employees still didn't even have computers on their
desks. When I got there they were not mostly permitted to have
handheld devices. I mean, so you're thinking how do we operate in
this new environment dominated by technology, globalizing forces? We
have to change, and I can't expect people to change if I don't try to
model it and lead it.” [Clinton Speech For General Electric’s
Global Leadership Meeting – Boca Raton, FL, 1/6/14]
Hillary
Clinton Said You Know You Can’t Bring Your Phone And Computer When
Traveling To China And Russia And She Had To Take Her Batteries Out
And Put them In A Special Box. “And
anybody who has ever traveled in other countries, some of which shall
remain nameless, except for Russia and China, you know that you can’t
bring your phones and your computers. And if you do, good luck. I
mean, we would not only take the batteries out, we would leave the
batteries and the devices on the plane in special boxes. Now, we
didn’t do that because we thought it would be fun to tell somebody
about. We did it because we knew that we were all targets and that
we would be totally vulnerable. So it’s not only what others do to
us and what we do to them and how many people are involved in it.
It’s what’s the purpose of it, what is being collected, and how
can it be used. And there are clearly people in this room who know a
lot about this, and some of you could be very useful contributors to
that conversation because you’re sophisticated enough to know that
it’s not just, do it, don’t do it. We have to have a way of
doing it, and then we have to have a way of analyzing it, and then we
have to have a way of sharing it.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And
Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Lamented How Far Behind The State Department Was In
Technology, Saying “People Were Not Even Allowed To Use Mobile
Devices Because Of Security Issues.” “Personally,
having, you know, lived and worked in the White House, having been a
senator, having been Secretary of State, there has traditionally been
a great pool of very talented, hard-working people. And just as I
was saying about the credit market, our personnel policies haven’t
kept up with the changes necessary in government. We have a lot of
difficulties in getting—when I got to the State Department, we were
so far behind in technology, it was embarrassing. And, you know,
people were not even allowed to use mobile devices because of
security issues and cost issues, and we really had to try to push
into the last part of the 20th
Century in order to get people functioning in 2009 and ‘10.”
[Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Noted Snowden Traveled With Sensitive Material On Computers
And “Why Are Those Computers Not Exploited When My Cellphone Was
Going To Be Exploited.” “I
can’t speak one way or the other on that. But what I think is
true, despite Snowden’s denials, is that if he actually showed up
in Hong Kong with computers and then showed up in Mexico with
computers, why are those computers not exploited when my cellphone
was going to be exploited.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators
Summit, 10/29/13]
Emanuel, Rahm
Clinton
Encouraged Attendees Of The ASCP Annual Meeting In Chicago To “Spend
Some Money, Because [Emanuel] Probably Has Surveillance Watching To
Determine Who Does And Doesn’t.”
“Thank you so much. I'm deeply honored to receive this award from
such an esteemed organization. I know that the mayor is rushing off
to his next assigned event and responsibility. I just want to thank
him and tell you that reliving a lot of my experiences with Rahm
makes me once again realize how much you want him in any foxhole you
end up in, maybe not at Buckingham Palace for tea with the Queen, but
for any other challenging situation, he always had my back. He always
had both President Clinton's and President Obama's back, and now he's
got Chicago's back. So if I were you, I would find some way to go
spend some money because he probably has surveillance watching to
determine who does and who doesn't.” [American Society for Clinical
Pathology Annual Meeting, 9/18/13]
Clinton
Praised Rahm Emanuel For “Working Very Hard To Try To Get A Handle
On What Is A Terrible Blight Of Gun Violence In Chicago.”
“Well, first of all, I think there's two parts to this. One is
Chicago in particular and I know that Mayor Emanuel and the
government of Chicago and a lot of the partners in the community
throughout Chicago are working very hard to try to get a handle on
what is a terrible blight of gun violence in Chicago.” [Chicago
House Remarks, 9/18/13]
Clinton:
Rahm Emanuel Is “Working To Come Up With The Solutions That Really
Fit Whatever The Problems In Chicago Are.”
“On the first issue, you know, I know from having talked with Rahm
about this that he is, you know, working to come up with the
solutions that really fit whatever the problems in Chicago are. I
mean, I can remember a long time ago knowing that gang violence in
Chicago was particularly dangerous, and it's only gotten more so
because of the Mexican drug cartels and others who have roots going
to Chicago as distribution points throughout the Midwest. So every
situation has to be analyzed, but there are some general criteria.
You do need enough police on the streets, and that is something that
communities are now facing because of the cutbacks, the
sequestrations and other budget pressures.” [Chicago House Remarks,
9/18/13]
Clinton:
“I Know Chicago Is Working. It Has To Be A Whole-Of-Government,
Really A Whole-Of-City Approach.”
“I remember, you know, when Bill ran for President and he talked a
lot about community policing, he said that, you know, in 1960, there
were three police for every felon, and by 1990, we had three felons
for every police officer. So manpower does make a difference.
Equally, strong, positive partnerships with community groups and
leaders makes a difference particularly to intervene and try to
prevent young people from getting sucked into gangs or being enticed
into violence because of their need to feel part of something. So I
know Chicago is working. It has to be a whole-of-government, really
a whole-of-city approach.” [Chicago House Remarks, 9/18/13]
At
A Speech To A Jewish Group In Chicago, Hillary Clinton Said “Rahm
And I Were Talking Backstage About What He’s Trying To Do Here In
The City For Preschool And After School And Jobs For Unemployed Young
People.” “So one of the
great challenges as we look at our trend lines, our social and
cultural trend lines, is to begin to focus where our efforts can make
the most difference, where we can begin to try to reverse some of the
changes that are not in America’s interests. Now, for me, that
starts with our children. Rahm and I were talking backstage about
what he’s trying to do here in the city for preschool and after
school and jobs for unemployed young people. I feel strongly that
these kinds of efforts are needed now more than ever, and maybe it’s
harder to summon the political will and to find the scarce resources,
but just as we did during the Great Depression by giving people a
sense that they still had meaning and purpose and would be part of
the new future in America, we have to look seriously at what is
happening among our youngest children.” [Jewish United Fund Of
Metropolitan Chicago Vanguard Luncheon, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Praised Mitch Landrieu And Rahm Emanuel As Mayors Doing Good
Work. “SECRETARY CLINTON:
Well, look, I—I think that everyone agrees that we’re in a bad
patch in our political system and in Washington. It’s—you know,
there’s a lot of good things happening elsewhere in the country.
There are a lot of mayors, you had Mitch Landrieu here, I was with
Rahm Emanuel yesterday. There’s a lot of innovative, interesting,
new ideas being put into practice by mayors, by some governors. So I
think when we talk about our political system, we’re really
focusing more on what’s happening in Washington. And it is
dysfunctional right now. And it is for a variety of reasons, some of
them systemic, as you suggested.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And
Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Energy
Continuing to Use Fossil Fuels
Clinton:
“Of Course, We're Going To Continue Using Fossil Fuels, But I Think
We Should Set The Global Example For Transitioning In Some More
Orderly Way Away From Fossil Fuels…” “We
could do so much more. Looking across North America at our electric
grids, you know we have coal-fired plants in the United States that
went online when Franklin Roosevelt was President. That can't
possibly be smart. And what President Obama did with the EPA rules
to begin to try to lower greenhouse gas emissions primarily from
burning coal is an important step that shouldn't be seen in
isolation. It should be seen as part of a broader energy strategy.
Of course, we're going to continue using fossil fuels, but I think we
should set the global example for transitioning in some more orderly
way away from fossil fuels, and given the innovation, given the
research capacity, given the experiences on both sides of our border,
we're in a perfect position to do that.” [Remarks at tinePublic,
6/18/14]
Domestic Gas Production
Hillary
Clinton Noted The Unlocking Of Gas From Shale Formations As An
Advance In Technology. “The
unlocking of, you know, gas from shale formations, the advances in
technology that have improved our ability to go back to what we
thought were dry wells and drill for oil.” [05162013 Remarks to
Banco Itau.doc, p. 34]
Hillary
Clinton Said The Transition From Coal To Natural Gas Has Contributed
To The Economic Recovery. “It's
one of the contributing factors to our economic recovery and to at
least the, you know, the resumption of manufacturing because of the
lower prices for natural gas and cleaning up to some limited extent
emissions because of the transfer from coal to natural gas.”
[05162013 Remarks to Banco Itau.doc, p. 35]
Hillary
Clinton Said The United States Has An Opportunity To Be An Energy
Exporter. “It
will certainly make us less dependent on Middle East oil or on
Venezuelan oil over time, which I think gives us an opportunity not
only to take care of our own needs but to be an exporter, you know,
in the market.” [05162013 Remarks to Banco Itau.doc, p. 35]
Hillary
Clinton Said She’s Not Crazy About The Consequences Of Natural Gas
– With The Release Of Methane – But It Is Replacing Coal.
“Secondly
we do have to work on diminishing our reliance on fossil fuels but
there's going to be bridging there, there's no alternative especially
in other countries. I'm not crazy about the consequences of natural
gas with the release of methane but it is replacing coal. We have to
be smarter about the technology and about the control of how we
extract oil and gas in the United States and elsewhere to try to get
as close to a clean bridge as possible.” [02262014 HWA Remarks at
UMiami.DOC, p. 24]
Hillary
Clinton Said Advances In Technology Have Enabled The Capture Of Oil
And Gas, Including Hydraulic Fracturing. “And
the advances in technology that have enabled the capture of oil and
gas in -- you know, from hydraulic fracturing and other approaches
that was just not possible a decade or two ago has created this
enormous opportunity for us.” [02042014 HWA Remarks at Citi
[Westchester].DOC, p. 24]
Hillary
Clinton Said We Have To Figure Out If We’re Going To Export Energy
Sources, And That’s A Complicated Issue. Third,
we have to figure out if we're going to export. And that's a
complicated issue and sides are being drawn and you have some arguing
that we should not export, at least not for the foreseeable future;
that we should try to lower the cost of energy in this country, we
should try to replace as much coal as possible, we should try to use
clean energy, namely natural gas for more transportation, more
manufacturing, and that should be our first priority before we get to
any kind of export regime. Obviously, on the other side, led
principally by the gas and oil industry, they want to, you know,
begin exporting, building the refineries, getting into the business.
[02042014 HWA Remarks at Citi [Westchester].DOC, pg. 25]
Hillary
Clinton Said The Federal Government, Through The Department Of
Energy, Pioneered Hydraulic Fracturing And Has An Obligation To Help
Develop Regulations.
“And
the federal government which, basically, through the Department of
Energy, pioneered hydraulic fracturing, has an obligation to work
with states to come up with those kinds of regulations. You know,
we've got to make sure that we're not releasing methane in the air.
That's a great house gas, that's not a good outcome. We have to be
sure that, you know, we are protecting the water supply. We have to,
you know, make it possible for local communities to have some greater
knowledge about the chemicals that are used.” [02042014 HWA Remarks
at Citi [Westchester].DOC, p. 24]
Clinton
Said She Wanted U.S. And Canada To Work Toward Finding Opportunities
Energy Independence, As New Techniques For Extracting Oil And Gas
Emerged. “But looking at
Canada and the United States, I personally would like to see a
process bringing together decision-makers, experts, in looking at
where we could have greater symmetry between our electric grids, our
gas and oil, because what is happening, as you know so well, Frank,
is that with the new discoveries, with the new techniques for
extracting oil and gas, the United States and Canada are going to be
powerhouses for however the gas is transported and used or exported.
We have tremendous opportunities now to be energy independent, energy
secure, and that has great ramifications for our own economies and
societies as well as globally.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at the
Vancouver Board of Trade, 3/5/14]
Hillary
Clinton Praised American And Canadian Leadership Towards Energy
Independence. “Our friends in
the Caribbean pay the highest prices for electricity in the world,
with a combination of geography and oligarchy that had prevented
those countries from moving towards energy affordability and
independence. Now, one of the reasons I'm optimistic about the future
of the Americas is because this hemisphere can really be the anchor
for peace, progress and prosperity for the entire world. If one
thinks about the diversity and the democratization and the progress
that has been made in North and Central and South America, it is
mind-boggling. When it comes to energy, global competitiveness,
leadership on the world stage and so much else, our hemisphere is
positioned to thrive, led by North America, if we work together.”
[Canada 2020 Speech, 10/6/14]
Hillary
Clinton Noted That Domestic Oil And Gas Production Were Set To
Surpass Russia. “I've dealt
with him over a number of years. He is a very tough customer. He
has a lot of problems inside Russia, you know, they're much too
dependent on oil and gas, and with all of our oil and gas discoveries
and production in the United States, we are in a path to surpass
Russia in actual oil and gas production. I hope we know what we're
doing to take advantage of that, but he's used Russian resources to
really intimidate his neighbors.” [LIA Speech, 10/4/13]
Clinton
Said She Wanted United States To Export Gas. “Right
now, we have a platform for increasing manufacturing, for decreasing
the cost of energy that I don't want to lose, but at the same time I
want to be able to export gas, especially to our friends, in order to
undercut in Europe's case the pressure from Russia, or in Asia's case
the turn back to using Iran if we don't figure out a way to resolve
our nuclear issue.” [Clinton Remarks to Deutsche Bank, 10/7/14]
Hillary
Clinton Praised The Increase In Gas And Oil Production In The U.S.,
Saying “We Are Now Energy Independent, Something We Have Hoped For
And Worked For Over Many, Many Years.”
In her remarks at Ameriprise, Hillary Clinton said, “And as we
speak, Gazprom is attempting to take over other strategic energy
infrastructure in Europe. This is pure power politics. And that's
why as secretary of state, starting in March of 2009, I pushed the
Europeans to get serious about finding alternative energy sources,
and to invest real resources in their infrastructure so they would
not be at Putin's mercy. […] And we're in such a great position to
do that because of the increase in gas and oil production in our own
country, we are now energy independent, something we have hoped for
and worked for over many, many years. That gives us tools we didn't
have before. And it also gives us the opportunity not only to invest
those resources in more manufacturing and other activities that
benefit us directly here at home, but to be a bulwark with our
supplies against the kind of intimidation we see going on from
Russia.” [Hillary Clinton’s Remarks at Ameriprise, 7/26/14]
Hillary
Clinton Called Increased Oil And Gas Production In The U.S. A
“Tremendous Opportunity,” But Said It Needed To Be Extracted In A
Way That Would Not Harm The Environment.
In remarks at Robbins, Gellar, Rudman & Dowd in San Diego,
Hillary Clinton said, “I'll make a couple of points, because it's
really an important question. Number one, because of changes in
technology as all of you know, we are now producing more oil and gas
than we ever have in our history and we're on our way to be the
number one producer in the world. Now, that is a tremendous
opportunity, as long as we are smart about it. And we have to start
by being smart about making sure we extract oil and gas in ways that
don't destroy water tables, leak methane into the air, undermine the
quality of life for people who live near the wells. And we have to
do that. And there will be some places, frankly, where we will have
to decide we can't do it there. But, many places we'll be able to,
as long as we have the appropriate precautions undertaken.”
[Hillary Clinton’s Remarks at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd in
San Diego, 9/04/14]
Hillary
Clinton: I Favor Oil And Gas Exports “Under The Appropriate
Circumstances.” In remarks at
Robbins, Gellar, Rudman & Dowd in San Diego, Hillary Clinton
said, “Secondly, then we have to decide are we going to start
exporting? And after the era of embargo back in '73 we stopped. We
don't export, because we didn't have enough for ourselves and we
didn't want to be giving it away. But, now we have to be, again,
smart about trying to figure out how much we can export, what are the
triggers for stopping exporting, natural disasters, other kinds of
challenges that maybe we export, but we can always shut it off and
everybody in the industry knows that, in the event of certain ‑‑ on
certain consequences that we have to deal with. I favor going into
exporting under the appropriate circumstances and I'll be saying in
my remarks later today that exporting to Europe would really weaken
Putin's hand, which is very important, because I think otherwise he's
not going to be stopped. We have to call him up short, and that's
the best way and then just demanding that the Europeans do more for
themselves.” [Hillary Clinton’s Remarks at Robbins Geller Rudman
& Dowd in San Diego, 9/04/14]
Hillary
Clinton: “The Energy Revolution In The United States Is Just A
Gift, And We’re Able To Exploit It And Use It And It’s Going To
Make Us Independent.” “We
were talking at dinner. I mean, the energy revolution in the United
States is just a gift, and we’re able to exploit it and use it and
it’s going to make us independent. We can have a North American
energy system that will be unbelievably powerful. If we have enough
of it we can be exporting and supporting a lot of our friends and
allies. “[ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual
Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “I Think It’s Mostly A Positive That We Are More Energy
Sufficient. Obviously It’s Imperative That We Exploit The Oil And
Gas In The Most Environmentally Careful Way Because We Don’t Want
To—We Don’t Want To Cause Problems.” “SECRETARY
CLINTON: Well, look, I think it’s mostly, again, on the balance
sheet metaphor of where we are in the world today. I think it’s
mostly a positive that we are more energy sufficient. Obviously it’s
imperative that we exploit the oil and gas in the most
environmentally careful way because we don’t want to—we don’t
want to cause problems that we also will have to deal with taking
advantage of what is a quite good windfall for us in many other
respects.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Keystone Pipeline
Clinton:
“So I Think That Keystone Is A Contentious Issue, And Of Course It
Is Important On Both Sides Of The Border For Different And Sometimes
Opposing Reasons…” “So I
think that Keystone is a contentious issue, and of course it is
important on both sides of the border for different and sometimes
opposing reasons, but that is not our relationship. And I think our
relationship will get deeper and stronger and put us in a position to
really be global leaders in energy and climate change if we worked
more closely together. And that's what I would like to see us do.”
[Remarks at tinePublic, 6/18/14]
Nuclear Power
Clinton:
“Nuclear Deserves A Role. The Problem With Nuclear Is That It Is
Just Not Economically Feasible For Private Interests To Build Nuclear
Plants, At Least In Our Country.” “I
think that we have to be looking to try to do more on the clean
energy side even as we continue on the fossil fuel side. We already
have dozens of pipelines crossing our borders, you all know that.
And we have hundreds of tankers on trains crossing our borders. So
it's not like one pipeline is going to make the difference between
the trading in fossil fuels between our two countries, but I think
that there are other ways we could be smarter about how to change our
energy mix, and to provide the right incentives to do that. Nuclear
deserves a role. The problem with nuclear is that it is just not
economically feasible for private interests to build nuclear plants,
at least in our country. The cost, the liabilities are so enormous.
Well, are there second, third, fourth, fifth generation nuclear
reactors that would be less expensive, more efficient, cheaper, not
cheaper but more safe, safer. We should have a Manhattan Project
about all of this, to coin a description from a previous era that
opened the nuclear age.” [Remarks for CIBC, 1/22/15]
Promoting Fracking Globally
Hillary
Clinton Praised Argentina For Using New Technologies To Unlock
Natural Gas. “The
United States is not the only country in our hemisphere enjoying an
energy revolution, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, is developing major new
oil finds, continues to lead the way on bio fuels. Argentina is using
new technologies to unlock natural gas.” [05162013 Remarks to Banco
Itau.doc, p. 19]
Clinton:
“The Whole Idea Of How Fracking Came To Be Available In The
Marketplace Is Because Of Research Done By Our Government. And I've
Promoted Fracking In Other Places Around The World.”
CLINTON: So I am an all-in kind of person, all-of-the-above kind of
person when it comes to America's energy and environmental future.
And I would like us to get over the political divide and put our
heads together and figure out how we can be really, really smart
about doing this. I mean, fracking was developed at the Department of
Energy. I mean, the whole idea of
how fracking came to be available in the marketplace is because of
research done by our government. And I've promoted fracking in other
places around the world. Because
when you look at the strangle-hold that energy has on so many
countries and the decisions that they make, it would be in America's
interest to make even more countries more energy self-sufficient. So
I think we have to go at this in a smart, environmentally conscious
way, pursuing a clean-energy alternative agenda while we also promote
the advantages that are going to come to us, especially in
manufacturing, because we're now going to produce more oil and gas.
And that's what I would like to see us talking about instead of
standing on two sides of the divide and not working to try to
minimize the damage and maximize the upside. [Clinton Speech For
Deutsche Bank, 4/24/13]
Clinton:
“With The New Technology Known As Fracking, We Are Truly On A Path
-- And It's Not Just United States; It's All Of North America -- That
Will Be Net Energy Exporters Assuming We Do It Right.”
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thanks very much. I'm wondering if you can comment
on the issues at stake in the evaluation of the Keystone XL pipeline
and maybe more broadly talk about the role that energy and the
environment both play in our foreign policy. SECRETARY CLINTON: Well,
I can talk generally. I can't specifically, because the State
Department makes the decision, recommendation about Keystone
pipeline, and it's not appropriate for me to comment on the merits or
on the ultimate decision. But it is something that I care deeply
about, energy and the environment, because I think we have a fabulous
opportunity to get both right in this country. As Secretary of State
I created the first Energy Bureau, because, as you know, we're on the
cusp of being energy self-sufficient. And that is a big change from
where we were a decade ago. The
ability to extract both gas and oil from previously used places that
didn't seem to have much more to offer, but now the technology gives
us the chance to go in and recover oil and gas; or with the new
technology known as fracking, we are truly on a path -- and it's not
just United States; it's all of North America -- that will be net
energy exporters assuming we do it right. And doing it right means
not sacrificing the environment in ways that are preventable.
There will always be some environmental cost in extracting
hydrocarbons, rare earth minerals, you name it from both the earth
and the oceans. But we ought to be smart enough, and we ought to be
committed enough to ensure that we set the example for the world
about how to do it with the minimal amount of environmental damage. I
think that's all within our reach. And I believe that we can afford
to do it, and I think we have an obligation to do it. So
I want to see us become the number one oil and gas producer while we
also pursue a clean-energy agenda at the same time. I don't think it
has to be either or. I think it's a mistake to think it does. I
happen to think we are missing a great opportunity by not dealing
with climate change, not just because it's a rolling crisis that
we're dealing with, but also I think there's a lot of money to be
made from pioneering and manufacturing and exporting and creating a
global market for how we deal with climate change.
[Clinton Speech For Deutsche Bank, 4/24/13]
Clinton
Talked About “Phony Environmental Groups” Funded By The Russians
To Stand Against Pipelines And Fracking. “We
were up against Russia pushing oligarchs and others to buy media. We
were even up against phony environmental groups, and I'm a big
environmentalist, but these were funded by the Russians to stand
against any effort, oh that pipeline, that fracking, that whatever
will be a problem for you, and a lot of the money supporting that
message was coming from Russia.” [Remarks at tinePublic, 6/18/14]
Clinton
Discussed Promoting Oil Pipelines and Fracking In Eastern Europe.
“So how far this
aggressiveness goes I think is really up to us. I would like to see
us accelerating the development of pipelines from Azerbaijan up into
Europe. I would like to see us looking for ways to accelerate the
internal domestic production. Poland recently signed a big contract
to explore hydraulic fracturing to see what it could produce.
Apparently, there is thought to be some good reserves there. And
just really go at this in a self interested, smart way. The Russians
can only intimidate you if you are dependent upon them.”
[International Leaders' Series, Palais des Congrès de Montréal,
3/18/14]
Hillary
Clinton Began Urging Europe To Be More Energy Independent And Pushing
For “A More Competitive Marketplace For Energy.” “HILLARY
CLINTON: [On Putin] Secondly, the effort to undermine the market in
oil and gas and commodities goes right at the source of Russia's
wealth. When I was Secretary I cannot say I saw this coming, but what
I saw was that in 2006 in January he cut off gas to Eastern Europe. I
think like a dozen people froze to death in Poland. He did it again
in 2009, primarily focused on Ukraine. He has used his energy weapon
to intimidate Europe. And starting in 2009 I began having
conversations with the Europeans that they had to do more to be more
independent and to push for a more competitive marketplace for
energy. I formed something called the U.S.-EU Energy Council and
began trying to look at what more we could do to really wean people
away from Russian supplies. The more we can do that the more
difficult it will be for Putin to maintain his hold on leadership,
even with his inner circle without changing course.” [Hillary
Clinton Remarks at Marketo, 4/8/14]
Reducing Emissions
Clinton
Said That China And India’s Initial Reluctance To Reduce Emissions
Was A “Totally Rational Response If You Were The Leader Of China Or
India.” “And at that time
you could not get China and India to agree to do anything on their
emissions because they, I think understandably, one an authoritarian
regime, one a democracy, a raucous democracy, were of the opinion it
would interfere with their efforts to continue to grow, a totally
rational response if you were the leader of China or India.”
[Remarks for CIBC, 1/22/15]
Hillary
Clinton Talked Up Her Work On Clean Cookstoves To Fight Climate
Change. “One quick example.
One of the biggest contributors to climate change are the
short-acting pollutants, methane and black carbon, soot as we
sometimes call it. One of the biggest contributors to
that are cook stoves, you know, more than a billion-plus women and
girls every day cooking on fires, burning not just wood but dung and
other kinds of material. And so it became clear that if we could
create a market for a different kind of cook stove, we would
accomplish not only a drop in the contributors to climate change that
flow from that but also save lives because the fourth-leading cause
of death now in the entire world are respiratory ailments due to
women and mostly girls cooking over these stoves, very often inside
small contained places during cold weather, but even without being in
climates that change, having that kind of responsibility hour after
hour, day after day, has serious health consequences. So
we put together an international alliance for clean cook stoves, and
we worked of course with governments but we also began working with
the private sector, trying to incentivize and encourage companies to
turn some R&D to figuring out how to make cook stoves that would
be appealing to consumers and get the cost low enough.” [Remarks at
London Drug Toronto, 11/4/13]
Europe
Hillary
Clinton: “Unless The National Leaders And The European Union And
Eurozone Leaders Get Their Act Together, You Will See Some Pretty
Unpredictable Leaders And Political Parties Coming To The Forefront.”
“So I would certainly not count the Europeans out, but I think
they have a lot of work to do. And I’m actually more concerned
from another perspective. I think that unless the national leaders
and the European union and Eurozone leaders get their act together,
you will see some pretty unpredictable leaders and political parties
coming to the forefront in a lot of countries. You’ll
see a lot of nationalism. You will see a lot of chauvinism. You’ll
see UK parties that is—winning elections in UK is going to push
Cameron and his coalition government to the right as it moves towards
an election—I think in 2015. What does that mean for Europe? What
does that mean for our relationship?” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs,
2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Government Surveillance
Clinton
Criticized Snowden For Exposing Sensitive Information To China,
Russia, Iran, And Others.
CLINTON: Now as to Snowden, I am of the mind that he did a great
service to China, Russia, Iran and others. And he did a wake up call
for the United States to engage in this debate. But it is beyond my
comprehension how someone could abscond with so much material that is
so sensitive, because it's not just whether or not somebody was
listening to Angela Merkel, it is so much deeper and broader, and
really does address serious threats and dangers to us, and to either
intentionally or unintentionally turn that over to the Chinese and
the Russians is really troubling to me. So I'll just lay it on the
table. Some people think he's quite a heroic figure. I don't. I
don't. I think he could have been whistleblower. If he really cared
about raising some of these issues and stayed right here in the
United States, there's a lot of whistleblower protections. He did
not have to run off to Hong Kong. He did not have to take laptops.
When we used to go into Hong Kong, China, or Russia, we left every
piece of electronic equipment with the batteries out on our plane. So
I think there's more to this story that will eventually over time
unspool, but your main point that we need to have a thorough debate
to protect Americans privacy I agree with 100 percent. As somebody
who has had my privacy scrutinized and violated for decades, I'm all
for privacy, believe me. [Clinton Speech For JP Morgan, 4/22/14]
Clinton
Described Wikileaks As Exemplifying The Line Between Endangering The
Line Between Liberty And Privacy, Said State Department And Defense
Department Agreed To Share Cables Before She Started.
“How do we deal with that without crossing the line and endangering
people's liberty and privacy is going to be a very big issue for us.
Now, that's somewhat exemplified, but not totally in the same
framework, by the WikiLeaks problem. WikiLeaks came about because
the military, in their efforts to do counterinsurgency, particularly
in Iraq and that region, and also in Afghanistan but not exclusively,
wanted to provide their intelligence officers and even commanders
with more context and texture, like, you know, if I'm a captain and
I'm going off to negotiate with some sheikh in Mosul, I'd better know
a little bit more about what he believes and who he is and on and on.
So before I got there, the Defense Department asked the State
Department if the State Department would share what are called
cables, sort of a diplomatic tool that is being overtaken by email
and the like, but nevertheless, reporting cables, and the State
Department agreed and were told that this was a very secure site. And
it might have been secure if you were an Iranian or a Chinese hacker
but it wasn't secure from Private Manning who became convinced that
he needed to pass this information on to WikiLeaks.” [Remarks at
Mediacorp, 11/13/13]
Clinton
Said The Lesson From Wikileaks And Snowden Is That Even Encrypted
Information Can Be Hacked And Said She Doesn’t Know How To Protect
Against Employees Who Were Supposedly Vetted. “Now,
what did we learn from that? Well, we learned, as we learned again
with Snowden, that we have so much information on the internet, even
if you encrypt it, even if you think it's the most secure site in the
world that the Chinese will not be able to get into it, even the
Russians who are constantly knocking on the door can't get into it,
somebody in your own operation can get into it. And in order to guard
against that, you would have to have so many more layers of
bureaucracy and encryption that was available through jumping through
hoops and the like that you don't really know how to protect against
the very people that you have vetted, supposedly, and employed.”
[Remarks at Mediacorp, 11/13/13]
Clinton
Said Criticism Of Government Surveillance Was In Part Because
Information About The Program Leaked That Was “Not In Context And
It's Not Clearly Explainable Or Understood.”
“So trying to go up to the line of what is appropriate surveillance
and security measures and not over the line is something we need to
have a full comprehensive discussion about. Because what we need to
do to keep ourselves and our friends secure, people need to know
about it. Maybe not in all the details, because we also don't want
to alert adversaries, but in enough detail so people can say, Okay,
they're not really listening to my conversation when I, you know,
call home and talk to my daughter, whatever. And I think part of the
problem has arisen because the stuff that has been leaked is sort of
bits and pieces. It's not in context and it's not clearly
explainable or understood.” [Speech at Colgate University,
10/25/13]
Hillary
Clinton “Fully” Supported What President Obama And Congress Were
Trying To Do On Privacy. “I
start from the vantage point that this is a constant tension, and
because we are now so much more advanced in what we can learn about
people, not just in governments, private sector holds far more
information about individuals than the government does, it's just the
way that business is done today, then we have to keep striking the
right balance. And I think what the president has begun to do and
what the Congress is trying to do is something that I fully support.”
[Hillary Clinton Remarks at Nexenta, 8/28/14]
Hillary
Clinton: NSA Didn’t “Cross Legal Lines” But Sat On Them. “I
think it's fair to say that the government, the NSA didn't so far as
we know cross legal lines but they came right up and sat on them.
And when people understood that it could perhaps mean that their data
was being collected in these gigantic metadata configurations, that
that was somehow threatening.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at Nexenta,
8/28/14]
Hillary
Clinton Noted The “Huge Brouhaha Over Surveillance And The Fights
That Are Incumbent Upon The United States And Our Intelligence
Services To Respond To.” ““So
on the headlines, if you look around right now, obviously people are
focused on the Middle East, which is a perennial crisis. In Syria,
what’s happening with the charm offensive by Iran and the
negotiations that are taking place on the nuclear program. The
somewhat slow but I think glib signs of some economic activity
finally in parts of Europe, but that’s combined with the huge
brouhaha over surveillance and the fights that are incumbent upon the
United States and our intelligence services to respond to.”
[Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Bin Laden Was Found By Intercepting A Phone Call, Not
From A Walk In Tip. “I was in
the small group that recommended to the President that he go after
bin Laden. The amount of work that was required to get a strong
enough basis of information on which to plan took more than a decade.
The people who were the analysts and collectors and good
old-fashioned spies who were gathering bits and pieces of
information, some of them from cell phone conversations, I will tell
you, and then all of a sudden putting this matrix together and saying
this guy used to protect bin Laden. He has just made a phone call.
He said this in the phone call. We need to figure out where he is.
Then we need to follow him And that is how we found this compound in
Abbottabad. It didn’t happen because somebody walked into our
embassy and said, You know, there is a suspicious compound in
Abbottabad that you guys should go take a look at.” [Remarks at
London Drug Toronto, 11/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Talked About Her Apology Tour After Wikileaks And Said Some
Leaders Actually Cried, With The Implication It Was Silvio
Berlusconi. “SECRETARY
CLINTON: Okay. I was Secretary of State when WikiLeaks happened.
You remember that whole debacle. So out come hundreds of thousands
of documents. And I have to go on an apology tour. And I had a
jacket made like a rock star tour. The Clinton Apology Tour. I had
to go and apologize to anybody who was in any way characterized in
any of the cables in any way that might be considered less than
flattering. And it was painful. Leaders who shall remain nameless,
who were characterized as vain, egotistical, power hungry --
MR. BLANKFEIN: Proved it. SECRETARY CLINTON: --
corrupt. And we knew they were. This was not fiction. And I had to
go and say, you know, our ambassadors, they get carried away, they
want to all be literary people. They go off on tangents. What can I
say. I had grown men cry. I mean, literally. I am a friend of
America, and you say these things about me. MR. BLANKFEIN: That’s
an Italian accent. SECRETARY CLINTON: Have a sense of
humor.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “There’s No Doubt That Much Of What We’ve Done Since
9/11 Has Kept Us Safer. That’s Just A Fact. It’s Also Kept Our
Friends And Our Partners And Our Allies Safer, As Well.”
“SECRETARY CLINTON: So, fast forward. Here we are. You know,
look, I have said, and I will continue to say, we do need to have a
conversation with and take a hard look at the right balance that we
could strike between, you know, privacy and security because there’s
no doubt, and I’ve seen this and understand it, there’s no doubt
that much of what we’ve done since 9/11 has kept us safer. That’s
just a fact. It’s also kept our friends and our partners and our
allies safer, as well. The sharing of intelligence requires the
gathering of intelligence and the analysis of intelligence.”
[Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “But The Collection Of The Metadata Is Something That Has
Proven To Be Very Useful.”
“SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we do better. I mean, that’s the
problem. We have a lot of information. And not the kind of
information that most of our citizens are worried about because I
really have no evidence and have no reason to believe that, you know,
we’ve got people listening to American citizens’ conversations.
But the collection of the metadata is something that has proven to be
very useful.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit,
10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said We Needed To Reassure Citizens And Allies Nothing Is
Being Collected Beyond What Is Necessary. “So
I think maybe we should be honest that, you know, maybe we’ve gone
too far, but then let’s have a conversation about what too far
means and how we protect privacy to give our own citizens the
reassurance that they are not being spied by their own government,
give our friends and allies the reassurance that we’re not going
beyond what is the necessary collection and analysis that we share
with them and try to have a mature conversation.” [Goldman Sachs
Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Wikileaks Resulted In Vulnerable Individuals Being Moved
After Being Exposed. “SECRETARY
CLINTON: Well, separate the two. The WikiLeaks problem put at risk
certain individuals. We had to—we had to form a kind of
investigative team that looked at all the names and all the
documents, which was quite a challenge, to make sure that identities
that were either revealed or described in enough detail that they
could be determined would not put people who were at risk. I mean,
without going into detail, you know, maybe they’re—let’s just
hypothetically say there was somebody serving in a military in a
certain country who was worried about some of the activities of the
military that he served because he thought they were doing business
with rogue states or terrorist networks, and so he would seek out an
American diplomat to begin a conversation. And the American diplomat
would report back about the concerns that were being expressed about
what was happening in this country. And then it’s—you know, it’s
exposed to the world. So we had to identify, and we moved a number
of people to safe—to safety out of where they were in order for
them to be not vulnerable.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators
Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary:
“Private Manning Should Have Never Had Access To A Lot Of What He
Did Have Access To. So, In Effect, It Was A Problem.”
“So on the WikiLeaks, there was the embarrassment factor, there
were the potential vulnerability factors that individuals faced. The
WikiLeaks issue was, you know, unfortunate. Private Manning should
have never had access to a lot of what he did have access to. So, in
effect, it was a problem. But it didn’t expose the guts of how we
collect and analyze data” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators
Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The Snowden Leak Was A “Real Loss Of Important
Information” And Noted Iranian Cyber Attacks Were Getting Worse.
“So I do think that there has
been a real loss of important information that shouldn’t belong to
or be made available to people who spend a lot of their time trying
to penetrate our government, our businesses. And even worse, you
know, some who are engaged in terrorist activities. I mean, the
Iranians did a disruption of service attack on American banks a year
ago. The Iranians are getting much more sophisticated. They run the
largest terrorist networks in the world.” [Goldman Sachs Builders
And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “So I Think That Wikileaks Was A Big Bump In The Road, But
I Think The Snowden Material Could Be Potentially Much More
Threatening To Us.” “So, you
know, if Snowden has given them a blueprint to how we operate, why is
that in any way a positive. We should have the debate. We should
have the conversation. We should make the changes where they’re
necessary. But we shouldn’t put our systems and our people at
risk. So I think that WikiLeaks was a big bump in the road, but I
think the Snowden material could be potentially much more threatening
to us.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Guns
Hillary
Clinton Opposed Blind People Having Right To Guns. “Well,
I very much supported what my husband did when he was President,
which was to ban assault weapons and large magazines. And it was a
very contentious debate. Some of you may have followed it. But, it
was part of a broader anti-crime initiative, including police on the
streets and much more effort into community policing and the like.
And I thought that it was a necessarily part of that. It was a law
that is what we call in Washington it sunsetted. So it went out at
the end of 10 years. And since then there has been a concerted
effort by the gun lobby to basically end all restrictions on guns.
And I don't think that's what is called for under the Constitution.
I think that there are a number of sensible steps that can and should
be taken. […] And one of the new claims that they're making is that
blind people deserve to have their Constitutional rights, and deserve
to have guns. And that you kind of think to yourself, that's almost
beyond imagination. And it's pushing and pushing and pushing because
there's no push back.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at Nexenta,
8/28/14]
Haiti
Clinton:
“Brazil Has Led A Police Mission In Haiti For Years That Has Been
Dramatically Successful.” “I
think that there are some very difficult cases that call into
question outcomes. But there are a lot of others, other quieter
cases where there have been UN organized and directed interventions
that have really saved lives and helped people. You know, Brazil has
led a police mission in Haiti for years that has been dramatically
successful, and there are many other examples that I could point to.”
[Clinton Remarks At Boston Consulting Group, 6/20/13]
Hillary
Clinton Noted That She Sat Down With All The Presidential Candidates
In Haiti And Democracy Survived When Michel Martelly Became
President. “But
it was very complicated inside Haiti because the now president
President Martelly, emerged as the top vote getter and there were a
lot of people who said we're not going to go along with this, we
can't accept the fact that a majority of people who voted in the
election voted for him. So I sit down to meet with all of the
candidates plus President Preval because I thought it was important
to help them talk through what they were facing because it would have
setback the recovery of Haiti, it would have dried up donors money,
if the results of an election denied the people their vote and yet at
the same time it wouldn't be helpful, I didn't think, to, you know,
stage press conferences and, you know, wave my arms and, you know,
talk about the sanctity of the vote and condemn anybody who was
trying to undermine it. I wanted to find a path to the right thing
that would not embarrass anyone involved and give people a chance to
save face. So we talked a lot about what it means to be a leader,
with all the parties that were going to influence the final decision
and in particular with President Preval who had given so much to his
country and had suffered so much because of the earthquake, which
leveled the Presidential Palace and killed so many people whom he
knew and cared about. This was his defining moment. He was either
going to be remembered as another in a long line of Haitian leaders
who did not respect democracy or as the president, who, despite the
worst possible circumstances, protected democracy. He had to choose.
I think it was helpful that I was a former politician so I could sit
there knee to knee and say, you know, I've won elections and I've
lost elections, there's life after both. Democracy is not for the
faint hearted. And I said, you got to do the hard thing because
ultimately that will serve your country and your reputation. He
agreed. Democracy - survived. Martelly became president.” [05162013
Remarks to Banco Itau.doc, p. 24-25]
Health Care
Affordable Care Act
Hillary
Clinton Said She Wants Us To Have A Debate Where Our Differences Are
Fully Aired On Healthcare Reform Since There Are Different
Approaches. “Now,
what does that have to do with health care reform? Well, I want to
see us have a debate where our differences are fully aired because,
clearly, there are different approaches about what we think can work.
We don't have one size fit all. Our country is quite diverse. What
works in New York City is not necessarily going to work in Harrison,
Arkansas or Albuquerque, so we do need to have people who are looking
for common ways of approaching problems using evidence but leaving
their blaming, their gaming, their shaming, point scoring at the
door. Because when we think about it, our country is such a
remarkable accomplishment. Think about how diverse we are. We've
had lots of disagreements. We even had a civil war for heaven sakes,
so it's not like we just -- you know, like in those drug commercials
where we just hold hands and dance through the meadows while somebody
is telling you everything that can go wrong like your ear's falling
off if you take the drug they're advertising.” [02262014 HWA
Remarks at HIMMS [Orlando].DOC, p. 10]
Clinton
Said American People Were “Right” To Be Frustrated By Slow ACA
Website But To Remember Historical Context Of Slow Starts For
Medicare Part D And Massachusetts Health Care.
“So President Obama and the American people are right to be
frustrated by the technical problems with HealthCare.gov, the new
health care website -- too slow, too many people getting stuck
instead of getting served, and as the President has said, there is no
excuse for this. But I think it's important to put it into some
historical context. It was the same when President Bush rolled out
Medicare Part D in 2005. I was a senator serving the people of New
York. And our seniors were even less prepared to navigate the
difficulties of understanding what they wanted and then figuring out
how to sign up for it. It was the same in Massachusetts when the
health care plan signed into law by then Governor Romney came into
effect. It was plagued by early glitches, and only about 100 people
signed up the first month.” [Remarks at Beaumont Society Dinner,
11/6/13]
Clinton
Said People Should Have Been Told To Expect Problems With ACA Website
Ahead Of Time. “So
I knew there would always be trouble, and I think everybody who
thought about it, there would be. So I would make these -- these
three quick points: First, I think more people should have been told
that so that we didn't have this idea that on October 1, you just
turn on your computer and it's, like, magically going to respond to
every one of your questions. I assume that it's going to get fixed,
the sooner the better, because there is a lot of good information and
comparison shopping that's never been available in the health
insurance market before.” [Remarks to New York Tri-State Of The
Market, 11/14/13]
Clinton
Said President Obama Spent More Time Than Democrats Wanted Him To
Trying To Get Some Republicans To Support Health Care Reform. “So
you can get to the point of saying, okay, we can live with this, you
say you can live with that, I can sell it to the Democrats, you sell
it to the Republicans, and the answer would come back, I can't sell
it to Republicans, so we have to jigger it around somehow. Whether
that was a negotiating tactic or the hard reality that it was hard to
sell it to the caucus, I don't know. But I do remember quite well the
President working diligently to reach out to people and trying very
hard on the health care bill, for example, spending more time than a
lot of Democrats wanted him to, trying to figure out how he can get
some Republicans on board.” [Goldman Sachs AIMS Alternative
Investments Symposium, 10/24/13]
Clinton
Said She Was “Sure That We'll Be Struggling” With ACA
Implementation “For Some Time To Come.” “MODERATOR
KRUEGER: One last easy, quick question: Health care. SECRETARY
CLINTON: He's known for his sense of humor. MODERATOR KRUEGER: We
now spend 18 percent, going up to 20 percent of our United States
economy, the largest economy in the world, on health care. Recent
articles seem to be that ObamaCare, the Affordable Healthcare Act, is
going to increase that over time. What country is doing it best out
there? The next developed industrialized country spends about
ten-and-a-half percent of their economy on health care. What country
is doing it best, or if we started with a blank canvas, what would we
do? SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first I have to say that I think the
jury is out, because the implementation of the Affordable Care Act is
going on as we speak. There are some very important features in
that, you know, publicizing costs of medical procedures, which is
giving a lot of food for thought about why does the same procedure
cost three times as much three hundred miles away from where it's
done somewhere else; looking at how we try to tie prevention to
outcomes more effectively. I mean, I think there are a lot of very
good parts of it. Now, implementing something this big is
complicated, and I'm sure that we'll be struggling with it for some
time to come, but I think there are important measures that are
included.” [Hillary Clinton remarks to ECGR Grand Rapids, 6/17/13]
Employer-Based Model
Clinton
Said The US Seems “To Be Wedded To” Employer-Based Health
Insurance, “It Would Be Very Difficult To Get A Consensus
Politically” To Change That. “So
we have made a decision built on an old Word War II program that was
using health benefits as a way of keeping people in the workforce and
being competitive, linked to employment. That is very costly, and we
also moved over time from what used to be non-profit insurance
companies to mostly for-profit insurance companies today. People are
entitled to make a profit, but that drives up costs, and we you know
we have that built into this 18, 20 percent GDP. So we made decisions
and we seem to be wedded to those decisions. So it would be very
difficult to get a consensus politically that would dramatically
change. I mean, if you look at the Affordable Care Act, it starts
with an employer-based system. Most people who have in the private
sector insurance won't see much change, depending upon, you know,
what the pricing structure does. But their basic policies will
remain as they are.” [Hillary Clinton remarks to ECGR Grand Rapids,
6/17/13]
Improving on the Fee-for-Service Model
Clinton:
“Ultimately How Might We Replace Our Fee For Service Model With
Provider Led Community-Wide Care That Can Compete On Quality And
Reward Value Over Volume?”
[1/27/14, HWA Remarks at Premier Health]
Clinton:
“At Some Point We Have To Move Away From Fee For Service Payments
For Medical Care.” “I
also in my statement alluded to the idea that at some point we have
to move away from fee for service payments for medical care. It is
not serving physicians well or any other health care provider, and I
don't believe it's serving patients well.” [4/11/14, Remarks at
California Medical Association]
Clinton:
“How Might We Begin To Replace The Fee For Service Model With
Provider-Led, Community-Wide Care That Can Compete On Quality And
Reward Value Over Volume?”
“How might we begin to replace the fee for service model with
provider-led, community-wide care that can compete on quality and
reward value over volume? And while we try to maintain what makes the
American health care system so special and extraordinarily effective,
how do we work more closely with our research and scientific
community, with our engineers, with our businesses so that new ideas
get to market faster, can influence care and be taken to the next
level?” [Remarks to Cardiovascular Research Foundation, 9/15/14]
Clinton:
“…The Fee For Service Model, Which Made A Lot Of Sense For A Long
Time, May Not Make Sense.”
“But most of what I see that has to be done in the future in my
view should be led by a partnership of purpose between physicians and
other caregivers and patients and payers. And the fact is that a lot
o the cost in our system, which is not related to paying physicians,
paying for research, paying for prevention, and all the things that
we think would lead to better outcomes. We have to make a very
principled decision, do we want to continue paying for that or is
there a better way to pay? And that's why I said in my remarks the
fee for service model, which made a lot of sense for a long time, may
not make sense. It may not make sense for physicians or hospitals or
any other provider, and it may not make sense for patients and
payers. And I think we need to have as evidence-based, as mature a
conversation as we can manage in our society at large.” [Remarks to
Cardiovascular Research Foundation, 9/15/14]
Lowering Costs
Hillary
Clinton: “Businesses Pay Taxes” On Health Care Even In
Single-Payer Systems, “So Businesses Also Have A Direct Interest In
Getting The Cost Of Health Care To Be Lower.” “So
employers in the United States have a very direct stake in trying to
assure that their employees and their employees' families are
healthier, because they end up bearing part of the cost burden when
that is not the case. We just had a very widely reported incident of
an executive of a major American company, you know, complaining that
two babies born with serious health problems had each cost the
company a million dollars. Well, there has to be a recognition that
maybe some kinds of health problems cannot be avoided. They're
genetic, they're congenital, they're accidental, they're infectious,
but some kinds of health problems, particularly what we're talking
about, the chronic disease load can be mitigated against. And so
businesses have that direct opportunity, but even in other countries
where you don't have an employer-based system but a single-payer
system, businesses pay taxes. So businesses also have a direct
interest in getting the cost of health care to be lower.” [Hillary
Clinton Remarks for the Novo Nordisk Diabetes Conference, 2/14/14]
Medical Devices
Hillary
Clinton Said She Worked Closely With The Medical Device Industry As
Senator And Understands The “Critical Role” The Industry Plays.
HILLARY CLINTON: “The
Affordable Care Act also promotes innovation and incentivizes
solutions that emphasize the quality of medical care, not just the
quantity, and medical technology is at the heart of this effort.
Many of the innovations that will allow us both to provide care that
is medically sound and cost-effective will come from companies
represented in this room. When I was a Senator from New York, I
worked with the medical device industry on a number of important
issues, and I understand how critical the role that you play is. And
yes, I know that you have important questions that you would like
addressed. But my view is that we need to keep working toward
win-win solutions, improving what we have in sensible ways that will
lead to lower costs, greater insurance at affordable costs for
everyone, higher transparency for consumers who, after all, bear more
and more of the burdens of out of pocket costs.” [Remarks for
AdvaMed, 10/8/14]
Rx
Clinton
Disputed A Claim That She Proposed Price Controls On Drugs In The
90s, Arguing That She Proposed Greater Competition, Which Is More
Effective In Managing Costs. MR.
SVOKOS: “Secretary Clinton, this is a room filled with individuals
from the pharmaceutical industry. The policies that you proposed to
contain health care costs in the '90's, mainly price controls, were
not exactly popular with our industry at the time. Has your opinion
changed since then? What policies would you propose today? SECRETARY
CLINTON: Well, I have to start by saying I don't think we proposed
price controls. We proposed more competition, more transparency,
state exchanges, if those sound familiar, to entice greater
negotiation over price. And I still believe in greater negotiation
over price.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at DCAT – New York City,
3/13/14]
Single-Payer Health Care
Clinton
Said Single-Payer Health Care Systems “Can Get Costs Down,” And
“Is As Good Or Better On Primary Care,” But “They Do Impose
Things Like Waiting Times.” “If
you look at countries that are comparable, like Switzerland or
Germany, for example, they have mixed systems. They don't have just
a single-payer system, but they have very clear controls over
budgeting and accountability. If you look at the single-payer
systems, like Scandinavia, Canada, and elsewhere, they can get costs
down because, you know, although their care, according to statistics,
overall is as good or better on primary care, in particular, they do
impose things like waiting times, you know. It takes longer to get
like a hip replacement than it might take here.” [Hillary Clinton
remarks to ECGR Grand Rapids, 6/17/13]
Universal Coverage
Clinton
Said Her Goal In The 90s Was To Create A Universal Health Care System
Around The Employer-Based System, Which The Affordable Care Act
Achieved. “And so we were
trying to build a universal system around the employer-based system.
And indeed now with President Obama's legislative success in getting
the Affordable Care Act passed that is what we've done. We still
have primarily an employer-based system, but we now have people able
to get subsidized insurance. So we have health insurance companies
playing a major role in the provision of healthcare, both to the
employed whose employers provide health insurance, and to those who
are working but on their own are not able to afford it and their
employers either don't provide it, or don't provide it at an
affordable price.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks for tinePublic –
Saskatoon, Canada, 1/21/14]
Clinton
Cited President Johnson’s Success In Establishing Medicare And
Medicaid And Said She Wanted To See The U.S. Have Universal Health
Care Like In Canada. “You
know, on healthcare we are the prisoner of our past. The way we got
to develop any kind of medical insurance program was during World War
II when companies facing shortages of workers began to offer
healthcare benefits as an inducement for employment. So from the
early 1940s healthcare was seen as a privilege connected to
employment. And after the war when soldiers came back and went back
into the market there was a lot of competition, because the economy
was so heated up. So that model continued. And then of course our
large labor unions bargained for healthcare with the employers that
their members worked for. So from the early 1940s until the early
1960s we did not have any Medicare, or our program for the poor
called Medicaid until President Johnson was able to get both passed
in 1965. So the employer model continued as the primary means by
which working people got health insurance. People over 65 were
eligible for Medicare. Medicaid, which was a partnership, a funding
partnership between the federal government and state governments,
provided some, but by no means all poor people with access to
healthcare. So what we've been
struggling with certainly Harry Truman, then Johnson was successful
on Medicare and Medicaid, but didn't touch the employer based system,
then actually Richard Nixon made a proposal that didn't go anywhere,
but was quite far reaching. Then with my husband's administration we
worked very hard to come up with a system, but we were very much
constricted by the political realities that if you had your insurance
from your employer you were reluctant to try anything else.
And so we were trying to build a universal system around the
employer-based system. And indeed now with President Obama's
legislative success in getting the Affordable Care Act passed that is
what we've done. We still have primarily an employer-based system,
but we now have people able to get subsidized insurance. So we have
health insurance companies playing a major role in the provision of
healthcare, both to the employed whose employers provide health
insurance, and to those who are working but on their own are not able
to afford it and their employers either don't provide it, or don't
provide it at an affordable price. We are still struggling. We've
made a lot of progress. Ten million Americans now have insurance who
didn't have it before the Affordable Care Act, and that is a great
step forward. (Applause.) And what we're going to have to continue
to do is monitor what the costs are and watch closely to see whether
employers drop more people from insurance so that they go into what
we call the health exchange system. So we're really just at the
beginning. But we do have Medicare
for people over 65. And you couldn't, I don't think, take it away if
you tried, because people are very satisfied with it, but we also
have a lot of political and financial resistance to expanding that
system to more people. So we're in a learning period as we move
forward with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
And I'm hoping that whatever the shortfalls or the glitches have
been, which in a big piece of legislation you're going to have, those
will be remedied and we can really take a hard look at what's
succeeding, fix what isn't, and keep
moving forward to get to affordable universal healthcare coverage
like you have here in Canada.
[Clinton Speech For tinePublic – Saskatoon, CA, 1/21/15]
Canada
Hillary
Clinton Praised London Drugs Role In The Canadian Health System. “So
London Drugs is ahead of the curve in ways big and small. Employees
are now equipped with iPads to help customers access product reviews,
explore product specifications. More information in the hands of
consumers is becoming and I think will increasingly become a huge
competitive advantage. Each new store comes with what is
called a Learning Lab with public seminars about key issues like
preventive health, and that is really important not only in Canada
but in our country and elsewhere because drugstores often represent
the most accessible point of access to the entire health care system.
So in many ways, what I have learned about London Drugs
is that they are really trying to be creative and co-operative, I
just saw the partnerships that were highlighted, moving more toward
wellness, toward prevention, toward community-based, lower-cost,
better results-driven health care.” [Remarks at London Drug
Toronto, 11/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Praised London Drug For Provider Customers With Direct Access
To Health Care Services “And
it is good news that a lot of drugstore and retail chains, and
certainly London Drugs has been a leader in this, are helping their
customers get access to direct health care services. You can get a
flu shot. You can consult with a nurse practitioner. You can
address minor and even chronic illnesses that would cost much more to
treat in traditional medical settings.” [Remarks at London Drug
Toronto, 11/4/13]
Helping Corporations
Hillary
Clinton Noted That As A Senator Executives From Corning Glass Saw Her
About China Preventing Them From Entering New Markets There. “First,
let's go back to 2004. I was representing New York in the Senate,
and a group of executives from Corning Glass, a great New York
company, came to see me. It's famous for supplying the scratch
resistant Gorilla Glass, used by many smart phones and tablets,
including the iPhone. And Corning spends more than $700 million a
year on research. And beyond glass, they produce advanced liquid
crystal displays in computer monitors and televisions, as well as
optical fiber and cable for the communications industry, clean
filters for diesel engines, a wide range of other innovative products
that they have invested in creating. Their technology and products
were so good that competitors in China felt they needed an unfair
advantage to compete against Corning. So they went to the Chinese
government, asking it either to block Corning from entering new
markets altogether or slap their fiber optics with absurdly high
tariffs, which would be the same result, they could not compete any
longer. And there were blatant attempts to steal the company's
intellectual property, some of which unfortunately succeeded. Now,
this was blatantly unfair and also a threat to the future of a
company that employed thousands of Americans.” [06262014 HWA
Remarks for GTCR (Chicago, IL).docx, p. 2]
Hillary
Clinton Said She Raised The Corning Matter To President Bush When He
Came To The Opening Of Bill Clinton’s Library In Little Rock In
2004. “So,
hearing about the situation, I invited the Chinese ambassador to my
Senate office, sent a pointed letter to the Chinese minister of
trade, made every attempt I could to enlist the Bush administration
to back me up. But that turned out to be harder than it sounds
because of a philosophical difference about what our government
should do, if anything, to support American businesses competing and
operating in foreign markets. We're having that debate again over the
Export Import Bank. You know, it's ideological. There are a lot of
members of Congress who say, the U.S. government should not try to
help an American business be competitive in a foreign market, the way
our competitors help their businesses. Let the markets work.Well,
now, that's great and we know that would be ideal, but that's not the
world in which we live today. In this case it would mean leaving an
American company at the mercy of unfair competition, on a playing
field that was anything but level. So after striking out with members
of the administration, I raised the Corning matter directly with
President Bush in 2004 when he came to Little Rock for the opening of
my husband's presidential library.” [06262014 HWA Remarks for GTCR
(Chicago, IL).docx, p. 2-3]
Hillary
Clinton Said After President Bush Intervened, China Dropped The
Discriminatory Tariffs And Corning’s Business Thrived. “And
I told him, this is a great American company, it's being threatened,
and, Mr. President, your administration needs to help me help them.
And to his credit, President Bush agreed to look into the problem and
he did. And that December, China dropped the discriminatory tariffs.
And when it was allowed to compete on a level playing field,
Corning's business thrived.” [06262014 HWA Remarks for GTCR
(Chicago, IL).docx,, p. 3]
Hillary
Clinton Said As Secretary Of State, She Helped Open New Markets And
Boosted Exports. “And so when
I left the Senate, became Secretary of State, I focused on two big
questions: Could we sustain and create good jobs at home, and help
speed our recovery by opening new markets and boosting exports, and
were we going to let China and other relatively closed markets in
which state-owned enterprises dominated rewrite the rules of the
global economy in a way that would disadvantage American workers and
companies.” [06262014 HWA Remarks for GTCR (Chicago, IL).docx,, p.
4]
Hillary
Clinton Said She Went To Bat For FedEx When China Wouldn’t Issue
Them Licenses For Delivery Companies To Operate. “And
this is true for long-established businesses. I got a call one day
in the State Department from Fred Smith, the founder and still
driving force behind FedEx. FedEx had been in China for years, and
it was in hundreds of markets in China. Where there was an airport
they could land their planes, FedEx was operating. And all of a
sudden, the state had said to FedEx, "Sorry, we're changing the
way we give licenses for delivery companies to operate. So you will
have to apply for new licenses for your more than 400 sites, no
guarantee you will get any." By the time Fred called me, they
had about eight, with no potential that they could count on that they
would get the remaining licenses. And again I went to bat for them,
had our ambassador also intervene, and began to push as hard as we
could. And the only reason we made any progress is because America's
standing, working with the United States as part of a strategic
relationship, was important enough to the Chinese to give the orders
to open the doors to make sure FedEx still had enough licenses to
operate.” [06262014 HWA Remarks for GTCR (Chicago, IL).docx,, p.
4]
Hillary
Clinton Discussed Her Work Helping Corning Deal With Chinese Trade
Barriers. “I'll give you a
quick example from my senate years. Corning is a great upstate
company in Corning, New York, and they sell very sophisticated glass
products and they've spent a lot of money, you know, researching and
developing those products in fiberoptics and all the rest, and
they've done business in China for a long time. And, you know, as
China develops their own indigenous industries, they often put
increasing barriers in front of other companies, most certainly
American. So Corning came to me and said, you know, we -- we've got a
real problem because they're putting these tariffs on us. And this is
was during the Bush Administration. […] So I personally raised this
with President Bush, and I said, you know, I'm trying to help a New
York company fight against unfair burdens with these tariffs and I
need help from the administration. And to his credit, he said, you
know, I'll find out what we can do. And we worked together and solved
that problem. Fast forward: So I'm in the State Department. And, you
know, about five, six years have passed and now, once again, they're
facing real, real burdens from the Chinese government. And once
again, now I'm Secretary of State. We raise it, we keep raising it.”
[Hamilton College Speech, 10/4/13]
Clinton
Praised Bob Hormats For His Role In Spurring Economic Development
From Private Corporations To Either Supplement Or “Replace
Government Dollars Eventually.”
HILLARY CLINTON: Now, JPMorgan is not in the agricultural business,
but you have clients and customers around the world who are.
Creating sustainable markets that can begin to address the different
needs that you would find in dry land farming compared to rainy
season farming, and then how we get seeds and fertilizer and other
inputs, that ultimately has to be a private sector initiative. But
the private sector is not going to go in there on its own, because
they don't know who they're supposed to talk to. Sometimes
you have to open doors of governments to get them in the door. And
so working with private sector partners like JPMorgan and trying to
find ways to leverage those private dollars enables us to do more in
the public sector and then see it
transform into the business sector that then gives more opportunities
for businesses in those areas and gives better support to farmers.
PETER SCHER: It's a great partnership. It's a great example --
HILLARY CLINTON: Yeah, and Bob
Hormats is sitting there. He was -- PETER SCHER: I know he is.
HILLARY CLINTON: He was an instrumental partner in a lot of what we
did in the economic area to try to begin to think differently about
how to use dollars that weren't government dollars, either to
supplement government dollars or to replace government dollars
eventually. And that's what we
aimed at. PETER SCHER: It's a great to leverage for your dollars.
[Clinton Speech For JP Morgan, 4/22/14]
Clinton
Regaled Story Of How She Fought For Private Express Delivery Service
Companies’ Access To Chinese Market As Secretary Of State. “Now,
let me share a story that Secretary John Bryson knows well. For many
years both FedEx and UPS have done profitable business in China. By
2009, FedEx was operating in nearly 60 locations across China, and
UPS in 30. But then China imposed new postal laws that required
domestic operating permits for express delivery service companies.
And the move was widely seen, I think correctly, as a way for Beijing
to put its thumb on the scales for the state-controlled China Post.
Both FedEx and UPS rightly worried they would receive severely
restrictive licenses that would curtail where and how they could do
business. And they kept doing their best to make the argument in
Beijing to anybody they could buttonhole, but they weren't making
much progress. They were finding it very difficult to fight city
hall, or in this case fight the Chinese government. So Fred Smith
picked up the phone, somebody I've known since Arkansas days, and
called me at the State Department to explain the dilemma and ask for
help. It was one of many times that American businesses came looking
for assistance in competing on a level playing field, and, in fact,
where they were competing was anything but level. So our diplomats in
Beijing raised the issue at the highest levels of the Chinese
government but to no avail. I brought the matter up directly with
then Vice Premier Wang Qishan. Secretary Bryson and I followed up
with a joint letter, and we kept the pressure on. We made it clear
that the U.S. government was not going to sit on the sidelines in the
face of unfair competition to two of our important companies. That
caught the Chinese by surprise, as they later admitted, because they
were used to a much more laissez faire attitude. Well, that was then
and this is now. The new tone began to get results, and eventually
the Chinese pledged that over the course of a three-year period they
would grant more permits. And although the issue is far from
settled, both FedEx and UPS are still operating in China and have a
base that they still expect to be able to expand from.” [Clinton
Remarks to Deutsche Bank, 10/7/14]
Jeff
Immelt Cited His Relationship With Bob Hormats As A Positive From
Clinton’s Time At State. “The
State Department I would say and the aspect of selling completely
changed when Secretary Clinton came in office. For those of us that
have been leveraging or trying to get involved with selling our goods
around the world, I think it was the sense of okay, do the best you
can, and then we're right behind you if you get in trouble. The
government will be there at some point. And when Secretary Clinton
and a guy named Bob Hormats who was a Goldman Sachs guy that we all
knew for a long time, it all changed where we were on offense all the
time. State was in the lead frequently when we were trying to do
that, and I think it helped the business context for the company
massively, and that's really what I think the Secretary did on our
behalf, so fantastic.” [Clinton Speech For General Electric’s
Global Leadership Meeting – Boca Raton, FL, 1/6/14]
Clinton
Thanked Jeff Immelt For His Advice On Exports And Said Bob Hormats
Was Her Partner. “You know,
let me say that, first of all, I want to thank you personally for
sharing the counsel on exports because I thought we needed to be more
competitive and more on the offense after '08. So when I came in
that was a major effort of mine, which we call economic skin graft,
and Bob Hormats was my partner, and we worked very hard to do two
things: One to try to clear the way of companies that were competing
and out there trying to do the right thing like GE, but, secondly,
trying to get more companies to go compete.” [Clinton Speech For
General Electric’s Global Leadership Meeting – Boca Raton, FL,
1/6/14]
Hillary
Clinton: “I Visited The Boeing Design Center In Moscow… I Made
The Case That Boeing's Jet Set The Global Gold Standard.” “In
2010, President Obama set a target of doubling America's exports over
five years, and at the State Department I made export promotions a
personal mission. So as I traveled the world on behalf of our
country, I did everything I could to go to bat for American companies
trying to break into new markets and compete on a level playing
field. It took me to some really interesting places, particularly now
with all the problems we're seeing with Russia and President Putin.
Back in 2009, when Dmitri Medvedev was actually president, I visited
the Boeing Design Center in Moscow, because Boeing had been trying to
secure a contract for new planes with the Russians. And I made the
case that Boeing's jet set the global gold standard. And after I
left, our embassy kept at it, and in 2010 Russians agreed to buy 50
737s for almost $4 billion, which translates into thousands of
American jobs.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at the Institute of Scrap
Recycling Industries Convention, 4/10/14]
Housing
Clinton
Said Of Debate Around How To Avoid Another Housing Crisis: “I
Really Don’t Want To See Decisions Made That Restrict The
Opportunities For People To Own Either Commercial Or Residential Real
Estate.” “So
now there's all these policy debates about what to do to avoid ever
having happen what did happen back in '07, '08, which I think is
absolutely fair and necessary, but I really don't want to see
decisions made that constrict the opportunities for people to own
either commercial or residential real estate.” [Remarks to New York
Tri-State Of The Market, 11/14/13]
Clinton
Said There Are Changes That Need to Be Made To Protect Buyers And
Sellers In Real Estate But “It’s Very Important We Keep Our Head
On Straight.” “I
think it's very important that we keep our head on straight. That,
yes, if there are changes that have to be made to protect the market,
to protect buyers and sellers, to avoid the kind of sequence of
events that we all live through, absolutely. But we need to get back
to the kind of fulfillment of people's ambitions to own real estate
that has been a hallmark of this country.” [Remarks to New York
Tri-State Of The Market, 11/14/13]
Clinton
Said She Worked Closely With The National Association Of Realtors In
The Senate To “Keep The Big Banks Out Of Real Estate.”
“And in talking with the National Association of Realtors last week
in San Francisco, it was one of their highest priorities. When I was
senator, I worked closely with the National Association on a piece of
legislation to keep the big banks out of real estate, because if you
remember back in, like, '02, '03, '04, there was this big move for
banks to have total vertical integration that they would own the real
estate companies, they would run the brokerage outfits, they would
take it from, you know, beginning to end. I thought that was a
terrible idea then. I think it's a terrible idea now.” [Remarks to
New York Tri-State Of The Market, 11/14/13]
Clinton
Said On Real Estate Reforms She Is “In The Camp That Says Do No
Harm.” “If we
do Fannie and Freddie reforms, you still have to have some kind of
backstop for mortgages. So I'm just in the camp that says do no
harm. You know, let's figure out how we avoid the mistakes that we
all suffered from, but let's not, you know, undermine the ability of
people to buy and sell real estate.” [Remarks to New York Tri-State
Of The Market, 11/14/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said She Was Proud Of Her Work With Realtors “To Advance
Legislation To Keep The Big Banks From Moving Into Real Estate
Brokerages.” “I still have
fond memories from the last visit that I made to the National
Association of REALTORS back in 2006. And all work we did together
during my time representing New York in the Senate. We worked
together to advance legislation to keep the big banks from moving
into real estate brokerages (applause) (inaudible) -- which have made
the financial crisis even more devastating. We also worked together
to expand the federal housing shortage and to look for ways to help
families facing foreclosure with concrete steps. You have been good
partners, not only to me, but I think to the American people. “[2013
National Association Of Realtors Conference And Expo, 11/9/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “I Just Tell You What I Believe, And It’s Not A Comment
On Anybody’s Legislation Or Lack Thereof, But, I Think We’re
Still Living In Too Uncertain A World To Make Radical Changes Right
Now” “I just tell you what I
believe, and it’s not a comment on anybody’s legislation or lack
thereof, but, I think we’re still living in too uncertain a world
to make radical changes right now. (Applause) I think there are too
many people who still don’t have their head above water or their
house still underwater, and they’re trying to get to stabler
ground. So, I think the first rule has to be do no harm.
(Applause.)” [2013 National Association Of Realtors Conference And
Expo, 11/9/13]
Immigration
American Jobs
Hillary
Clinton: “There Has To Be An Extra Effort Made To Try To Fill Jobs
With People Who Are Already Here.” “But
given the great recession and the fact that so many people lost jobs
across the economy including in the tech field, there has to be an
extra effort made to try to fill jobs with people who are already
here. They can be either native born or immigrants, but already
here, so that then if that's not possible you have a good faith
argument that you tried, because too many people like the H1B visas
are, instead of an opportunity to get good, strong talent, a way of
avoiding hiring American workers. So I do think there has to be some
sensitivity to that, but I believe that's doable. I don't think
that's an overwhelming task.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at Nexenta,
8/28/14]
Security
Clinton:
“We've Done A Lot On Border Security, But We Haven't Maybe Done
Enough About How We Apply Technology…” “We've
done a lot on border security, but we haven't maybe done enough about
how we apply technology so we don't interfere with commerce and
recreation and tourism and going back and forth. And representing
New York there were a lot of people who lived in New York who were
crossing the border all the time.” [Remarks for CIBC, 1/22/15]
Visas
Hillary
Clinton Supported H1B Visas. “But
if you look at the evidence, I think the figures are pretty
impressive that I think it's like 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies
have been started by immigrants. I think obviously the role that
immigrants in technology play as evidenced by your hands is just
unparalleled. I think that we are hurting ourselves by failing to do
comprehensive immigration reform. And I know politically it's
difficult because there are a lot of people in public office who hear
only the loud voices that are on the negative side, and oftentimes it
is out of a place of fear, not a place of understanding or as I'd say
evidence. So I think that what we've got to do is keep making the
case, but we need more voices. And the only point I would make for
the tech community is on the H1B visas, I support them. When I was a
Senator from New York I supported them.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks
at Nexenta, 8/28/14]
Hillary
Clinton Said It Was “Essential to Keep Focused On the Visa Issue”
When H1B Visas Were Brought Up. “PHIL
FERNANDEZ: Thank you […] 40 CEOs said like to a person, H1B, you
know, we need more H1Bs. HILLARY CLINTON: Right. […] So let me just
make three quick points. One, I think it's essential to keep focused
on the visa issue, because that's a discrete problem that even though
I'd like to see it be part of an overall, comprehensive reform, you
have to keep pushing to open the aperture, you know, get more and
more opportunities.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at Marketo, 4/8/14]
Hillary
Clinton Joked “Don’t Give” Putin An H1B Visa. “PHIL
FERNANDEZ: I'm just amazed at your ability to talk from income
disparity to H-1Bs, to Vladmir Putin and everything in-between.
HILLARY CLINTON: Don't give him an H-1B.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks
at Marketo, 4/8/14]
Calling
For More H-1B Visas, Clinton Noted “We Educate People In Our
Institutions, And Then We Don't Let Them Stay.” “PRESIDENT
JACKSON: Thank you. You know, at SHRM, as HR professionals, we are
actively engaged in this debate over comprehensive immigration
reform. We see reform as a way to address the projected skills gap
that we see in the U.S. Now, your voting record in the Senate
indicates a strong support for expanding the H-1B Guest Worker Visa
Program. What are your thoughts on the immigration reform debate, and
where do you think it's headed? MS. HILLARY CLINTON: Well, I hope
it's heading toward a new law that will resolve a lot of these hard
issues about comprehensive immigration reform. I'm very hopeful that
the debate now going on in the Senate that they'll reach a bipartisan
agreement, pass a bill and then send it to the House to consider it,
and hopefully, the House will pass a comparable bill and then we can
work out the differences. It's way overdue. I mean, if you look at
what the core of the debate is, yes, we need to make sure we have
border security. That's not only about immigration. That's about
terrorism, criminal activities, trafficking drugs, people, guns. I
mean, there's many reasons to have effective border security in
addition to the immigration reasons. We have to do more to bring
people out of the shadows, hold employers accountable if they
continue to employ people that they know are illegal and put people
who are willing to pay their dues literally and figuratively in line
for legal status. So I think the bill that the four Republicans and
four Democrats came up with has the core principles that we need to
enact. I'm sure there will be a lot of variations on amendments, but
if the core stays the same, I think that's important. Now,
specifically about H-1B visas, you know, we give so many more student
visas than we give H-1B visas. We educate people in our
institutions, and then we don't let them stay in our country and work
for you and work on behalf of improving our productivity and dealing
with our problems. So I know you have advocated strongly for a lot of
these reforms. I support what you're trying to do because I think
our economic recovery is to some extent fueled by a steady stream of
well-qualified, productive workers coming out of our own
institutions, native born, legally here and those who have something
to contribute who are going to help us continue to grow our economy.”
[Hillary Clinton remarks at SHRRM Chicago, 6/15/13]
Income Inequality
Clinton:
“Even If It May Not Be 100 Percent True, If The Perception Is That
Somehow The Game Is Rigged, That Should Be A Problem For All Of Us.”
“Now, it's important to
recognize the vital role that the financial markets play in our
economy and that so many of you are contributing to. To function
effectively those markets and the men and women who shape them have
to command trust and confidence, because we all rely on the market's
transparency and integrity. So even if it may not be 100 percent
true, if the perception is that somehow the game is rigged, that
should be a problem for all of us, and we have to be willing to make
that absolutely clear. And if there are issues, if there's
wrongdoing, people have to be held accountable and we have to try to
deter future bad behavior, because the public trust is at the core of
both a free market economy and a democracy.” [Clinton Remarks to
Deutsche Bank, 10/7/14]
Clinton:
“It Is In Everyone's Interest, Most Of All Those Of You Who Play
Such A Vital Role In The Global Economy, To Make Sure That We
Maintain And Where Necessary Rebuild Trust.” “So
it is in everyone's interest, most of all those of you who play such
a vital role in the global economy, to make sure that we maintain and
where necessary rebuild trust that goes beyond correcting specific
instances of abuse of fraud.” [Clinton Remarks to Deutsche Bank,
10/7/14]
When
Asking About “Wealth Discrepancy” Clinton Discussed The Need To
Extend Unemployment Benefits.
MR. IMMELT: Touching again on something you mentioned earlier, this
notion of just the wealth discrepancy in the United States, how deep
does that run today, and how much of it, you know, do you think can
get resolved or be part of a common goal instead of a political
divide? MRS. CLINTON: Well, I hope it does because -- you know, I'll
just take two examples: You know a lot of people who lost their jobs
have not been able to find jobs. Now, there's an argument that for
some of them their skills are not transferrable, their educational
levels are not sufficient, but for many of them there just aren't the
jobs yet because a lot of companies have not made the decision to
start hiring, which I hope to see, but that's not yet there. So
you've got people on long-term unemployment, and it ran out, and the
argument for extending it is people have to be kept, number 1, afloat
because they have obligations. You know, you don't want to see a
cascade where people get behind in house payments and medical
payments and school payments or whatever else their obligations might
be, but also they have to stay in the job search if they are on
long-term unemployment, and I personally think it should be extended.
The argument against it is that it creates dependency. Well, I think
you can make that argument more effectively when you have 5 percent
unemployment instead of over 7 percent and the real figure, if you
counted people who dropped and are no longer seeking work is, you
know, above 9 percent. So I think that's just bad economics, and I'd
like to see it extended. [Clinton Speech For General Electric’s
Global Leadership Meeting – Boca Raton, FL, 1/6/14]
-
Clinton Also Cited The Need To Extend Food Stamp Eligibility. “The second thing is, you know, cutting food stamps while continuing rather significant payments to certain agricultural interests that produce certain crops. So -- you see the articles, you know, billionaire farmer gets crop payments. Food stamps is part of our overall agricultural aid program. So when we cut off food stamps -- and the biggest percentage of people on food stamps are children, and what are we proving by doing that? You know, there's always the instance where they find one guy somewhere who misused food stamps. Well, come with me. Come with me into, you know, even neighbors near where I live in Westchester County north of New York City where a lot of immigrants, a lot of, you know, people down on their luck use those food stamps just to try to get through the month, and the House of Representatives is cutting them off. That says a lot to me about what people are actually seeing and feeling. Are we so separate from each other that we don't know that there are people who have a really tough time? Have we just walled ourselves off from those people and have no reason to understand or care about them? Well, I think that's unfortunate because, you know, we need to get back to Henry Ford paying his workers a high wage because he wanted people to buy his cars. You know, economic growth will take off when people in the middle feel more secure again and start spending again.” [Clinton Speech For General Electric’s Global Leadership Meeting – Boca Raton, FL, 1/6/14]
Clinton
Said $51,000 Was “Hard To Live On” In New York City.
“And, so, to me inequality is a morale issue. It certainly is a
humanitarian issue, but it's also an economic political issue. And,
you know, we just elected a new Mayor in New York City, a lot of
controversy because he ran on the tail or two cities. Well, the
median income in New York City is $51,000. That's hard to live on,
and a lot of people, millions do it, and we ought to be sort of
supporting efforts to make sure that people have those ladders of
opportunity that somebody like me took advantage of. And, so,
inequality to me is the other side of the coin of growth, and we need
to do -- we need to take care of both” [Clinton Speech For General
Electric’s Global Leadership Meeting – Boca Raton, FL, 1/6/14]
Clinton
Said Problems Like A Stalled Standard Of Living Had “Crept Up On
Us” And “We’re All Wondering Around Saying, What’s Going On,
Why Is It Happening?” CLINTON:
So if you look at a recent study that just actually was posted today,
if you're in the middle class in Canada, you're better off in general
than if you're in the middle class in the United States today. And
if you're poorer in the United States, you are worse off than the
poor in Canada and Europe. […] So yeah, we've done some very
necessary and good things but we've also, in my view, not adequately
addressed the challenges that have come in the last 20, 25 years.
They've slowly crept up on us like all of us are the frogs in the
giant pot and the heat's been slowly turned up and we haven't jumped
out, and if we even started to thinking about it, we weren't sure
what we'd find if we did. So we're all wondering around saying,
what's going on, why is it happening? And it has certainly economic
effects because as people's standard of living stalls, if they
believe that their children are not going to be better off -- and
remember, ever since we have done polling in this country, back to
the Great Depression, no matter how poor the vast majority of
Americans were, they believed it would be better in the future and
they believed it would be better for their children. That no longer
is the case. People are quite concerned that their livelihoods,
their lives are not going to get any better, and they're even now
worried that neither will their children. So this deserves the kind
of thoughtful discussion, not the us versus them, finger pointing,
blame placing, because that's not going to get us anywhere, but if we
do not address and figure out how we're going to revitalize the
middle class and begin the process of once again encouraging more
people to rise up, then what I fear is that our politics and our
social fabric are going to be dramatically altered. [Clinton Speech
For JP Morgan, 4/22/14]
Hillary
Clinton Called Rising Inequality A “Troubling Trend Line” And
Cited Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone. “But
there’s a troubling trend line. The rise of inequality, the decline
in recent decades of community organizations and associations
memorably documented by Robert Putnam in his book, Bowling Alone, has
caused considerable concern about our fraying social fabric, whether
or not we still believe in and practice those habits of the heart
that were such a hallmark that set us apart from any other part of
humanity. Now, this goes way beyond social clubs and
certainly beyond bowling teams because in places that are hollowed
out by unemployment and economic dislocation, the community networks
that provided crucial support to Americans in previous generations
are weaker than ever.” [Jewish United Fund Of Metropolitan Chicago
Vanguard Luncheon, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “There Are Rich People Everywhere. That’s Just A Matter
Of Human Nature. Some People Are Going To Figure Out A Way To Make A
Lot Of Money, Sometimes Legally, Sometimes Through Corruption Or
Illegal Activities, But There Are Rich People Everywhere.” “And
what we need to do is inject some dynamism and some of good solid
economic policies into helping to stabilize the American middle
class, because that’s really the core of who we are. You know, as
I traveled to all those 112 countries, what a big difference that you
see in the vast majority of them, there are rich people everywhere.
That’s just a matter of human nature. Some people are going to
figure out a way to make a lot of money, sometimes legally, sometimes
through corruption or illegal activities, but there are rich people
everywhere. And there are poor people everywhere.” [2013 National
Association Of Realtors Conference And Expo, 11/9/13]
Iran
Hillary
Clinton Said If Iran Developed A Nuclear Weapon, The Saudis,
Emirates, And Egypt Would Try To As Well. “I
have a very simple definition. If they can produce the pieces of it
and quickly assemble it, that’s a nuclear weapon, even if they keep
three different parts of it in different containers somewhere. If
they do that it goes back to Lloyd’s first point. The Saudis are
not going to stand by. They’re already trying to figure out how
they will get their own nuclear weapons. Then the Emirates are not
going to let the Saudis have their own nuclear weapons, and then the
Egyptians are going to say: What are we? We’re the most important
Arab country in the world. We’re going to have to have our own
nuclear weapons. And then the race is off and we are going to face
even worse problems in the region than we currently do today.” [
Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The Military Option Was Bombing Iranian Facilities, Not
Occupation Or Invasion. “MS.
CLINTON: Well, you up the pain that they have to endure by not in
any way occupying or invading them but by bombing their facilities.
I mean, that is the option. It is not as, we like to say these days,
boots on the ground.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo
Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said There Would Be Unpredictable Consequences To Bombing
Iran, Noting It Was A Global Sponsor Of Terror. “MS.
CLINTON: They wanted—yeah. But I mean, people will fight for
themselves. They will fight for themselves, but this is fighting for
a program. I mean, the calculation is exactly as you described it.
It’s a very hard one, which is why when people just pontificate
that, you know, we have no choice. We have to bomb the facilities.
They act as though there would be no consequences either predicted or
unpredicted. Of course there would be, and you already are dealing
with a regime that is the principal funder and supplier of terrorism
in the world today” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual
Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Iran Has Been Caught Connecting To Terrorism In
Bulgaria, Thailand, Cyprus, Kenya, And Even A Plot To Murder The
Saudi Ambassador To The US. “If
we had a map up behind us you would be able to see Iranian sponsored
terrorism directly delivered by Iranians themselves, mostly through
the Revolutionary Guard Corps, the operatives, or through Islah or
other proxies from to Latin American to Southeast Asia. They were
caught in Bulgaria. They were caught in Cyprus. They were caught in
Thailand. They were caught in Kenya. So it’s not just against the
United States, although they did have that ridiculous plot of finding
what they thought was a drug dealer to murder the Saudi ambassador.”
[ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Mutually Assured Destruction Did Not Work In The Middle
East Because The Gulf States Were Unwilling To Accept A Shared
Missile Defense System. “They
really are after the sort of targets of anyone they believe they can
terrorize or sort of make pay a price because of policies. So the
fact is that there is no good alternative. I mean, people will say,
as you do, mutually assured destruction, but that will require the
gulf states doing something that so far they’ve been unwilling to
do, which is being part of a missile defense umbrella and being
willing to share their defense so that if the best place for radar is
somewhere that can then protect the Saudis and the Emirates, the
Saudis would have to accept that. That is not likely to happen.” [
Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The “Saudis In Particular Are Not Necessarily The
Stablest Regimes That You Can Find On The Planet.”
“So mutually assured destruction as we had with Europe in the ‘40s,
‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s until the fall of the Soviet Union is
much harder to do with the gulf states and it will be unlikely to
occur because they will think that they have to defend themselves.
And they will get into the business of nuclear weapons, and these
are—the Saudis in particular are not necessarily the stablest
regimes that you can find on the planet. So it’s fraught with all
kinds of problems.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual
Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said People “Get Paid All These Big Bucks For Being In
Positions Like I Was Just In Trying To Sort It Out And Figure Out
What Is The Smartest Approach For The United States.”
“So that’s what you get paid all these big bucks for being in
positions like I was just in trying to sort it out and figure out
what is the smartest approach for the United States and our allies
can take that would result in the least amount of danger to ourselves
and our allies going forward, a contained Iran or an attacked Iran in
the name of prevention? And if it were easy somebody else would have
figured it out, but it’s not. It’s a very tough question.” [
Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said She Believed Rouhani Was Allowed To Be Elected Due To
Sanctions But “What They Really Want To Do Is Get Sanction Relief
And Give As Little As Possible For That Sanction Relief.” “With
respect to the nuclear program, I believe that Rouhani was allowed to
be elected by the two major power sources in Iran, the Supreme Leader
and the clerics and the Revolutionary Guard led by Suleimani, in part
because the sanctions were having a quite damaging effect on the
economy, and because of that, there was growing dissatisfaction among
the so-called merchant class as well as ordinary consumers and that
some action was being demanded. I don’t think anyone
should have any illusions as to the motives of the Iranian
leadership. What they really want to do is get sanction relief and
give as little as possible for that sanction relief.” [Jewish
United Fund Of Metropolitan Chicago Vanguard Luncheon, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said A Major Issue Was Iran’s Missile Program And “If
They Are Not Going To Allow The Missile Program To Be Put Under
International Control In Some Way, That’s A Big Sign Of Their Lack
Of Seriousness, No Matter What They Might Agree To On The
Centrifuges.” “And the third
issue is their missile program. It doesn’t get a lot of discussion.
I was with Shimon Peres in the Ukraine a few weeks ago. And he and
I were talking about that because the missile program is the delivery
vehicle, and if they are not going to allow the missile program to be
put under international control in some way, that’s a big sign of
their lack of seriousness, no matter what they might agree to on the
centrifuges.” [2014 Jewish United Fund Advance & Major Gifts
Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Some Forces In Iran Would Welcome A Military Strike
Because It Would Bring Legitimacy To The Regime. “MS.
HILLARY CLINTON: Well, here’s the problem because I’m not
speaking out of school, but there are forces in Iran that would
welcome a military strike because, No. 1, they think a targeted
military strike on the facilities that would be known would set back
the program maybe a year, maybe two years, but would rally the
Iranian people, providing additional legitimacy for the continued
rule by the Supreme Leader and the clerics. So, certainly, in the
many, many briefings and conversations that I was part of over four
years, it’s not so clear that there is an absolute fear of a
military strike among certain elements within Iran.” [2014 Jewish
United Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said A Military Strikes Could Cause An “Uncontrollable”
Reaction And “Could Be A Signal To A Lot Of The Neighbors To Take
Action Against Iranian Assets.”
“Now,
on the other side, there are those who certainly think it would be
very bad. It might cause a reaction on the part of certain elements
within Iran that could become uncontrollable. It could be a signal
to a lot of the neighbors to take action against Iranian assets. So
this is not a very easy message to convey in a way that it causes the
kind of reaction that one would want from inside Iran.” [2014
Jewish United Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Sanctions From Congress Weren’t Useful Outside Of
International Consensus. “You
know, as somebody who spent a lot of time the first two years putting
together those international sanctions, those were very difficult.
I mean, we could pass, you know, a million sanctions in the
United States Congress. I voted for them when I was a senator. But
if you don’t have an international consensus on sanctions, you
cannot hurt the Iranians the way you need to to get their attention
to determine whether or not there is any potential negotiated
outcome.” [Jewish United Fund Of Metropolitan Chicago Vanguard
Luncheon, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The US Had To Negotiate With Iran On Its Nuclear Program
After Rouhani’s “Charm Offensive” Because They Had To Maintain
The International Consensus On Sanctions. “So
along comes Rouhani who was a nuclear negotiator about ten or so
years ago for Iran. He’s on a big charm offensive, the new foreign
minister is on a big charm offensive. How far he will be able to go
given the Supreme Leader and the Revolutionary Guard is not clear
yet, but it’s very important for us to test that. It’s
very important for us to engage in the diplomacy that was created by
the coercive sanctions for two reasons: First, to really explore in
depth what they are willing to do and in return for what; and second,
to keep our International Sanctions Coalition together because if the
Iranians are on their charm offensive, it’s not just with us, it’s
with the Europeans, it’s with the Asians, it’s certainly with the
Russians and the Chinese. And if they are in a position to be able
to say, ‘Look, we were prepared to answer a lot of the concerns of
the United States and the West, but, of course, the United States
wouldn’t negotiate with us so we feel like we’ve done our part so
why don’t you buy some more oil and gas,’ I mean, that’s what
we have to try to avoid to try to keep them in as tight a position as
possible while we test the diplomacy.” [Jewish United Fund Of
Metropolitan Chicago Vanguard Luncheon, 10/28/13]
Islam
Clinton
Said Most Muslims Were Peaceful, But “We Can't Close Our Eyes To
The Fact That There Is A Distorted And Dangerous Strain Of Extremism”
Spreading Within The Muslim World.
“And I want to be clear, Islam itself is not the adversary. The
vast majority of Muslims living here in Canada and the United States
are peaceful and tolerant people. We see that every day in our
neighborhoods, among those with whom we go to school or work or
trade. But we can't close our eyes to the fact that there is a
distorted and dangerous strain of extremism within the Muslim world
that continues to spread.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks for tinePublic
– Saskatoon, Canada, 1/21/14]
Israel
Clinton:
“There's That Wonderful Abba Eban Line About How The Palestinians
Never Miss An Opportunity To Miss An Opportunity? That Still Seems
To Be The Case…” “The
final thing I would say is that within the year that my husband left
office, I came home one day and he said, ‘You're not going to
believe what happened.’ And I said, ‘What happened?’ He said,
‘Yasser Arafat called me today, and he said, "You know that
deal that you offered us? We've ready to take it now.”’ And Bill
said, ‘You know, that president who offered it is not longer
president.’ So, you know, there's that wonderful Abba Eban line
about how the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an
opportunity? That still seems to be the case, and the security
challenges on all sides now facing Israel are much more acute. So I
think it's a heavy lift, but I am very pleased that Secretary Kerry
is giving it all he's got to try to get something done.” [Clinton
Speech For Morgan Stanley, 4/18/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Israel Was Working With Military Government In Egypt And
With The Jordanians To Shore Up King Abdullah. “So
this is a country in turmoil. In my continuing contact with my, you
know, counterparts, my former counterparts, in Israel, I think that
they are working hard on the relationship with the new military
government in Egypt which is something that’s essential for the
maintenance of the Camp David Accords and just the day-to-day safety
of Israel. They are working closely with the Jordanians
because we want to keep, you know, shoring up King Abdullah. And
they have, you know, conversations at certain levels going on with
others in the region to try to insofar as possible have some
coordinated approaches and actions.” [Jewish United Fund Of
Metropolitan Chicago Vanguard Luncheon, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “One Of The Developments Of The Arab Spring Is That You
Now Have Israel And Saudi Arabia More Closely Aligned In Their
Foreign Policy.” “So I think
that there’s a—and there’s a constant effort on the part of the
leadership of Israel to make it clear that, you know, they are not
going to abide the nuclear program or the terrorist program and to
send those messages every day in every way, publicly and privately,
to try to influence not just the behavior inside Iran, but
increasingly, the larger gulf. I mean, one of the—one of the
developments of the Arab spring is that you now have Israel and Saudi
Arabia more closely aligned in their foreign policy. MR.
ELLIOTT BADZIN: Who would have thunk it? SECRETARY HILLARY CLINTON:
Who would have? And not only about Iran, which they—they
both put at the top of their list of concerns, but about Egypt and
about Syria and about a lot of other things.” [Beth El Synagogue's
13th National Speaker Series, 10/27/13]
Japan
Hillary
Clinton Said Japan “Don’t Have A Military,” And Were Unlikely
To Develop Nuclear Weapons Capacity Even In Reaction TO North Korea.
“MR. BLANKFEIN: Wouldn’t
Japan—I mean, isn’t the thinking now what is going to happen?
But why wouldn’t Japan at that point want to have a nuclear
capability? MS. CLINTON: Well, that’s the problem with these arms
races. MR. BLANKFEIN: Nuclear technology -- MS. CLINTON:
But they don’t have a military. They have a currently somewhat
questionable and partially defunct civilian nuclear industry. So
they would have to make a huge investment, which based on our
assessments they don’t want to have to make “[ Speech to Goldman
Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The “Mess On The Senkakians” Was Caused By
Nationalist Forces In Japan Forcing The Federal Government To Act.
“But there are nationalistic
pressures and leaders under the surface in governship and mayor
positions who are quite far out there in what they’re saying about
what Japan should be doing. And part of the reason we’re in the
mess on the Senkakians is because it had been privately owned. And
then the governor of Tokyo wanted to buy them, which would have been
a direct provocation to China because it was kind of like: You don’t
do anything. We don’t do anything. Just leave them where they are
and don’t pay much attention to them. And the prior government in
Japan decided: Oh, my gosh. We can’t let the governor of Tokyo do
this, so we should buy them as the national government.” [ Speech
to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Marijuana
Clinton
Said She Was Strongly Against Legalizing Marijuana. “URSULA
BURNS: So long means thumbs up, short means thumbs down; or long
means I support, short means I don't. I'm going to start with -- I'm
going to give you about ten long-shorts. SECRETARY CLINTON: Even if
you could make money on a short, you can't answer short. URSULA
BURNS: You can answer short, but you got to be careful about letting
anybody else know that. They will bet against you. So legalization
of pot? SECRETARY CLINTON: Short in all senses of the word.”
[Hillary Clinton Remarks, Remarks at Xerox, 3/18/14]
Mexico
Clinton
Said She Was Impressed With Enrique Peña Nieto And His Reforms. “The
new leader of Mexico who I didn't have a chance to work with but I'm
very impressed by with all of the reforms that he's been able to get
through the Mexican legislature he's really done things like
reforming the constitution to permit new investments in the Mexican
oil company that was previously closed to outside investment,
changing education system, doing things that really go hand in hand
with what his predecessor was also trying to do.” [1/27/14, HWA
Remarks at Premier Health]
Media
Hillary
Clinton Praised The Press That Covered Her In The State Department
For Being Interested In The Issues. “So
I mean, I am constantly amazed at how attention deficit disordered
the political punditry is. Because there is a lot to cover. There is
so much that you could actually be educating people about. The
difference that I experienced from running for the Senate, being in
the Senate, running for president and being Secretary of State is
that the press which covered me in the state department were really
interested in the issues. I mean, they would drill them. They would
have asked a hundred more questions about everything Lloyd has asked
in the time that they had with me because they really cared about
what I thought, what the US government was doing in these issues.”
[ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “Our Political Press Has Just Been Captured By Trivia. I
Mean, To Me. And So You Don’t Want To Give Them Any More Time To
Trivialize The Importance Of The Issues Than You Have To Give Them.”
“Our
political press has just been captured by trivia. I mean, to me.
And so you don’t want to give them any more time to trivialize the
importance of the issues than you have to give them. You want to be
able to wait as long as possible, because hopefully we will actually
see some progress on immigration, for example. Maybe circumstances
will force some kind of budget deal. It doesn’t look too promising,
but stranger things have happened.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013
IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
North Korea
Clinton
On North Korea: “Right Now, It’s Not A Direct Threat To The
United States.” MR. BOZZUTO:
Well, and -- to leave the Middle East but talk about another sponsor
of terrorism, my question is really simple. How -- how afraid should
we be of North Korea? SECRETARY CLINTON: You know, right now, it's
not a direct threat to the United States. It is, however, a threat to
our treaty allies in South Korea and Japan. It is also a source of
instability on the Korean peninsula that could have, you know,
ramifications for the region and our interests in the region.
[Clinton Speech For National Multi-Housing Council, 4/24/13]
Personal Stories
Marine Recruiters
When
Asked If In 1975 She Was Rejected From The Marines Because She Was
Female, Clinton Said “No” And Explained That They Rejected Her
Because She Was “Too Old.”
“MR. HOLLADAY: Is it true that until 1975 you applied for the
Marines and they told you no because you were a female? MS. HILLARY
CLINTON: No. Here is what did happen: It was actually -- there was
a recruiting station, and I thought, you know, maybe I should
consider serving my country by joining the military. So I walked
into the recruiting station, and the person on duty was a Marine.
And I think I was 26, maybe 27, so, an older potential recruit. I
said to the young Marine, I said, ‘Well, you know, I'd be
interested in getting some information to see whether I could maybe
serve. I'm a lawyer. Maybe I could help in some way.’ He says,
‘Well, I think you are too old for the Marines but maybe the dogs
will take you.’ I said, ‘The dogs?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, you know,
the Army.’ I said, ‘Well, it doesn't sound like I'm going to be
welcome so...’” [American Society for Clinical Pathology Annual
Meeting, 9/18/13]
Immigrant Grandparents
Hillary
Clinton Said Her Grandfather Rodham “Came As A Young Boy With His
Family To The United States.” “You
know, as I briefly described, my father, he, you know, he grew up in
Scranton, Pennsylvania. His father came as a young boy with his
family to the United States and had two babies and worked in the
mills, starting when he was eleven and went until he retired at 65.”
[Hillary Clinton remarks to ECGR Grand Rapids, 6/17/13]
Father’s Football Scholarship
Hillary
Clinton Said Her Father Received A College Football Scholarship. “And
my father played football, so he got a football scholarship to go to
college, which was a very good deal, but then he came out of college
in the middle of the Depression and there were no jobs. And he heard
about a job in Chicago, so he hopped a freight train down to Chicago
and got this job, and it was serving as a representative selling
drapery fabrics around the Upper Midwest, probably came to Grand
Rapids back then.” [Hillary Clinton remarks to ECGR Grand Rapids,
6/17/13]
Hillary
Clinton Stated Her Father Made It To College On A Football
Scholarship. “My
father made it to college on a football scholarship, started a small
business, my mother overcame a childhood of abandonment to help build
a middle class life for me and my brothers and I knew I was a
beneficiary not only of their love and hard work, but their
aspirations for us and a larger community that believed as they did
in America's promise.” [0224015 HWA Remarks for Watermark (Santa
Clara CA).docx, p. 8]
Personal Wealth
Hillary
Clinton: “I'm Kind Of Far Removed” From The Struggles Of The
Middle Class “Because The Life I've Lived And The Economic, You
Know, Fortunes That My Husband And I Now Enjoy.” “And
I am not taking a position on any policy, but I do think there is a
growing sense of anxiety and even anger in the country over the
feeling that the game is rigged. And I never had that feeling when I
was growing up. Never. I mean, were there really rich people, of
course there were. My father loved to complain about big business
and big government, but we had a solid middle class upbringing. We
had good public schools. We had accessible health care. We had our
little, you know, one-family house that, you know, he saved up his
money, didn't believe in mortgages. So I lived that. And now,
obviously, I'm kind of far removed because the life I've lived and
the economic, you know, fortunes that my husband and I now enjoy, but
I haven't forgotten it.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at Goldman-Black
Rock, 2/4/14]
The
Moderator Joked That It Was Said Hillary Clinton Was Going To Do A
Lot Of Speeches When She Left The State Department. “
JIM GREENWOOD: All right. The day is young. So when you left State, it was said that you were going to do beaches and speeches.
SEC. HILLARY CLINTON: Right.JIM GREENWOOD: I've been watching television. You've been doing a lot of speeches. Doing any beaches?SEC. HILLARY CLINTON: Not yet. Not yet.” [06252014 HWA Remarks at BIO (San Diego, CA).docx, p. 1]
Pivot to Asia
Clinton
Said She Worried That The United States Would Not “Maintain That
Continuity Of Attention And Support That Is Needed In Asia And
Elsewhere,” As They Had To Build South Korean Democracy After The
Korean War. “And think about
what they went through. I mean, South Korea has coups, have
assassinations, have, you know, really terrible politics for a very
long time. They didn't become what we would consider a functional
democracy overnight, but we never gave up. We had troops there, we
had aid there, we had a presence of American business there. We were
there for the long run. And what I worry about is that in a time of
shrinking resources and well-deserved demands that we pay attention
here at home to what's happening to the American people, that we're
not going to maintain that continuity of attention and support that
is needed in Asia and elsewhere. So I'm hoping that it, you know,
certainly is maintained despite the hiccups, but it takes time and
resources to do that.” [Goldman Sachs AIMS Alternative Investments
Symposium, 10/24/13]
Politics
Hillary
Clinton Noted The Gang Of 8, Which Included Marco Rubio, As How The
Legislative Process Is Supposed To Work On Immigration. “This
is the way the legislative process is supposed to work on
immigration. You have four republicans, four democrats, they worked
very hard to reach consensus. There was an actual markup of the
bill. The judiciary committee, they actually proposed amendments and
voted on them, but they had made a deal that they would stick with
their basic outlines of their proposal and now they're debating it on
the floor of the senate.” [06242013 Remarks at KKR Los Angeles.doc,
p. 28]
Clinton:
“If You're On The Left, The Best Way To Get Rid Of You Is By Having
Somebody Even Further Left Run Against You In A Primary, And The Same
If You're On The Right, Having Somebody Even Further Right.”
CLINTON: I mean, one of our great problems right now is nobody wants
to be around people they disagree with. They just kind of write them
off. Everybody watches TV that reinforces your already existing
prejudices, and, you know, that's how we're kind of dividing
ourselves up, and so we've created a House of Representatives where,
if you're on the left, the best way to get rid of you is by having
somebody even further left run against you in a primary, and the same
if you're on the right, having somebody even further right. So
there's no incentive in so many of our districts for people to
compromise because they're afraid that if they disappoint or anger
their supporters that they'll put in somebody to run against them in
a primary. But that's our fault. I mean, we let that happen because,
you know, we don't really stand up and say, wait a minute, that's not
in the interests of the whole. [Clinton Speech For National
Multi-Housing Council, 4/24/13]
Clinton:
“I'm A Big Believer In Balance On Nearly Any Issue...”
MR. BOZZUTO: The -- you and I and Doug talked briefly in the hallway
about how apartments are becoming increasingly attractive to young
people and older people, and yet we have a housing policy that I will
say discriminates against renters through the mortgage interest
deduction. How -- how should we create a more balanced housing policy
that doesn't discriminate against one group of people? SECRETARY
CLINTON: Well, "balanced" is the right word. I think that,
you know -- from the, you know, the little bit that I know -- you all
are the experts -- we're going to need even more rental housing. It
is, as you say, sort of the, you know, the Boomers plus the Echo
Boomers plus people who have been priced out of or forced out of home
ownership, and there has to be a balance. I'm -- I'm a big believer
in balance on nearly any issue, and I guess I would say just three
things. [Clinton Speech For National Multi-Housing Council, 4/24/13]
Clinton:
“But If Everybody's Watching, You Know, All Of The Back Room
Discussions And The Deals, You Know, Then People Get A Little
Nervous, To Say The Least. So, You Need Both A Public And A Private
Position.” CLINTON: You just
have to sort of figure out how to -- getting back to that word,
"balance" -- how to balance the public and the private
efforts that are necessary to be successful, politically, and that's
not just a comment about today. That, I think, has probably been true
for all of our history, and if you saw the Spielberg movie, Lincoln,
and how he was maneuvering and working to get the 13th Amendment
passed, and he called one of my favorite predecessors, Secretary
Seward, who had been the governor and senator from New York, ran
against Lincoln for president, and he told Seward, I need your help
to get this done. And Seward called some of his lobbyist friends who
knew how to make a deal, and they just kept going at it. I mean,
politics is like sausage being made. It is unsavory, and it always
has been that way, but we usually end up where we need to be. But if
everybody's watching, you know, all of the back room discussions and
the deals, you know, then people get a little nervous, to say the
least. So, you need both a public and a private position. And
finally, I think -- I believe in evidence-based decision making. I
want to know what the facts are. I mean, it's like when you guys go
into some kind of a deal, you know, are you going to do that
development or not, are you going to do that renovation or not, you
know, you look at the numbers. You try to figure out what's going to
work and what's not going to work. [Clinton Speech For National
Multi-Housing Council, 4/24/13]
Clinton
Criticized Those Who Run For Office As “Kind Of Above That
Political Process, The Democratic Process.”
“So when somebody runs for and asks for your vote who tries to set
him or herself kind of above that political process, the democratic
process, that person should not earn your vote. And in addition,
they should not earn your contribution.” [Remarks to CME Group,
11/18/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Moderate Voices In Congress Need More Support, Citing
Eight-Senator Immigration Compromise.
“So we got to make sure that we begin listening to each other, we
begin to reward people who try to make the tough decisions in the
middle like these eight senators on immigration for republicans and
for democrats. You know, they've got to be given support because
they're trying to solve a real problem, and then we have to keep
looking for more and more ways to do that as well.” [Hillary
Clinton remarks to Apollo Global Management, 5/13/13]
Clinton
Compared The Retail Industry To Politics: “We Have To Know What's
On People's Minds If You're Going To Sell Them Something Or Get Their
Vote.” “You know, it was a
retail business obviously, and retailing is a lot like politics, you
have very direct relationships with your customers or with your
voters, we have to know what's on people's minds if you're going to
sell them something or get their vote. And I learned a lot from, you
know, watching how he managed this growing company, how he dealt with
his associates, you know, they would have the annual meeting in the
field house of the University of Arkansas basketball arena, so you
have tens of thousands of people, you'd have entertainment and they'd
bus in, you know, these men and women who worked at Walmarts from all
over the country and build camaraderie and basically kind of you're
on the Walmart team.” [Hillary Clinton remarks at Sanford
Bernstein, 5/29/13]
Clinton
Said That Both The Democratic And Republican Parties Should Be
“Moderate.” “URSULA BURNS:
Interesting. Democrats? SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, long, definitely.
URSULA BURNS: Republicans? SECRETARY CLINTON: Unfortunately, at the
time, short. URSULA BURNS: Okay. We'll go back to questions.
SECRETARY CLINTON: We need two parties. URSULA BURNS: Yeah, we do
need two parties. SECRETARY CLINTON: Two sensible, moderate,
pragmatic parties.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks, Remarks at Xerox,
3/18/14]
Hillary
Clinton Blamed Gerrymandering For Rewarding Partisanship. “Secondly,
you know, people get rewarded for being partisan, and that’s on
both sides. The biggest threat that Democrats and Republicans face
today, largely because of gerrymandering in the House, is getting a
primary opponent from either the far right or the far left.” [
Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said There Was A State Senator Who Had an A Rating From The
NRA Who Still Lost Their Support Because She Didn’t Support One Gun
Rights Bill. “You know, there
is no reason you would have noticed this, but there was a woman in
the Senate—and I think it was Kentucky—recently who had an A plus
rating from the NRA. A plus rating. She was a country legislator,
highly regarded, and she was a chairman of a committee in the state
legislature. And somebody introduced a bill with—you know, it’s
not too much exaggeration to say that you should have your gun in
your car at all times and it should be visible. And she said: Let’s
table it for a minute and think about the consequences. So the NRA
recruited an opponent for her who beat her. They put a lot of money
into it and basically: You couldn’t be reasonable. You couldn’t
say let’s try to reason this out together. You had to tow the line,
and whether it’s a financial line or gun control line or whatever
the line might be. But people let that happen. Voters let that
happen.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference,
6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said In Hong Kong Business Leaders Asked Her If The US Would
Default On Its Debt. “And I
was in Hong Kong in the summer of 2011 and I had a preexisting
program with a big business group there, and before we had a
reception and there were about a hundred business leaders, many of
them based in Hong Kong, some of them from mainland China, some of
them from Singapore and elsewhere. They were lining up and saying to
me: Is it true that the American Congress might default on America’s
full faith and credit, their standing, that you won’t pay your
bills? And you know I’m sitting there I’m representing all of
you. I said: Oh, no. No. 26 No. That’s just politics. We’ll
work it through. And I’m sitting there: Oh, boy. I hope that is
the case.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual
Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Pointed To The Gang Of Eight Senators On Immigration As An
Example Of Productive Compromise. “I’ve
been an elected official, an appointed official. There is nothing
easy about working toward a compromise. I give a lot of credit to
the eight senators, four Republicans and four Democrats in the
Senate. You go from very conservative to what we would call very
liberal. And they have sat down and they hammered out a compromise,
and then they made a pledge they would stick to it as it went through
the regular order of the committee hearing. How unusual. “[
Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “If You Are Not Willing To Be Active In Your Democracy And
Do What Is Necessary To Deal With Our Problems, I Think You Should Be
Voted Out.” “ “And I don’t
care if you’re a liberal icon or a conservative icon. If you are
not willing to be active in your democracy and do what is necessary
to deal with our problems, I think you should be voted out. I think
you should just be voted out, and I would like to see more people
saying that.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual
Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Gerrymandering Gives Politicians “No Incentive To Try
To Make The Tough Decisions.” “So
I do think that the positions have hardened in the last years; that a
number of the districts in the House that were gerrymandered to be
safe districts for incumbents or for at least parties are filled with
people who have nothing to fear from taking a reasonable, responsible
position and everything to fear from somebody being put in with a lot
of money to their right and having a primary against them. So they
get no incentive to try to make the tough decisions.” [2014 Jewish
United Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The Country Was In A “Worse Position Than We Were In
The ‘90s.” “We’ll see
whether we can get to a resolution just on the budget and then see
whether there is any appetite that permits a broader negotiation like
what we had in Bill’s second term that—you know, look, I can’t
help saying it. If we had stuck with that economic policy, we
wouldn’t have deficits, and we would have considerably paid down
our debt, but we had two wars, 9-11 and a very significant double tax
cut at a time when we couldn’t really afford the tax cut because of
what other obligations we had. So now we are in a worse position
than we were in the ‘90s. So it’s going to be even more
important to have a very clear path set forward that people not only
follow internally but begin to make the external cases to leaders in
business and other institutional influencers across the country to
put pressure on the Congress to get to do exactly what you said, try
to negotiate a more comprehensive agreement that will be good for the
economy and good for our global leadership.” [2014 Jewish United
Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Called For Reform Of Senate Rules To Allow More up And Down
Votes. “You know, I really
have come to believe that we need to change the rules in the Senate,
having served there for eight years. It’s only gotten more
difficult to do anything. And I think nominees deserve a vote up or
down. Policies deserve a vote up or down. And I don’t think that
a small handful of senators should stand in the way of that, because,
you know, a lot of those senators are really obstructionist. They
should get out. They should make their case. They should go ahead
and debate. But they shouldn’t be able to stop the action of the
United States Senate. So I think there does have to be some
reworking of the rules, particularly in the Senate.” [Goldman Sachs
Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Praised California’s Adoption Of Non Partisan
Redistricting. “I think that,
as has been discussed many times, the partisan drawing of lines in
Congressional districts gives people—gives incumbents certainly a
lot more protection than an election should offer. And then they’re
only concerned about getting a challenge from the left of the
Democratic Party or a challenge from the right in the Republican
Party. And they’re not representing really the full interests of
the people in the area that they’re supposed to be. California
moved toward this non-partisan board, and I think there should be
more efforts in states to do that and get out of the ridiculous
gerrymandering that has given us so many members who don’t really
care what is happening in the country, don’t really care what the
facts are. They just care whether they get a primary opponent.”
[Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Praised Lamar Alexander For Standing Against Tea Party
Extremism. “SECRETARY CLINTON:
Yeah. You want them to prove it by saying, you know, we’re going
to act differently in our voting and our giving. And it could make a
very big difference. Now, some of the Republicans are
also fighting back. I mean, somebody like Lamar Alexander, who’s
been a governor and a senator of Tennessee, and they’re mounting a
Tea Party challenge against him. He’s going right at it. He is
not afraid to take them on. And more moderate Republicans have to do
that as well. Take back their party from the extremists and the
obstructionists.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit,
10/29/13]
Lloyd
Blankfein Joked “I’m Proud That The Financial Services Industry
Has Been The One Unifying Theme That Binds Everybody Together In
Common.” “So it’s
important that people speak out and stand up against it, and
especially people who are Republicans, who say, look, that’s not
the party that I’m part of. I want to get back to having a
two-party system that can have an adult conversation and a real
debate about the future. MR. BLANKFEIN: Yeah, and one thing, I’m
glad—I’m proud that the financial services industry has been the
one unifying theme that binds everybody together in common.
(Laughter.)” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit,
10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said She Would Like To “See More Successful Business People
Run For Office” Because The Have A “Certain Level Of Freedom.”
““SECRETARY
CLINTON: That’s a really interesting question. You know, I would
like to see more successful business people run for office. I really
would like to see that because I do think, you know, you don’t have
to have 30 billion, but you have a certain level of freedom. And
there’s that memorable phrase from a former member of the Senate:
You can be maybe rented but never bought. And I think it’s
important to have people with those experiences. And
especially now, because many of you in this room are on the cutting
edge of technology or health care or some other segment of the
economy, so you are people who look over the horizon. And coming
into public life and bringing that perspective as well as the success
and the insulation that success gives you could really help in a lot
of our political situations right now.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And
Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said There Was “A Bias Against People Who Have Led
Successful And/Or Complicated Lives,” Citing The Need To Divese Of
Assets, Positions, And Stocks.
“SECRETARY CLINTON: Yeah.
Well, you know what Bob Rubin said about that. He said, you know,
when he came to Washington, he had a fortune. And when he left
Washington, he had a small -- MR. BLANKFEIN: That’s
how you have a small fortune, is you go to Washington. SECRETARY
CLINTON: You go to Washington. Right. But, you know,
part of the problem with the political situation, too, is that there
is such a bias against people who have led successful and/or
complicated lives. You know, the divestment of assets, the stripping
of all kinds of positions, the sale of stocks. It just becomes very
onerous and unnecessary.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators
Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Called The Confirmation Process “Absurd.” “MR.
BLANKFEIN: Confirmation. SECRETARY CLINTON: The
confirmation process is absurd. And it drives out a lot of people.
So, yes, we would like to see people, but it’s a heavy price for
many to pay and maybe not one that they’re ready to pay.”
[Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Pro-Free Trade
Hillary
Clinton Said The United States Believes In An Open And Free System In
The Global Economy. “Now,
these policies run directly counter to the values and principles that
the United States has worked for many decades to embed in the global
economy. We believe in an open, free, transparent and fair system,
with clear rules of the road, that benefit everybody, a real
competition. But I have to say that not just the Chinese and the
Russians, but others believe in something else altogether. So faced
with this challenge, we could choose to continue fighting for
individual American companies like Corning and FedEx, and I certainly
did that throughout my time as secretary, but given the scope of the
threats to the global economy I thought we needed to think bigger.”
[06262014 HWA Remarks for GTCR (Chicago, IL).docx, p. 4]
Hillary
Clinton Said She Made The Argument For Openness In Trade Since
American And Foreign Manufacturers Wanted Access To Markets Oversees.
“I thought I was doing pretty
well. I'm making the case, making the argument for openness,
fairness, transparency, claiming, look, Malaysia manufacturers want
access to markets overseas as much as American manufacturers, Indian
firms want fair treatment when they invest abroad, just as we do,
Chinese artists want to protect their creations from piracy, every
society seeking to develop a strong research and technology sector
needs intellectual property protection to make trade fair as well as
freer. Developing countries have to do a better job of improving
productivity, raising labor conditions, and protecting the
environment, on and on.” [06262014 HWA Remarks for GTCR (Chicago,
IL).docx, p. 5]
Hillary
Clinton Said That The United States Saw Fewer Jobs With Greater
Competition With Free Trade But Thoughtful Policies In The 1990s Saw
An Economic Boom. “But
certainly increasing productivity, fewer jobs is the simplest,
greater competition from abroad as the world began to really open up
and I think there was a reversal to some extent fueled by technology
but also fueled by thoughtful policies in the 90's where there was
this, you know, economic boom that created 22 million new jobs and
lots of people, you know, took advantage of that.” [05162013
Remarks to Banco Itau.doc, p. 44-45]
Hillary
Clinton Said That She’s All For Free Trade, But She’s Also For
Reciprocity.
“Now
I'm all for trade, I'm all for free trade but I'm also all for a
reciprocity and a lot of times that is not coming back at us, you
know, probably the single biggest source of complaints that I began
fielding from American businesses the last year was how they were
being squeezed in countries like China, you know, companies that had
been there ten, 20 years even, pioneering companies, you know, they
were coming to me and saying, you know, I had these deals and now all
of a sudden state enterprise X is telling me, you know, we're not
going to renew your license for that. So, if you are going to have
the rules of the free market it's really in American interest to make
sure that everybody follows those rules. So, yes, does trade
sometimes get distorted, to the detriment of a country like ours,
yes. In general we remain the most open market but in particular we
may have to send some messages and I think that's smart, you know,
strategic planning and messaging.” [05162013 Remarks to Banco
Itau.doc, p. 46-47]
Hillary
Clinton Said Her Dream Is A Hemispheric Common Market, With Open
Trade And Open Markets. “My
dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open
borders, some time in the future with energy that is as green and
sustainable as we can get it, powering growth and opportunity for
every person in the hemisphere.” [05162013 Remarks to Banco
Itau.doc, p. 28]
Hillary
Clinton Said We Have To Have A Concerted Plan To Increase Trade; We
Have To Resist Protectionism And Other Kinds Of Barriers To Trade.
“Secondly,
I think we have to have a concerted plan to increase trade already
under the current circumstances, you know, that Inter-American
Development Bank figure is pretty surprising. There
is so much more we can do, there is a lot of low hanging fruit but
businesses on both sides have to make it a priority and it's not for
governments to do but governments can
either
make it easy or make it hard and we have to resist, protectionism,
other kinds
of
barriers to market access and to trade and I would like to see this
get much more attention and be not just a policy for a
year
under president X or president Y but a consistent one.”
[05162013 Remarks to Banco Itau.doc, p. 32]
Hillary
Clinton Said Just Think Of What Doubling The Trade Between The United
States And Latin America Would Mean For Everyone in This Room. “Just
think of what doubling the trade between the United States and Latin
America would mean for everybody in this room and it doesn't happen
by accident, it happens because people get up every day and decide
they're going to make an effort.” [05162013 Remarks to Banco
Itau.doc, p. 14]
Hillary
Clinton Praised TPP. “Greater
connections in our own hemisphere hold such promise. The United
States and Canada are working together with a group of open market
democracies along the Pacific Rim, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, to
expand responsible trade and economic cooperation.” [Canada 2020
Speech, 10/6/14]
Clinton:
“People At The Heart Of The Private Sector Need To Keep Making The
Argument That A More Open, Resilient Economic System Will Create More
Broadly Shared Prosperity.” “I
think we all, not just public officials or outside analysts, but
people at the heart of the private sector need to keep making the
argument that a more open, resilient economic system will create more
broadly shared prosperity than state capitalism, petro-capitalism or
crony capitalism ever will.” [Clinton Remarks to Deutsche Bank,
10/7/14]
Hillary
Clinton: “We Could Do A Whole Lot More Business With Our Neighbors
To The North And The South.” “And
I want to underscore that point. We could do a whole lot more
business with our neighbors to the north and the south. They are our
biggest customers right now. And we need to be paying more attention
as to how we build economic relationships in this hemisphere, a
hemisphere that is now is largely -- not completely -- but largely
democratic, largely free-market economies where we actually now
export more and import more from than most people, most Americans
know.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at the International
Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association, 6/2/14]
Clinton
Noted Unfair Chinese Trade Practices Against Corning By Imposing A
17% Tariff On Their Products.
“Corning, a company in Upstate New York was the inventor of Gorilla
Glass, which supplies not only fiber optics, but other important
products all over the world to Apple, to Samsung, to so many, had
been in China in the fiber optics business for a long time and
basically the Chinese showed up and said we think you're dumping,
we're imposing a 17 percent tariff, which would have effectively put
them out of business, unless you go into a joint agreement with
company X over here. And that was the surest way to lose your
intellectual property and your trade secrets and all the rest.”
[Remarks to eBay, 3/11/15]
Clinton
Touted The Importance Of Trade With Asia, Said “I Led The Way On
This, That We Were Going To Be A Major Presence” In Asia.
“One, we created the Asia-Pacific Economic Community where a lot of
economic issues are hashed out, you know, tariffs and the like. And
the other which we joined during the first term of the Obama
Administration, something called the East Asia Summit. Now, why do I
tell you that? Because 40 percent of all of America's and the world's
trade goes through the South China Sea; because we have defense
treaties with five nations, Japan, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines,
Australia; because we are in a competition for the future and we need
more partners and fewer adversaries. So we decided, and I led the
way on this, that we were going to be a major presence, because for
the previous eight years, understandably we've been focused on South
Asia and the Middle East, almost to the exclusion of Asia.”
[Remarks to New York Tri-State Of The Market, 11/14/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Scrap Recycling Demand From Asia Was Helping Improve Our
Trade Balance And Fuel Our Economic Recovery. “I'm
also delighted to learn that scrap products are a key export for the
United States. By helping meet the demands for raw materials from
emerging economies in Asia and elsewhere, you're improving our trade
balance and fueling our economic recovery. We're talking about 20 to
30 billion in exports every year. And I looked at the program for
this conference and was fascinated by all of the different issues
that that leads you to study and learn about.” [Hillary Clinton
Remarks at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Convention,
4/10/14]
Hillary
Clinton: “Our Future Growth Will Get a Real Shot In the Arm If We
Reach Farther Into the Burgeoning Consumer Markets Across”
Asia-Pacific Region. “More
than half the world's population lives in the vast region from the
Indian Ocean to the Island Nations. Here we find some of our most
trusted allies and valuable trading partners, many of the world's
most dynamic trade and energy routes. A few years ago, when our
country was struggling through the worst economic downturn since the
Great Depression, American exports to the Asia-Pacific helped spur
our recovery. Our future growth will get a real shot in the arm if we
reach farther into the burgeoning consumer markets across the region.
[…] And you are on track here in this state, in this city to take
full advantage of a 21st century economy, and to help make sure that
the United States remains a strong presence and a power in the
Pacific.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at the World Affairs Council of
Oregon, 4/8/14]
Clinton:
“The United States And Canada Are Working Together With A Group Of
Open Market Democracies Along The Pacific Rim […] To Expand
Responsible Trade And Economic Cooperation.” “The
middle class in Latin America has roughly doubled since 2000,
including big increases in Brazil and Mexico. That translates into
increased prosperity for them and more than 50 million new middle
class consumers eager to buy U.S. and Canadian goods and services.
That's why the United States and Canada are working together with a
group of open market democracies along the Pacific Rim -- Mexico,
Colombia, Peru and Chile -- to expand responsible trade and economic
cooperation.” [Remarks for CIBC, 1/22/15]
Clinton:
“The North American Future That I Imagine Is One That Would […]
Give Us A Much More Open Border Where Goods And Services More Easily
Flowed…” “The North
American future that I imagine is one that would give us energy
connectivity, give us a much more open border where goods and
services more easily flowed, would give us the chance to put our
heads together about what else we can do together, bringing Mexico in
to continue the work we have started on health care like early
warning systems for epidemic diseases. We saw that in 2009 with the
spread of a particularly virulent form of the flu that first came to
our part of the world and Mexico, and because of the cooperation,
because of the investments we made, were able to stop it in its
tracks.” [Remarks for CIBC, 1/22/15]
Clinton:
“When My Husband Was Elected In His First Two Years He Made A Lot
Of Changes. […] He Passed NAFTA, Alienating A Lot Of The Democratic
Base.” “But, I think it's
important to go back just for another historic minute. When my
husband was elected in his first two years he made a lot of changes.
And he passed a tax program to try to get us out of the deficit and
debt situation that we were mired in after 12 years of quadrupling
the debt. He passed really strong gun control laws, taking on the
NRA, no easy matter to do in American politics. He passed NAFTA,
alienating a lot of the Democratic base. We fought for healthcare
reform unsuccessfully.” [Remarks for CIBC, 1/22/15]
Clinton:
“It Was A Good Sign When Prime Minister Abe Said That Japan Would
Negotiate On The Transpacific Partnership.” “And
some of you are experts, which I certainly am not, on the Japanese
economy, if the prime minister and his government will now willing to
open up the internal market and incentivizing these changes and
taking on the tough political hurdles, I think you could see
sustainable growth. At what level, I can't predict, but it was a good
sign when Prime Minister Abe said that Japan would negotiate on the
Transpacific partnership, that is something that we tried to get
prior prime ministers to commit to, and they were under pressure from
the car industry and from the rice farmers and others, but he did say
Japan wants to be part of the TPP. If they follow through on that,
that will be a good sign.” [Hillary Clinton remarks at Sanford
Bernstein, 5/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said She “Strongly Supported” Trade And Regulatory
Harmonization With Europe, Pointing To French Agriculture As A
Stumbling Block. “But on the
trade and regulatory harmonization, we are very serious about that
and something that I strongly supported. The discussions are
ongoing. It will come down, as it often does, to agriculture,
particularly French agriculture, and we’ll just have to see how
much we can get done by that process. And there is no doubt that if
we can make progress on the trade regulatory front it would be good
for the Europeans. It would be good for us. And I would like to see
us go as far as we possibly can with a real agreement, not a phony
agreement. You know, the EU signs agreements all the time with
nearly everybody, but they don’t change anything. They just kind
of sign them and see what comes of it” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs,
2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said We Had “An Opportunity To Really Actually Save Money
In Our Respective Regulatory Schemes, Increase Trade” “With The
TPC. I think we have an
opportunity to really actually save money in our respective
regulatory schemes, increase trade not only between ourselves but
also be more effective in helping to keep the world on a better track
for a rural spaced global trading system by having us kind of set the
standards for that, along with the TPC, which we didn’t mention
when we talked about Asia, which I think is also still proceeding.”
[ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Reducing Regulations
Clinton:
“How Do We Strengthen And Improve Our Financial Systems To Promote
Responsible Investments While Preventing Irresponsible Risk-Taking?
I'm A Huge Supporter Of Risk-Taking.” “How
do we strengthen and improve our financial systems to promote
responsible investments while preventing irresponsible risk-taking?
I'm a huge supporter of risk-taking. I've kind of done a little bit
of that in my life. And there are lots of ways of doing it. But I
don't believe that risk-taking should be subsidized. I think we have
to figure out how we strike the right balance.” [Remarks for CIBC,
1/22/15]
Hillary
Clinton: “You Know, I’m Not In The Pro- Or Anti-Regulation Camp,
I’m In The Smart Regulation Camp.” HILLARY
CLINTON: “And we need to do more to be sensible about regulation.
You know, I'm not in the pro- or anti-regulation camp, I'm in the
smart regulation camp. I mean, what works, what doesn't work, get
rid of what doesn't work and be willing to work with businesses on
that. You know, obviously, when I was a senator, I had great working
relationships with, you know, most of the businesses and their
associations in New York because I listened. And I think there is a
perception that maybe that is not as common as it needs to be in our
party.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at Council of Insurance Agents and
Brokers, 10/13/14]
Clinton
Said She Had “Great Working Relationships With […] Most Of The
Businesses And Their Associations In New York.” HILLARY
CLINTON: “You know, obviously, when I was a senator, I had great
working relationships with, you know, most of the businesses and
their associations in New York because I listened. And I think there
is a perception that maybe that is not as common as it needs to be in
our party.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at Council of Insurance Agents
and Brokers, 10/13/14]
Refugees
Hillary
Clinton Used The Experience Of Cuban Prisoners In Fort Smith Arkansas
To Illustrate The Complexity Of Civilian Vs Military Rule. “I
think that the civilian rule has served us well, and I don’t want
to do anything that upsets it even though I have a very personal
experience. You remember when Castro opened the prisons and sent all
the criminals to the United States? MR. BLANKFEIN: The --
MS. CLINTON: A lot of those prisoners were ordered to go to a
fort in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, Ft. Chaffee, and my husband was governor
of Arkansas at the time. It was a military fort, so the United
States military ran it. So if you were on the fort you were under US
military authority, but if you stepped off the fort you were not.
And the result was there was a riot where prisoners were breaking
through the gates, and the US military would not stop them.” [
Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
-
Hillary Clinton: “We Do Not Ever Want To Turn Over To Our Military The Kind Of Civilian Authority That Should Be Exercised By Elected Officials.” “So my husband as governor had to call out the state police. So you had the military inside basically saying under the law we can’t do anything even to stop prisoners from Cuba. So it is complicated, but it’s complicated in part for a reason, because we do not ever want to turn over to our military the kind of civilian authority that should be exercised by elected officials. So I think that’s the explanation.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Russia
Hillary
Clinton Stated What She Said Yesterday Is That Claims By Putin And
Other Russians That They Had To Go Into Crimea Was Reminiscent Of
Germany In The 1930s. “What
I said yesterday is that the claims by President Putin and other
Russians that they had to go into Crimea and maybe further into
Eastern Ukraine because they had to protect the Russian minorities.
And that is reminiscent of claims that were made back in the 1930s
when Germany under the Nazis kept talking about how they had to
protect German minorities in Poland, in Czechoslovakia, and elsewhere
throughout Europe. So I just want everybody to have a little historic
perspective. I'm not making a comparison, certainly, but I am
recommending that we, perhaps, can learn from this tactic that has
been used before.” [03052014 HWA Remarks at UCLA.DOC, p. 19]
On
Missile Defense, Clinton Said, “We Don't Believe That There Will Be
A Threat From Russia.” “I
last saw [Putin] in Vladivostok where I represented President Obama
in September for the Asia Pacific economic community. I sat next to
him. He's an engaging and, you know, very interesting
conversationalist. We talked about a lot of issues that were not the
hot-button issues between us, you know, his view on missile defense,
which we think is misplaced because, you know, we don't believe that
there will be a threat from Russia, but we think that both Russia and
the United States are going to face threats from their perimeter,
either from rogue states like Iran or from terrorist groups, that's
not the way he sees it.” [Hillary Clinton remarks at Sanford
Bernstein, 5/29/13]
Clinton:
“But Nobody Doubted, Or At Least I'll Speak For Myself, I Never
Doubted That Putin Still Basically Made The Decisions.”
CLINTON: So when President Obama took office and I became Secretary
of State, the President at the time was Dmitry Medvedev, who was
installed by Putin, and he was much easier to get along with. He had
a more modern view of what Russia could become. But nobody doubted,
or at least I'll speak for myself, I never doubted that Putin still
basically made the decisions. So when Putin decided he wanted to be
president again in the fall of 2011, it was this awkward thing, where
big rally, Medvedev gets up and says, oh, I'm so happy Putin wants to
come back as president. I'll be prime minister. The whole thing was
staged. It was pretty much of a charade. And then they had
parliamentary elections in December 2011. In the meantime, we knew
that they had that brutal crackdown in Chechnya. They were beginning
to really pressure the press and dissidents, and anyone who
considered themselves an opposition leader. So there was a lot going
on internally in Russia. But then in December 2011, they had
parliamentary elections, which were fraudulent, and clearly
illegitimate. And I was Secretary, so I said, you know, we're
concerned by what we see as irregularities in the voting in Russia,
et cetera. And then he attacked me personally, and people were
pouring into the streets in Moscow and St. Petersburg to protest, and
Putin was attacking me. And he basically said I had made them go out
and protest against him. [Clinton Speech At UConn, 4/23/14]
Hillary
Clinton Said She “Would Love It If We Could Continue To Build A
More Positive Relationship With Russia.”
“And finally on Afghanistan and Russia. Look, I would love it if we
could continue to build a more positive relationship with Russia. I
worked very hard on that when I was Secretary, and we made some
progress with Medvedev, who was president in name but was obviously
beholden to Putin, but Putin kind of let him go and we helped them
get into the WTO for several years, and they were helpful to us in
shipping equipment, even lethal equipment, in and out of out of
Afghanistan.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual
Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “We Would Very Much Like To Have A Positive Relationship
With Russia And We Would Like To See Putin Be Less Defensive Toward A
Relationship With The United States.” “So
we were making progress, and I think Putin has a different view.
Certainly he’s asserted himself in a way now that is going to take
some management on our side, but obviously we would very much like to
have a positive relationship with Russia and we would like to see
Putin be less defensive toward a relationship with the United States
so that we could work together on some issues.” [ Speech to Goldman
Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Called Vladimir Putin “Interesting” But Said He Was Too
Powerful Not to Try To Find Common Ground. “In
terms of interesting, Vladimir Putin is always interesting. You’re
never quite sure what he’s going to do or say next, and he’s
always—he walks around with, you know, a redwood chip on his
shoulder defending and promoting, you know, Mother Russia. So he and
I have had our interesting moments. He accused me of
personally causing all the riots after the contested election two
years ago, but he is someone who you have to deal with. You can’t,
you know, just wish he would go away. He has a huge country and huge
potential for causing problems for many people so I always tried to
figure out some way to connect with him, what we could talk about
that maybe we had some common ground” [Jewish United Fund Of
Metropolitan Chicago Vanguard Luncheon, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said One Time She Visited Putin And Bonded With Him Over
Protecting The Habitat Of Tigers. “One
time, I was visiting with him in his dacha outside of Moscow, and he
was going on and on, you know, just listing all of the problems that
he thinks are caused by the United States. And I said, ‘Well, you
know, Mr.’—at that time, he was still prime minister. I said,
‘You know, Mr. Prime Minister, we actually have some things in
common. We both want to protect wildlife, and I know how committed
you are to protecting the tiger.’ I mean, all of a sudden,
he sat up straight and his eyes got big and he goes, ‘You care
about the tiger? I said, ‘I care about the tiger, I care about the
elephant, I care about the rhinoceros, I care about the whale. I
mean, yeah, I think we have a duty. You know, it’s an obligation
that we as human beings have to protect God’s creation.’
He goes, ‘Come with me.’ So we go down the stairs, we go
down this long hall, we go into this private inner sanctum. All of
his, you know, very beefy security guys are there, they all jump up
at attention, you know, they punch a code, he goes through a
heavily-armed door. And then we’re in an inner, inner sanctum
with, you know, just this long, wooden table, and then further back,
there’s a desk and the biggest map of Russia I ever saw.
And he starts talking to me about, you know, the habitat of the
tigers and the habitat of the seals and the whales. And it was quite
something.” [Jewish United Fund Of Metropolitan Chicago Vanguard
Luncheon, 10/28/13]
Shanghai Expo
Hillary
Clinton Looked Into the Shanghai Expo After Being Asked About It On
Her First Trip As Secretary To China In 2009. “On
my first trip to China in February of 2009, we had a very long agenda
on all of the issues that you can imagine, from North Korea to Tibet.
And as I was in the midst of the meeting, the Chinese foreign
minister said, ‘We are so sorry that the United States will not be
participating in our international expo in Shanghai in 2010,’ the
next year. I'd been really well briefed. Nobody had said anything to
me about the expo in Shanghai. And you learn in these positions, you
know, to look like, oh yes, of course, the expo. (Laughter.) And I
said, ‘Well, what is it that really concerns you about that?’
(Laughter.) And he said, ‘Well, the only two countries not building
pavilions are Andorra and the United States.’ (Laughter.) I said,
‘Well, let me look into that.’” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at the
World Affairs Council of Oregon, 4/8/14]
Hillary
Clinton: “We Have To Have A Pavilion. So We Hustled Around And We
Got One Built, Finally.” “I
raced back to the hotel and started calling people, ‘What is the
Shanghai expo?’ Oh, it was something that the prior administration
delegated to a group that is out of money and they didn't really pull
together the corporate sponsors and it's too late. I said, it can't
be too late. I mean, I keep picking up all of these translated
articles from the Chinese press talking about the decline of the
United States. We can't not be there, just us and Andorra, for
heaven's sakes. (Laughter.) We have to have a pavilion. So we hustled
around and we got one built, finally. I actually went back to
Shanghai to make sure that it was being built, stood in the rain, an
umbrella over my head and talked about how wonderful it was going to
be when it actually was finished.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at the
World Affairs Council of Oregon, 4/8/14]
Simpson-Bowles
Clinton:
“Simpson-Bowles… Put Forth The Right Framework. Namely, We Have
To Restrain Spending, We Have To Have Adequate Revenues, And We Have
To Incentivize Growth. It's A Three-Part Formula… And They Reached
An Agreement. But What Is Very Hard To Do Is To Then Take That
Agreement If You Don't Believe That You're Going To Be Able To Move
The Other Side.” SECRETARY
CLINTON: Well, this may be borne more out of hope than experience in
the last few years. But Simpson-Bowles -- and I know you heard from
Erskine earlier today -- put forth the right framework. Namely, we
have to restrain spending, we have to have adequate revenues, and we
have to incentivize growth. It's a three-part formula. The specifics
can be negotiated depending upon whether we're acting in good faith
or not. And what Senator Simpson and Erskine did was to bring
Republicans and Democrats alike to the table, and you had the full
range of ideological views from I think Tom Coburn to Dick Durbin.
And they reached an agreement. But what is very hard to do is to then
take that agreement if you don't believe that you're going to be able
to move the other side. And where we are now is in this gridlocked
dysfunction. So you've got Democrats saying that, you know, you have
to have more revenues; that's the sine qua non of any kind of
agreement. You have Republicans saying no, no, no on revenues; you
have to cut much more deeply into spending. Well, looks what's
happened. We are slowly returning to growth. It's not as much or as
fast as many of us would like to see, but, you know, we're certainly
better off than our European friends, and we're beginning to, I
believe, kind of come out of the long aftermath of the '08 crisis.
[Clinton Speech For Morgan Stanley, 4/18/13]
Clinton:
“The Simpson-Bowles Framework And The Big Elements Of It Were
Right… You Have To Restrain Spending, You Have To Have Adequate
Revenues, And You Have To Have Growth.”
CLINTON: So, you know, the Simpson-Bowles framework and the big
elements of it were right. The specifics can be negotiated and
argued over. But you got to do all three. You have to restrain
spending, you have to have adequate revenues, and you have to have
growth. And I think we are smart enough to figure out how to do
that. [Clinton Speech For Morgan Stanley, 4/18/13]
Clinton
On Bowles-Simpson: “I'm Not Going To Sort Of Piecemeal All Their
Recommendations, But Their Overall Approach Is Right, Because Here's
What They Basically Say. They Say We Need To Constrain Spending, We
Need To Have Adequate Revenues, And We've Got To Incentivize Growth.”
MR. BOZZUTO: Well, that's a great segway to the next question. We had
Alan Simpson of Erskine Bowles here in January speaking to us about
the economy. They've now come out with a second set of
recommendations. What -- putting aside their recommendation, what do
you think we need to do as a country to deal with the deficit?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, both of them are friends. Erskine is a very
close friend, and Alan Simpson is someone who you can't help but
like. And I really think they're great patriots. I mean, what they've
done because they just love this country really is deserving of our
respect. Now, I'm not going to sort of piecemeal all their
recommendations, but their overall approach is right, because here's
what they basically say. They say we need to constrain spending, we
need to have adequate revenues, and we've got to incentivize growth.
I mean, that's pretty much the framework for Simpson-Bowles. [Clinton
Speech For National Multi-Housing Council, 4/24/13]
Clinton
On Budget Politics: “We Need Reasonable, Rational, Moderate Voices
On Both Sides Of The Aisle… Do We Have To Do Something About
Entitlements? Yes. Do We Have To Figure Out What We Want To Be As A
Nation And Then Pay For It? Yes. Do We Have To Restrain Spending So
That We Don't Bankrupt Ourselves And Undermine Our Position At Home
And Abroad? Yes.” CLINTON: The
devil, as is usually the case, is in the details, because everybody
has their own particular idea of what each of those goals mean and
the tactics and strategies that we should deploy to get there. Now,
Erskine was in the White House, working for my husband, he was Chief
of Staff when the budget deal of the late '90s was reached. It was
not easy by any means. There was a lot of stray voltage about. You
know, we can't compromise, you have to hold your ground, we can't
give in, this is sacred, that is sacred. But it was an intensive
effort that my husband and Erskine and the team in that
administration were engaged in with their congressional counterparts,
and they just kept at it, and they just kept sort of burrowing in and
making the case and finally reaching an agreement that led to
balanced budgets. And, I might add, if we had stayed with the
trajectory for the budget that came out of the Clinton
Administration, we actually would have paid off the debt. So it
wasn't only eliminating, over time, the deficit, but it would have
actually paid off the debt. So, I think the -- the formula's easy to
say, but the politics are very hard. And I guess, you know, Tom, I
would say that, in my family, we always say you got to get caught
trying, and you have to keep trying. There's too much at stake. The
idea that we put the creditworthiness of the gold-plated economy, the
U.S. economy, at risk over the fiscal cliff debate -- I was in Hong
Kong during that debate in the summer of 2011, and it was
embarrassing. It was even a little painful for me because I was
speaking to a big Hong Kong business group, and they were
multinational executives there, a lot of Chinese were there, both
mainland and Hong Kong, and they were just incredulous. They kept
saying, now, explain to me, your Congress may let -- may say you
cannot pay your debts? I mean, explain that to me. And I said, oh,
no, that'll never happen. We'll figure it out. We're -- you know, we
often cause these problems. Like Winston Churchill said, you know,
the Americans try everything first before they finally get to the
right decision. So, I guess I'm of the school that we will, by
necessity, have to get to the right decision. But I think that's
where a lot of you come in. Really, we need -- we
need reasonable, rational, moderate voices on both sides of the aisle
to say, you know, we've spent, you know, 230-plus years building up
this economy, you know, settling this great country, doing everything
we're so proud of as Americans. We're smart enough to figure this
out, but it requires compromise on both sides, you know? Nobody in a
democracy -- it's part of the DNA of a democracy -- has all the
answers, and so let's just keep at it. Do we have to do something
about entitlements? Yes. Do we have to figure out what we want to be
as a nation and then pay for it? Yes. Do we have to restrain spending
so that we don't bankrupt ourselves and undermine our position at
home and abroad? Yes. We all know
those things. So, I really think that we have to get back into the
business of democracy and listening to each other, working with each
other, and quit drawing lines and taking positions that are against
compromise of any kind, because, I don't know, maybe I've just lived
long enough. I think usually, you know, you try to come to the table
and figure out how to make it as close to a win-win as you can, and I
think that's what we've got to do, and the whole world is watching
us. [Clinton Speech For National Multi-Housing Council, 4/24/13]
Syria
Hillary
Clinton Said There Has Not Been The Level Of Cooperation And
Deportation Of The Chemical Weapons Out Of Syria That We Expected At
This Time. “SECRETARY
CLINTON: Well, this is an issue I certainly spent a lot of time
working on and worrying about both when I was in the government and
in the time since. Taking your last question first the agreement that
the Asad regime entered into to disable and remove the chemical
weapon stocks was a positive step but it has not been fulfilled.
There has not been the level of cooperation and deportation of the
chemical precursors and weapon stocks that we had expected by this
time. Now, is that because Asad and his government are making it
very difficult if not impossible to do that? Is it because in a war,
an active conflict like what is happening in Syria it is very
difficult to do? It's a hard question to answer but the fact is
indisputable, we have not done yet what Asad promised would be done
and so we have to stay focused on getting the chemical weapon stocks
out of Syria.” [02262014 HWA Remarks at UMiami.DOC, p.18]
Hillary
Clinton On Syria: A “Singular Accomplishment” Was Removing The
Chemical Weapons Out Of Syria.
“So the predictions about all of the dangers that could happen have
happened. And we never got a chance to try any different approach.
However, it is a singular accomplishment to be removing the chemical
weapons out of Syria. They are now up to over half of the weapons,
the stockpiles, the precursors, being taken out, and they will be
destroyed. So that is a positive.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at the
World Affairs Council of Oregon, 4/8/14]
Clinton
Said She Negotiated Syria Transition Plan To Remove Al-Assad As
Outcome Instead Of Condition. “I
negotiated an agreement in Geneva last year for a transition plan;
and to get the Russians on board we said, you know, we are not going
to say that al-Assad has to go as a condition but as an outcome. I
mean we really tried to fashion it to get the Russians on board. We
thought we had them on board and then that we would go to the
Security Council, now, what is called Article 7, no authority to do
anything militarily, but to create a framework that could possibly
move us forward. And this is obviously my biased view, but the
Russians reneged.” [Clinton Remarks At Boston Consulting Group,
6/20/13]
Discussing
Syria, Clinton Mentioned Boots On The Ground As A Tool To Help
Eliminate Chemical And Biological Weapons.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Secretary Clinton -- Madam Secretary, if there was
indisputable evidence that the Syrian government used chemical
weapons on its people, would you be in favor of armed American
intervention in the form of air strikes or boots on the ground?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, you've asked a very, very difficult
question, because we obviously talked about this at great length, and
both the United States and Europe, as well as Israel, have said
that's a red line. And if there is indisputable evidence, then there
is the stated commitment to take action. What that action is and what
would work is extremely difficult to plan and execute. You mentioned
air strikes. If you -- it depends on who you're trying to strike. If
you strike those who are transporting chemical or biological weapons
that they have taken from storage depots, you could create an
environmental and health catastrophe. If you strike the locations
themselves, you have the same problems. When
we go in and try to eliminate the danger posed by chemical and
biological weapons, it is a very intense, long effort. You have
highly trained people who have to handle this material. We've been
working -- "we" meaning the United States government, along
with other contributing nations, have been working in some places for
a long period of time. That requires not just boots on the ground, it
requires, you know, being able to, in effect, liberate such a depot
or such a convoy from those who are currently in charge of it.
And then it requires managing the material so it doesn't have
disastrous consequences. And then it requires bringing in and
protecting the experts long enough that they can take hold of and, in
effect, disarm the weaponry. Now, some of it is in storage, it's not
prepared at the moment to be immediately used. But we think, and
there's a current analysis going on as you're probably aware based on
information the Europeans, Israelis and we have, that some of it has
been moved, and maybe some in a relatively minor but still very
dangerous way has been used. I don't think the analysis is completed
on that, and obviously I can't speak to it. So yes, in order to -- we
have to know which are the most vulnerable sites. There's been a lot
of discussion with the Russians. This was something that was very
much on my agenda, because they still have channels into the Syrian
military. There's a special department within the Syrian military
charged with the responsibility of safeguarding chemical and
biological stockpiles. The Russians have been communicating with
those groups. And all I can tell you is it will have to be stopped if
there is evidence that it has been used. It will also have to be
stopped if it appears that al-Qaeda's affiliate and/or Hezbollah is
moving to take control over it. But that's a lot easier said than
done. And given -- in a conflict situation like this where you have
no idea the loyalties or the mixed interests of those who might be in
charge of whatever the sites are. So there's a lot more that could be
discussed about this, but it is a very serious problem that our
military and our intelligence people have been analyzing and working
on for some time. [Clinton Speech For Deutsche Bank, 4/24/13]
On
The Initial Syrian Uprising, Hillary Clinton Said Assad Could Have
“Bought Them Off With Some Cosmetic Changes” That Would Not Have
Resulted In The Ongoing Chaos. “So
let’s just take a step back and look at the situation that we
currently have in Syria. When—before the uprising started in Syria
it was clear that you had a minority government running with the
Alawites in lead with mostly the other minority groups—Christians,
the Druze, some significant Sunni business leaders. But it was
clearly a minority that sat on top of a majority. And the uprisings
when they began were fairly mild in terms of what they were asking
for, and Assad very well could have in my view bought them off with
some cosmetic changes that would not have resulted in what we have
seen over the now two years and the hundred thousand deaths and the
destabilization that is going on in Lebanon, in Jordan, even in
Turkey, and the threat throwing to Israel and the kind of pitched
battle in Iran well supported by Russia, Saudi, Jordanians and others
trying to equip the majority Sunni fighters.” [ Speech to Goldman
Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The Russia See Syria Like the See Chechnya And Support
“Absolutely Merciless Reactions To Drive Down The Opposition To Be
Strangled.” “The Russian’s
view of this is very different. I mean, who conceives Syria as the
same way he sees Chechnya? You know, you have to support toughness
and absolute merciless reactions in order to drive the opposition
down to be strangled, and you can’t give an inch to them and you
have to be willing to do what Assad basically has been willing to
do.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference,
6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The Russians Wanted To Provide Assad With Enough Weapons
To Maintain Control Over Most Of The Country And Protect Their Naval
Base. “The Russians’ view is
that if we provide enough weapons to Assad and if Assad is able to
maintain control over most of the country, including the coastal
areas where our naval base is, that’s fine with us. Because you
will have internal fighting still with the Kurds and with the Sunnis
on the spectrum of extremism. But if we can keep our base and we can
keep Assad in the titular position of running the country, that
reflects well on us because we will demonstrate that we are back in
the Middle East. Maybe in a ruthless way, but a way that from their
perspective, the Russian perspective, Arabs will understand.” [
Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Her View Personally Was For The West To Develop Covert
Connections With The Syrian Opposition To Gain Insight. “So
the problem for the US and the Europeans has been from the very
beginning: What is it you—who is it you are going to try to arm?
And you probably read in the papers my view was we should try to find
some of the groups that were there that we thought we could build
relationships with and develop some covert connections that might
then at least give us some insight into what is going on inside
Syria.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference,
6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said It Was Fair To Argue “We Don’t Know What Will
Happen” And Said The Big Problem Was That Iran Was Heavily Invested
In Sustaining Assad. “But the
other side of the argument was a very—it was a very good one, which
is we don’t know what will happen. We can’t see down the road.
We just need to stay out of it. The problem now is that you’ve got
Iran in heavily. You’ve got probably at least 50,000 fighters
inside working to support, protect and sustain Assad. And like any
war, at least the wars that I have followed, the hard guys who are
the best fighters move to the forefront.” [[ Speech to Goldman
Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The Free Syrian Army Was No Matched For “These
Imported Toughened Iraqi, Jordanian, Libyan, Indonesian, Egyptian,
Chechen, Uzbek, Pakistani Fighters That Are Now In There.” “So
the free Syrian Army and a lot of the local rebel militias that were
made up of pharmacists and business people and attorneys and
teachers—they’re no match for these imported toughened Iraqi,
Jordanian, Libyan, Indonesian, Egyptian, Chechen, Uzbek, Pakistani
fighters that are now in there and have learned through more than a
decade of very firsthand experience what it takes in terms of
ruthlessness and military capacity.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs,
2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “My View Was You Intervene As Covertly As Is Possible For
Americans To Intervene. We Used To Be Much Better At This Than We
Are Now.”
“So we now have what everybody
warned we would have, and I am very concerned about the spillover
effects. And there is still an argument that goes on inside the
administration and inside our friends at NATO and the Europeans. How
do intervene—my view was you intervene as covertly as is possible
for Americans to intervene. We used to be much better at this than
we are now. Now, you know, everybody can’t help themselves. They
have to go out and tell their friendly reporters and somebody else:
Look what we’re doing and I want credit for it, and all the rest of
it” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference,
6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said One Of The Problems With A No Fly Zone Would Be The Need
To Take Out Syria’s Air Defense, And “You’re Going To Kill A
Lot Of Syrians.” “So we’re
not as good as we used to be, but we still—we can still deliver,
and we should have in my view been trying to do that so we would have
better insight. But the idea that we would have like a no fly
zone—Syria, of course, did have when it started the fourth biggest
Army in the world. It had very sophisticated air defense systems.
They’re getting more sophisticated thanks to Russian imports. To
have a no fly zone you have to take out all of the air defense, many
of which are located in populated areas. So our missiles, even if
they are standoff missiles so we’re not putting our pilots at
risk—you’re going to kill a lot of Syrians. So all of a sudden
this intervention that people talk about so glibly becomes an
American and NATO involvement where you take a lot of civilians.” [
Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
- Hillary Clinton Said Libya Was Simpler Because Their Air Defense Was Not Sophisticated And “There Were Very Few Civilian Casualties.” “In Libya we didn’t have that problem. It’s a huge place. The air defenses were not that sophisticated and there wasn’t very—in fact, there were very few civilian casualties. That wouldn’t be the case. And then you add on to it a lot of the air defenses are not only in civilian population centers but near some of their chemical stockpiles. You do not want a missile hitting a chemical stockpile.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The Israelis Carried Out Two Raids Targeted Weapons
Convoys In Syria. “MS.
CLINTON: Israel cares a lot about it. Israel, as you know, carried
out two raids that were aimed at convoys of weapons and maybe some
other stuff, but there was clearly weapons. Part of the tradeoff that
the Iranians negotiated with Assad. So I mean, I’ve described the
problem. I haven’t given you a solution for it, but I think that
the complexity of it speaks to what we’re going to be facing in
this region, and that leads me to Iran.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs,
2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The Rejection Of Military Strikes To Enforce The Red
Line In Syria Was More About Domestic Politics. “SECRETARY
CLINTON: Well, I’m an optimist, so I think the trend line
continues to be positive, but I think you have highlighted one of the
issues that, you know, concerns me on the—you know, if you look at
the—the Syria vote is a bit of a challenging one to draw large
conclusions from because it is a wicked problem. There are so many
factors at play there. But the underlying rejection of a military
strike to enforce the red line on chemical weapons spoke more about,
you know, the country’s preoccupation with our own domestic
situation, the feeling that we need to get our own house in order,
that we need to get that economy that everybody here is so deeply
involved in producing more, getting back to growth, dealing with the
unemployment figures that are still unacceptably high in too many
places.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
-
Hillary Clinton Said “You Can’t Squander Your Reputation And Your Leadership Capital. You Have To Do What You Say You’re Going To Do.” “So it was both a rejection of any military action in the Middle East right now and a conclusion that, you know, people of considerable analytical understanding of the region could also reach that, you know, you—we’re in—we’re in a time in Syria where they’re not finished killing each other, where it’s very difficult for anybody to predict a good outcome and maybe you just have to wait and watch it. But on the other side of it, you can’t squander your reputation and your leadership capital. You have to do what you say you’re going to do. You have to be smart about executing on your strategies. And you’ve got to be careful not to send the wrong message to others, such as Iran.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Jordan Was Threatened Because “They Can’t Possibly
Vet All Those Refugees So They Don’t Know If, You Know, Jihadists
Are Coming In Along With Legitimate Refugees.”
““So
I think you’re right to have gone to the places that you visited
because there’s a discussion going on now across the region to try
to see where there might be common ground to deal with the threat
posed by extremism and particularly with Syria which has everyone
quite worried, Jordan because it’s on their border and they have
hundreds of thousands of refugees and they can’t possibly vet all
those refugees so they don’t know if, you know, jihadists are
coming in along with legitimate refugees. Turkey for the same
reason.” [Jewish United Fund Of Metropolitan Chicago Vanguard
Luncheon, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Some Advise In Syria To “Let Them Kill Themselves
Until They Get Exhausted, And Then We’ll Figure Out How To Deal
With What The Remnants Are.”
“One way is a very hands off,
step back, we don’t have a dog in this hunt, let them kill
themselves until they get exhausted, and then we’ll figure out how
to deal with what the remnants are. That’s a position held by
people who believe that there is no way, not just for the United
States but others, to stop the killing before the people doing the
killing and the return killing are tired of killing each other. So
it’s a very hands-off approach.” [2014 Jewish United Fund Advance
& Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Called The Removal Of Syria’s Chemical Weapons A “Net
Positive.” “So that happens
to be moving forward, which in and of itself is a positive. It
doesn’t stop the civil war. It doesn’t stop the continued abuses
and murders and everything that goes with it, but it is a net
positive for the world and our national interest if we can disable
Syria’s large chemical stockpiles, begin to actually ship it out of
the country, get it away from terrorist networks and others.” [2014
Jewish United Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said She Favored “More Robust, Covert Action” In Syria
But Said Things Have Been “Complicated By The Fact That The Saudis
And Others Are Shipping Large Amounts Of Weapons—And Pretty
Indiscriminately.” “Now,
there is another group, which basically argued we do have a national
interest in this because refugee flows, jihadist recruitment, giving
of large parts of Syria over to uncontrollable groups that threaten
Israel, Jordan and others, through conventional means is very much
against our interests, and the debate has been can you really
influence that? Some of us thought, perhaps, we could, with a
more robust, covert action trying to vet, identify, train and arm
cadres of rebels that would at least have the firepower to be able to
protect themselves against both Assad and the Al-Qaeda-related
jihadist groups that have, unfortunately, been attracted to Syria.
That’s been complicated by the fact that the Saudis and others are
shipping large amounts of weapons—and pretty indiscriminately—not
at all targeted toward the people that we think would be the more
moderate, least likely, to cause problems in the future, but this is
another one of those very tough analytical problems.” [2014 Jewish
United Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said The US Had “Potential National Interests” In Syria.
“It depends upon how you
define national interest. We certainly do with chemical weapons. We
certainly would if Syria became even, in part, like the FATA between
Pakistan and Afghanistan, a training ground for extremists, a
launching pad for attacks on Turkey, Jordan, the non-tetarian
elements in Lebanon and, eventually, even in Israel. So that would
certainly be a national interest and how we would cope with that, if
that were to come to pass. So it’s—it is a particularly
tough issue because I think we have national interests right now. I
think we have potential future national interests but trying to
figure out the best way for us to pursue those interests has been
quite challenging.” [2014 Jewish United Fund Advance & Major
Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “I Was Among The President’s Advisors Who Favored A More
Robust, Covert Effort To Try To Figure Out Who, If Anybody, We Could
Know More About And Possibly Partner With.” “MS.
HILLARY CLINTON: Well, that’s where we are right now. I mean I
was among the President’s advisors who favored a more robust,
covert effort to try to figure out who, if anybody, we could know
more about and possibly partner with, but for all kinds of reasons
that didn’t come to pass. So the chemical weapons piece is
something that we need to carry through on, and getting the chemical
weapons out of there while we actually have an Assad regime to work
with is a very important development. It helps remove one of the
fears and, frankly, one of the—one of the issues on our checklist
as to what would happen with all of these chemical weapons that may
make whatever we do next somewhat more understandable.” [2014
Jewish United Fund Advance & Major Gifts Dinner, 10/28/13]
Taxes
Corporate Taxes
Hillary
Clinton Said We Have To Rationalize Our Tax System Because She
Doesn’t Want To See Biotech And Pharma Companies Moving Out Of The
Country. “The tax issue is
something else. Clearly, I believe we've got to rationalize our tax
system, because I don't want to see biotech companies or pharma
companies moving out of our country simply because of some kind of
tax -- perceived tax disadvantage and potential tax advantage
somewhere else. (Applause.)” [06252014 HWA Remarks at BIO (San
Diego, CA).docx, p. 6]
Hillary
Clinton On Tax On Foreign Earnings: “I Would Like To Figure Out
Ways Of Getting It Back And Figuring Out Some Creative Ways.”
HILLARY CLINTON: “Well, I
would like to find a way to repatriate the overseas earnings and I've
read a really interesting proposal. I haven't vetted it, so I don't
know all the details of it. But, John Chambers and others, of big
companies like you're saying, they basically have said they would be
willing to invest a percentage of their repatriated profits in an
infrastructure bank that would be doing what we need to be doing,
increasing our infrastructure, everything from repairing airports and
ports, and broadband access being increased dramatically and a long
list of what we're not doing. And I thought that was a really
intriguing idea, because it doesn't do us – it doesn't do our
economy any good to have this money parked somewhere else in the
world and it's not really being put to use there either. So I would
like to figure out ways of getting it back and figuring out some
creative ways.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at Nexenta, 8/28/14]
In
Fielding Question About U.S. Corporate Tax Reform, Hillary Clinton
Mentioned Her Frequent Meetings With Corporate Executives And “Groups
All Across The Private Sector.” HILLARY
CLINTON: “This time around, a number of business leaders have been
talking to my husband and me about an idea that would allow the
repatriation of the couple trillion dollars that are out there. And
you would get a lower rate -- a really low rate -- if you were
willing to invest a percentage in an infrastructure bank. Because
it's so interesting to me, I meet with lots of corporate executives,
I talk to groups from all across the private sector, and they all
complain about our infrastructure. Complain about our bad rail
systems, and particularly with the increased burden that the rails
are carrying because of oil and gas tankers. They complain about our
airports, they complain about our ports, they complain about our
roads.” [Hillary Clinton Remarks at Council of Insurance Agents and
Brokers, 10/13/14]
Clinton
Said Lowering The Corporate Tax Rate Could “Be On the Table And To
Be Looked At As Part Of A Broader Package” To Make America More
Competitive. “JACK LEWIN:
Very good. Thank you. Some of the questions came from this audience.
We had a whole lot of them. But a parallel to this question was one
about the corporate tax rate. The U.S. corporate tax rate is higher
than most of our developed nation colleagues. And so I think without
kind of a real sincere just what if we looked at that one area as
a means of improving our international ability to compete in the
global economy? Is that something, have you thought about that at
all? SEC. HILLARY CLINTON: Well, you know, I think that there are a
number of reforms that we should consider to make ourselves more
competitive. That certainly could be on the table and to be looked
at as part of a broader package, because if all you do is lower the
rates and you don't have some path forward as to what you're trying
to achieve and what the loss revenues might mean for pick your
favorite subject, basic science or whatever it might be. Then
there's a price to pay. You have to be prepared to pay that price.”
[Remarks to Cardiovascular Research Foundation, 9/15/14]
Hillary
Clinton Said “The Corporate Tax Code Is, You Know, An Impediment
And Kind Of A Dinosaur Waiting To Be Changed.” “MODERATOR
KRUEGER: Speaking about remaining competitive to do business on a
global basis, our tax code; there may be one or two humans who can
understand it, I'm not sure anymore. There seems -- you know, we
have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. In one sense we've
made this country the most non-competitive place to be headquartered
and do business directly. There seems to be a growing consensus we
need tax reform. There seems to be two camps. One, let's nibble
around the edges, let's adjust a few provisions. The other camp
seems to be, trash it, go big, go bold, and go simple. Do you have
any inclinations, one way or the other? SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I
think we should go smart. I mean, I think that part of our challenge
is to do what we have to do, which is to take a hard look at our tax
code and connect it to what our national goals are, you know, what is
it we need to be collecting taxes to do, and what is it we need to
make it, in essence, so we become more competitive in the future, and
that requires the kind of thoughtful discussion that we haven't had
enough of in recent years. I think there are very good arguments that
need to be aired. I agree with you, the corporate tax code is, you
know, an impediment and kind of a dinosaur waiting to be changed.”
[Hillary Clinton remarks to ECGR Grand Rapids, 6/17/13]
Simplifying Tax Code
Clinton:
“We Can Save Money And Become More Competitive With A Simpler Tax
Code Related To What We Are Trying To Achieve.” “How
it fits into an overall tax code is something that has to be given
close consideration, but I believe we can save money and become more
competitive with a simpler tax code related to what we are trying to
achieve.” [Hillary Clinton remarks to ECGR Grand Rapids, 6/17/13]
Technology/New Economy
Hillary
Clinton Said Technological Change “Can Empower Corporations That
Are Trying To Help Build A Middle Class And Spread Prosperity.”
“We see the important role of economies even more than militaries
in helping to shape foreign affairs, and the political and
technological changes are also empowering non-state actors. That is
both good and bad because they can empower activists who are fighting
corruption or are fighting for environmental sustainability or
fighting for education for girls. They can empower corporations that
are trying to help build a middle lass and spread prosperity. And
they can also empower terrorist networks and criminal cartels.”
[Remarks at London Drug Toronto, 11/4/13]
Terrorism
Hillary
Clinton: Terrorism “Not A Threat To Us As A Nation,” But Remains
“A Real Threat.” “But
make no mistake, as the recent travel alert underscores, we still
face terrorism. It's not a threat to us as a nation. It is not
going to endanger our economy or our society, but it is a real
threat. It is a danger to our citizens here at home, and as we
tragically saw in Boston, and to those living, working, and traveling
abroad.” [Hillary Clinton remarks to Global Business Travelers
Association, 8/7/13]
Clinton:
“We Used To Have A Kind Of Top Ten List Of Targets, And When We'd
Kill One, We'd Move The Next Most Important Guy Into The Line-Up.”
CLILNTON: Secondly, we did really, both in the Bush Administration
and in the Obama Administration, go right at core Al Qaeda. You know,
we have, you know, killed and captured so many of their leaders. We
used to have a kind of top ten list of targets, and when we'd kill
one, we'd move the next most important guy into the line-up. So, we
really took out their command and control, and, of course, getting
bin Laden was an essential, necessary act of our own self-defense
because even in that compound in Abbottabad, he was still
communicating, he was still plotting, he was still trying to inspire
more attacks against us. [Clinton Speech For National Multi-Housing
Council, 4/24/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said “There Are People Like” Nuclear Terrorists From
James Bonds Movies. “And you
know, it is like these terrible plots in James Bond movies where you
have got some really creepy guy sitting around saying, I want to get
a hold of some nuclear material, and I can bring the west to their
knees and they will have to give me a hundred billion dollars in my
private account. Well, unfortunately, there are people like that.
And we saw what happened with the Pakistani scientist, Mr. Khan, who
basically proliferated nuclear knowledge to as many countries as he
could. He thought that was part of his religious mission to give the
bomb to as many Muslim countries as he possibly could reach.”
[Remarks at London Drug Toronto, 11/4/13]
Unpaid Internships
Hillary
Clinton Said Businesses Have Taken Advantage Of Unpaid Internships To
That Extent That It Prevents Young People To Move To Paid Employment.
“Too
often when training is available or when education is consumed, it's
for jobs that don't actually exist or for industries that are
shrinking. There are not enough opportunities for young people to get
paid for on-the-job experience outside of the classroom, which is
what businesses look for. But also, let's be honest, businesses have
taken advantage of unpaid internships to an extent that it is
blocking the opportunities for young people to move on into paid
employment. So, yes, internships are great and provide a valuable
experience, but that is not a job. And more businesses need to move
their so-called interns to employees. And we have to do more to seek
out those people with workforce training programs and employers
looking to hire.” [03052014 HWA Remarks at UCLA.DOC, p. 13]
Wall Street
Blame for Financial Crisis
Clinton
Said That The Blame Placed On The United States Banking System For
The Crisis “Could Have Been Avoided In Terms Of Both
Misunderstanding And Really Politicizing What Happened.”
“That was one of the reasons that I started traveling in February
of '09, so people could, you know, literally yell at me for the
United States and our banking system causing this everywhere. Now,
that's an oversimplification we know, but it was the conventional
wisdom. And I think that there's a lot that could have been avoided
in terms of both misunderstanding and really politicizing what
happened with greater transparency, with greater openness on all
sides, you know, what happened, how did it happen, how do we prevent
it from happening? You guys help us figure it out and let's make
sure that we do it right this time. And I think that everybody was
desperately trying to fend off the worst effects institutionally,
governmentally, and there just wasn't that opportunity to try to sort
this out, and that came later.” [Goldman Sachs AIMS Alternative
Investments Symposium, 10/24/13]
Futures Markets
Clinton
Joked It’s “Risky” For Her To Speak To A Group Committed To
Futures Markets Given Her Past Whitewater Scandal.
“Now, it's always a little bit risky for me to come speak to a
group that is committed to the futures markets because -- there's a
few knowing laughs -- many years ago, I actually traded in the
futures markets. I mean, this was so long ago, it was before
computers were invented, I think. And I worked with a group of
like-minded friends and associates who traded in pork bellies and
cotton and other such things, and I did pretty well. I invested
about a thousand dollars and traded up to about a hundred thousand.
And then my daughter was born, and I just didn't think I had enough
time or mental space to figure out anything having to do with trading
other than trading time with my daughter for time with the rest of my
life. So I got out, and I thought that would be the end of it.”
[Remarks to CME Group, 11/18/13]
Clinton
Noted That Republican Leo Melamed, In The Audience, Reviewed Her And
President Clinton’s Trades During Whitewater And “Concluded I
Hadn’t Done Anything Wrong.”
“Fast forward to the '90s. My husband is president, and all of a
sudden everything we did, whether we made money or lost money, was
considered fodder for political opposition and media scrutiny. So
people were saying, "How could you make that much money in the
futures market back in the late '70s?" And we were -- we'd been
audited. It wasn't like we were hiding anything, but, no, they
wanted an independent assessment. So we said, "Well, who can we
get that is totally independent and nobody will say he's, you know,
in cahoots with Bill and me?" And so somebody said, "Well,
Leo Melamed. Have him take a look at your trades. He's a
Republican. He doesn't -- has never supported your husband. But if
you ask him to do it, he will, in characteristic fashion, say
whatever he finds." I thought, "Well, okay." And sure
enough, that's what Leo, who's here today, did. He looked at all my
little pathetic trades and concluded I hadn't done anything wrong,
said it was a tempest in a teapot. That took all of the air out of
the balloons, but I've been a little nervous about coming around
futures markets ever since.” [Remarks to CME Group, 11/18/13]
Goals of Wall Street
Clinton
Said Of Wall Street, “You Have To Keep Looking Over The Horizon To
Make Choices That Are Not Only Going To Benefit You But…The Larger
Economy.” “I
was struck by an op-ed that Terry had in the Wall Street Journal
about two months ago. It was titled "Wall Street is Losing the
Best and the Brightest," but it was really about the disconnect
that is growing between our financial markets and our economy
between, as Terry said, Wall Street and Main Street. Now, one thing
that came through to me loudly and clearly as Secretary of State for
four years is that you have to keep looking to the future. That's
what you do, and you do it extremely well. You have to keep looking
over the horizon to make choices that are going to not only benefit
you but your institutions and, I would hope, the larger economy.”
[Remarks to CME Group, 11/18/13]
Praising Wall Street
At A
Goldman Summit, Hillary Clinton Said “Many Of You In This Room Are
Masters Of The Trend Lines. You See Over The Horizon, You Think
About Products That Nobody Has Invented, And You Go About The
Business Of Trying To Do That.” “And,
you know, let me just briefly say that one of the ways I look at
domestic as well as international issues is by trying to focus not
just on the headlines, although those are insistent and demand your
attention, but to keep an eye on the trend lines. And many of you in
this room are masters of the trend lines. You see over the horizon,
you think about products that nobody has invented, and you go about
the business of trying to do that.” [Goldman Sachs Builders And
Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Praised “Continuing Movements Towards Open Markets” And
“Toward The Development Of A Middle Class That Can Buy The
Products.” “But
the trend lines are both positive and troubling. There is a still
continuing movement toward open markets, toward greater innovation,
toward the development of a middle class that can buy the products.
As Lloyd was talking in his intro about the work that you do creating
products and then making sure there’s markets by fostering the kind
of inclusive prosperity that includes consumers is a positive trend
in many parts of the world now. Democracy is holding its own, so
people are still largely living under governments of their own
choosing. The possibilities of technology increasing lifespan and
access to education and so many other benefits that will redound to
not only the advantage of the individual but larger society.”
[Goldman Sachs Builders And Innovators Summit, 10/29/13]
Clinton
Thanked Deutsche Bank For Their Work On Affordable Housing, Economic
Development, Clean Energy, Clean Water, Their Work For CGI And Other
Good Works. CLINTON: I want to
begin by recognizing the many contributions that everyone here at
Deutsche Bank has made to our communities and our world. We'll get
into the serious stuff and the story telling later on in the Q&A.
But I just want to pause for a very short recognition of the work
that the Bank has done in New York City on affordable housing, on
economic development, on education and the arts; the contributions to
global efforts on clean energy, clean water and helping to build
markets in developing countries for clean, safe and affordable cook
stoves that could literally save millions of lives and also diminish
the contribution of climate forcers like carbon and black soot and
methane. But perhaps most notable has been your ongoing support for
microloans for both men and women, but mostly women, because they are
the primary borrowers under microloan programs: women with no access
to credit, no financial tools, few opportunities for employment or
advancement, but, you know, with ideas, with energy and with
ambition. And research from the World Bank shows what you obviously
know, which is that when women participate in the economy, the
benefits ripple across communities and societies. And since 1997
Deutsche Bank has dedicated more than $215 million in empowering 2.8
million emerging entrepreneurs in 50 countries. And I also want to
thank you for the announcement at last September's meeting of the
Clinton Global Initiative in New York that the bank launched a new
$50 million fund to support this kind of socially-responsible impact
investing. I greatly appreciate all of your efforts, and
microfinance is something I've worked on for nearly 30 years.
[Clinton Speech For Deutsche Bank, 4/24/13]
Clinton
Thanked Morgan Stanley For “Lending” Her Tom Nides.
“And I want to say to James and everyone at Morgan Stanley, thank
you for lending me Tom Nides for the past two years. There was a bit
of a culture shock at first. When I sent him to Baghdad and Kabul
and other such places, he had to spend the night in containers that
served as the housing for visiting diplomats, even deputy
secretaries. You should have seen his face when he learned there
were no stock options at the State Department. But he soon not only
settled in very nicely, he became positively enthusiastic when I told
him we did have our own plane. So Tom, once again, I'm in your most
capable hands.” [Clinton Speech For Morgan Stanley, 4/18/13]
Clinton
Joked Tom Nides Went Through Culture Shock When He Realized The
Housing Conditions For Visiting Diplomats In Baghdad And Kabul And
That There Were No Stock Options.
“And I want to say to James and everyone at Morgan Stanley, thank
you for lending me Tom Nides for the past two years. There was a bit
of a culture shock at first. When I sent him to Baghdad and Kabul
and other such places, he had to spend the night in containers that
served as the housing for visiting diplomats, even deputy
secretaries. You should have seen his face when he learned there
were no stock options at the State Department. But he soon not only
settled in very nicely, he became positively enthusiastic when I told
him we did have our own plane. So Tom, once again, I'm in your most
capable hands.” [Clinton Speech For Morgan Stanley, 4/18/13]
Tom
Nides Thanked Clinton For Making Morgan Stanley Her First Business
Audience After Leaving State.
“Well, Madam Secretary, thank you. I don't think the stock options
were [inaudible] but the container was. And there is no Four Seasons
in Baghdad, I assure you. Let me just -- first of all, thank you for
doing this. As you all know, this is one of the Secretary's first
business groups that she has spoken to since she's left the State
Department, so we're honored that you would choose Morgan Stanley,
and more importantly I'm honored that you'd choose our clients to
come and spend a few minutes with.” [Clinton Speech For Morgan
Stanley, 4/18/13]
Clinton:
“I Greatly Appreciate When Companies, Like Morgan Stanley, Do Work
In Communities Here And Around The World That Makes A Difference.”
“But fundamentally, we have a system that has survived and
flourished for so long because we recognize that beyond the contest,
the competition, the moment, there are larger values and stakes that
we have to keep our eyes on. I think businesses thrive when
communities and countries thrive. And I greatly appreciate when
companies, like Morgan Stanley, do work in communities here and
around the world that makes a difference.” [Clinton Speech For
Morgan Stanley, 4/18/13]
Clinton
Praised Fidelity For Contributing In Communities Across America.
“I also know that Fidelity makes important contributions in many
communities across America where you do business, and I particularly
want to applaud your efforts to help low-income and at-risk students
complete middle school and move on to high school with the strongest
possible preparation. People don't realize that many dropouts happen
as early as ninth grade, and Fidelity got that and is intervening at
this crucial time in young people's lives.” [Remarks to Fidelity,
4/30/13]
Clinton
Said Ameriprise Helped Families “Live The American Dream.”
In her remarks at Ameriprise, Hillary Clinton said, “So I thank
you. I thank you for the work you do across our country. You
contribute to Americans' financial success and security in so many
ways. You help families, literally, live the American dream. And I
would just ask you to think about what more we could do together.
Putting aside partisan differences and trying to get back to good,
old-fashioned decision-making based on the best evidence we can get.
And realizing that we're all in this together. That how we solve our
problems at home will determine the strength of our leadership abroad
as well as the strength of our economy. I always tell people, and as
I traveled, there were lots of wrinkled brows as Asians in particular
would say to me, ‘What does it mean that you have people who want
to default on the American debt?’ And I would say, ‘Oh, that
won't happen.’ And then I'd kind of cross my fingers and hold my
breath.” [Hillary Clinton’s Remarks at Ameriprise, 7/26/14]
Dodd-Frank
Clinton
Said Dodd-Frank Was Something That Needed To Pass “For Political
Reasons.” “And with
political people, again, I would say the same thing, you know, there
was a lot of complaining about Dodd-Frank, but there was also a need
to do something because for political reasons, if you were an elected
member of Congress and people in your constituency were losing jobs
and shutting businesses and everybody in the press is saying it's all
the fault of Wall Street, you can't sit idly by and do nothing, but
what you do is really important. And I think the jury is still out on
that because it was very difficult to sort of sort through it all.”
[Goldman Sachs AIMS Alternative Investments Symposium, 10/24/13]
Regulators from Wall Street
Clinton
Said Financial Reform “Really Has To Come From The Industry
Itself.” “Remember what
Teddy Roosevelt did. Yes, he took on what he saw as the excesses in
the economy, but he also stood against the excesses in politics. He
didn't want to unleash a lot of nationalist, populistic reaction. He
wanted to try to figure out how to get back into that balance that
has served America so well over our entire nationhood. Today, there's
more that can and should be done that really has to come from the
industry itself, and how we can strengthen our economy, create more
jobs at a time where that's increasingly challenging, to get back to
Teddy Roosevelt's square deal. And I really believe that our country
and all of you are up to that job.” [Clinton Remarks to Deutsche
Bank, 10/7/14]
Speaking
About The Importance Of Proper Regulation, Clinton Said “The People
That Know The Industry Better Than Anybody Are The People Who Work In
The Industry.” “I mean, it's
still happening, as you know. People are looking back and trying to,
you know, get compensation for bad mortgages and all the rest of it
in some of the agreements that are being reached. There's nothing
magic about regulations, too much is bad, too little is bad. How do
you get to the golden key, how do we figure out what works? And the
people that know the industry better than anybody are the people who
work in the industry. And I think there has to be a recognition that,
you know, there's so much at stake now, I mean, the business has
changed so much and decisions are made so quickly, in nano seconds
basically. We spend trillions of dollars to travel around the world,
but it's in everybody's interest that we have a better framework, and
not just for the United States but for the entire world, in which to
operate and trade.” [Goldman Sachs AIMS Alternative Investments
Symposium, 10/24/13]
Representing Wall Street
Hillary
Clinton Said That After The 9/11 Attacks, She Told President Bush,
“We Need $20 Billion. We’ve Got To Quickly Get The Stock Market
Up, We’ve Got To Quickly Start To…Rebuild Lower Manhattan.”
In her remarks at Ameriprise, Hillary Clinton said, “I'll tell you
a quick story about President George W. Bush. So we're attacked in
9/11. I go with my colleague, Chuck Schumer, to New York to meet
with Governor Pataki, Mayor Giuliani, and other officials, and to go
see the horror that had been inflicted on us. The next day, we're in
the Oval Office. And we had done some back-of-the-envelope
calculations. And we asked President Bush -- we were in the Oval
Office with the two senators from Virginia because of the attack on
the Pentagon, and Schumer and me. And President Bush said, ‘What
do I need to do?’ And I said, ‘We need $20 billion. We've got to
quickly get the stock market up, we've got to quickly start spending
money in order to rebuild lower Manhattan.’ ‘Done.’ He said,
‘You got it.’” [Hillary Clinton’s Remarks at Ameriprise,
7/26/14]
Clinton:
When I Was A Senator, “A Lot Of My Support Came From Those Working
In Finance, But That Didn’t Stop Me From Calling For Closing The
Carried Interest Loophole.” In
her remarks at Ameriprise, Hillary Clinton said, “When I was a
senator from New York, I represented and worked with so many talented
and principled people. And a lot of my support came from those
working in finance, but that didn't stop me from calling for closing
the carried interest loophole, addressing skyrocketing CEO pay, or
today, calling for an end to so-called inversion. Because I saw
every day how important a well-functioning financial system is to our
economy and to people's wellbeing. That's why I raised early warnings
about the subprime mortgage market and called for regulating
derivatives and other complex financial products that hardly anybody
could explain.” [Hillary Clinton’s Remarks at Ameriprise,
7/26/14]
Clinton:
As Senator, “I Represented And Worked With” So Many On Wall
Street And “Did All I Could To Make Sure They Continued To Prosper”
But Still Called For Closing Carried Interest Loophole. In
remarks at Robbins, Gellar, Rudman & Dowd in San Diego, Hillary
Clinton said, “When I was a Senator from New York, I represented
and worked with so many talented principled people who made their
living in finance. But even thought I represented them and did all I
could to make sure they continued to prosper, I called for closing
the carried interest loophole and addressing skyrocketing CEO pay. I
also was calling in '06, '07 for doing something about the mortgage
crisis, because I saw every day from Wall Street literally to main
streets across New York how a well-functioning financial system is
essential. So when I raised early warnings about early warnings about
subprime mortgages and called for regulating derivatives and over
complex financial products, I didn't get some big arguments, because
people sort of said, no, that makes sense. But boy, have we had
fights about it ever since.” [Hillary Clinton’s Remarks at
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd in San Diego, 9/04/14]
Clinton
On Wall Street: “I Had Great Relations And Worked So Close Together
After 9/11 To Rebuild Downtown, And A Lot Of Respect For The Work You
Do And The People Who Do It.” “Now,
without going over how we got to where we are right now, what would
be your advice to the Wall Street community and the big banks as to
the way forward with those two important decisions? SECRETARY
CLINTON: Well, I represented all of you for eight years. I had
great relations and worked so close together after 9/11 to rebuild
downtown, and a lot of respect for the work you do and the people who
do it, but I do -- I think that when we talk about the regulators and
the politicians, the economic consequences of bad decisions back in
'08, you know, were devastating, and they had repercussions
throughout the world.” [Goldman Sachs AIMS Alternative Investments
Symposium, 10/24/13]
Goldman
Sachs Representative Thanked Clinton For Her Courage In Continuing To
Associate Herself With Wall Street After Crisis. “MR.
O'NEILL: By the way, we really did appreciate when you were the
senator from New York and your continued involvement in the issues
(inaudible) to be courageous in some respects to associated with Wall
Street and this environment. Thank you very much. SECRETARY CLINTON:
Well, I don't feel particularly courageous. I mean, if we're going
to be an effective, efficient economy, we need to have all part of
that engine running well, and that includes Wall Street and Main
Street.” [Goldman Sachs AIMS Alternative Investments Symposium,
10/24/13]
Wal-Mart
Clinton
Recalled Serving On Wal-Mart Board Because Sam Walton Couldn’t
Think Of Anyone Else.
“And, you know, I've served on three public boards. And the first
board I ever served on was Walmart. And I had gotten to know Sam
Walton because I worked with him on education reform in Arkansas, and
one day out of the blue he calls me up. He goes, Hillary Clinton, my
wife and my daughter think we need a woman on the board, and I can't
think of anybody else. I said, well, that's really flattering, but
-- but, you know, I think that we've made some progress but not
enough progress, and so people need to work on ending those
discriminatory thought patterns and stereotyping.” [Remarks at
Beaumont Society Dinner, 11/6/13]
Clinton
Discussed Being On Board Of Walmart And Convincing Sam Walton To
Raise Corporate Taxes To Pay For Education. “I
was on the board of Wal-Mart back in the late 1980s, and I had done
some work on education reform, and I had actually convinced the
leading businessmen in Arkansas to agree to raise the corporate
income tax to pay for educational improvement. And Sam Walton kept
shaking his head saying, I don't understand how you convinced me to
do that. And I said, well, because you became convinced that you
need an educated workforce, you need more people in the middle class
to buy more of your goods.” [International Leaders' Series, Palais
des Congrès de Montréal, 3/18/14]
Clinton
Discussed Walmart Board Meeting Where She Supported Environmentally
Conscious Stores And She Started An Environment Subcommittee. “So
he calls me up one day and he goes, Hillary Clinton, my wife and
daughter think we need a woman on the board and we can't think of
anybody else besides you. I said, well, you have a way with words,
Sam. That's really flattering. But, sure, I'll be on the board of
Wal-Mart. And we would go to the board meeting. I was the only
woman at the time. And what was such genius about Sam Walton is that
he started every board meeting by going around to the outside
directors and say, tell me something I don't know. What do you see
happening in the world that I don't see happening in the world. And I
remember one of those meetings saying, well, I think people are
starting to get concerned about the environment. And I think we
should do a better job in this company in trying to figure out how to
have more energy efficient stores, how to deliver goods more
efficiently with less use of fossil fuels as possible, and so I
chaired the first little environment subcommittee. And where did I
get that idea? I got it from my daughter, who came home from school
because in school they'd been talking about the environment. And I
listened and then I brought it to another setting. So I think
there's evidence that having women in those positions makes a
difference.” [International Leaders' Series, Palais des Congrès de
Montréal, 3/18/14]
Clinton
Said Sam Walton Was “A Great Patriot.” “Well,
what I was saying in my opening remarks is, you know, it really made
a big impression on me that despite your partisan differences or your
political ambitions or whatever you think of about how our democracy
does or doesn't work, we're all on the American team. And Sam Walton
was a cheerleader for Walmart but also a great patriot, because he
knew that he was able to build this company in this country, and it
might not, if ever, have been possible anywhere else.” [Hillary
Clinton remarks at Sanford Bernstein, 5/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Talked About Working With Wal-Mart And Other Leading
Companies To Reform Arkansas’ Education System. “MR.
ZLOTNIKOV: Unfortunately we're running out of time, so I'll ask one
last question, and you obviously devoted your life to public service,
but you also served on some corporate boards. As you reflect between
the sort of two entities, what are the most stark differences in how
decisions get made between corporations and governments? SECRETARY
CLINTON: Well, I did serve on corporate boards back in the '80's.
Probably the experience I learned the most from was Walmart. I had
worked, when Bill was governor of Arkansas, to help reform the
education system in Arkansas, which back in the early '80's was
afflicted by all kinds of problems, including the second lowest paid
teachers in the country. And I came up with some specific
recommendations that Bill and I then took around to the business
leadership in Arkansas, Don Tysen and Witt Stephens of Stephens,
Inc., and others and, of course, Sam Walton, and we had this rather
interesting and somewhat challenging idea that we needed to pay
teachers more in Arkansas. So we'd have a small increase in the
sales tax and a small increase in the corporate tax. So I met with
Sam Walton and I kind of laid that all out for him and told him why
we needed to do it. And he said, well, you know, that makes sense.
You've got a good plan. I'll see what I can do. And he actually
supported, if you can imagine, a small increase in the corporate tax
that would go into education in Arkansas. That was in 1983 and '84.”
[Hillary Clinton remarks at Sanford Bernstein, 5/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Recounted Sam Walton Asking Her To Join The Board Of
Wal-Mart. “About four years
later, he called me up one day, said to me, Hillary Clinton, my wife
and my daughter say we need a woman on the board and I can't think of
anybody else but you. So what'd ya say? I say, well, you know, boy,
Sam, that's quite a flattering request. I said, sure, why not,
right. So I joined the Walmart board really at the jumping-off point
of it becoming not just a national and North American company, but an
international company. And what I found, at least the way Sam Walton
ran a board, was that it was very much an interactive experience. He
would start every board meeting by looking at all the outside
directors and saying, okay, tell me something I don't know, tell me
something you think is going on in the world, tell me something that
is affecting your business or your perspective. And we would spend
about an hour, and it would be, well, you know, here's what I think
is happening politically or here's what I see as an opportunity or
I'm worried about X, Y or Z. He was always, always curious. He was
always in a learning mode.” [Hillary Clinton remarks at Sanford
Bernstein, 5/29/13]
Hillary
Clinton Praised Sam Walton As “One Of The First American Business
Executives To Really Embrace Technology.” “You
know, he used to fly his little airplane around driving the FAA
crazy. He would land on dirt roads and parking lots, and he would go
into a K-Mart and walk up and down the aisles and pigeonhole
customers and employees and say, what do you like about working here?
What do you like about what you'd buy here? And then he'd go back
and he'd say, I learned something over at the K-Mart in the next
county, and I want us to try that. He was one of the first American
business executives to really embrace technology, and that's a kind
of untold story, but he began building up Walmart's technological
foundation in the '80's and was prepared with, you know, all of the,
you know, the slogans we now do, you know, just in time inventory or
whatever it might be before a lot of competitors or even businesses
in other sectors.” [Hillary Clinton remarks at Sanford Bernstein,
5/29/13]
Clinton
Praised Sam Walton, And Said Her Service On The Walmart Board Was The
“Most Intriguing” Of The Three Public Boards She Served On. “I
ended up serving on three public boards in the next couple of years,
and probably the service on the Walmart board was the most
intriguing. It was at a time when the company was rapidly expanding
and utilizing technology in a way that a lot of other companies, not
just retail companies, had not yet pioneered. So I could see for
myself what this, you know, transition looked like and how somebody
who had started as a small town merchant was transforming this
company based in Bentonville, Arkansas to be the, you know, global
giant that it is today. He knew how to make decisions, but he also
knew how to gather information, and he was a just rabid listener
wanting to know what you knew, what you thought was going on in order
to make the right decision.” [Accenture Women’s Leadership Forum,
10/24/13]
Hillary
Clinton Talked About Working On Education Reform In Arkansas With Sam
Walton, Tyson Foods, “The Oil And Gas Firms,” And “The Banks.”
“Let me close with two people
whose lives and experiences were very different, but who both helped
me understand this ethic of shared responsibility, my father and Sam
Walton… So when I moved to Arkansas, Sam was already a fixture in
the state's business community, and I got to know him and his
wonderful family, and Arkansas' education system was in very serious
disrepair. The teachers were paid very poorly. Only in the 1980
census about ten percent of the entire state population graduated
from college. There was a lot of work to be done. And my husband was
governor, and he asked me to work on helping to improve education.
And I went to see Sam and talked to him about this, and told him, you
know, we had some serious challenges. We had teacher salaries that
were second to the bottom. We had a lot of curricular problems that
needed to be addressed, and I wanted to know what he thought. And he
said, "Well, you know, I've got an Arkansas company. This is
where my executives and their families live, and I think improving
the schools would be good for my business.’ Now, I have to hasten
to say Sam Walton did not like taxes, not one bit, but he figured
that there needed to be an investment, not just for Arkansas, but for
all of America. So he called the heads of the other big companies in
Arkansas, like Tyson Foods, and the oil and gas firms, the banks, and
they got together, people started calling them The Good Soup Club,
and they pushed hard for comprehensive overhaul of the state
education system, improving both standards, accountability, as well
as teacher compensation. And they agreed to a small increase in the
corporate income tax rate to fund that. Legislation passed, and we
began to see improvements.” [Hillary Clinton remarks to ECGR Grand
Rapids, 6/17/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said Sam Walton Asked Her To Serve On The Board Of Walmart
After She Had Gotten To Know Them Working On Education Reform.“I
served on the Board of Wal-Mart for a couple of years. It was kind
of funny how it came about. I had known Sam Walton and had worked
with him when my husband was Governor of Arkansas and we were trying
to reform education, and he was actually a strong supporter of
raising the sales tax and raising a very small percentage of the
corporate income tax if it would all go into the schools, a
little-told story about Sam Walton. I am sure he is rolling over,
sorry that I am telling you. But he and I built up a very
close working relationship, and in the late 1980s, probably about
‘86, he called me one day and he goes, Hillary Clinton, my wife and
my daughter think I need a woman on the Board and I can’t think of
anybody else. I said, Well, you sure know how to flatter me, don’t
you” [Remarks at London Drug Toronto, 11/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton: “I Had The Most Amazing Experience Serving On The Board
And Working With Sam, Because They Were Always Looking Over The
Horizon.”
“But of course I said yes, and
I had the most amazing experience serving on the Board and working
with Sam, because they were always looking over the horizon. They
were always thinking about what came next. Yes, they may have
started in small towns and rural areas, in places like Arkansas, but
they were always improving their technology. They were among I think
the first, if not the first, of, you know, retailers to go into
satellite communication and then whatever came next.” [Remarks at
London Drug Toronto, 11/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said People Can Criticize Wal Mart, But “But Those Stores
Served A Real Purpose, Not Only For Employment And Low Cost Goods,
But They Did Become A Way For People Who Wanted To See What Else Was
Available To Them Could Go And Look.”
“I mention that because those stores—you know, you don’t have
to agree with everything Wal-Mart does, I don’t—but those stores
served a real purpose, not only for employment and low cost goods,
but they did become a way for people who wanted to see what else was
available to them could go and look, products that never were readily
available in a lot of those places before. So this spirit of
community that I think is absolutely essential to the maintenance of
our democracy, our freedom, our strength, is alive and well across
North America, particularly among young people.” [Remarks at London
Drug Toronto, 11/4/13]
Hillary
Clinton Said It Was A “Shame” That Wal Mart Withdrew From India
Because Of Its Regulatory System. “I
think that if India can ever get its regulatory system straightened
out, you know, we have gone back and forth on opening up to
retailers, large, multinational retailers. Wal-Mart just withdrew and
it is a real shame and because one of the things Wal-Mart promised to
do was to help set up the supply chain for agricultural products to
actually get to the end user consumer. The harvest in India loses
about 40 percent because there is no good storage; there is certainly
no good cold storage. So if there is a way to get the
politics to open up somewhat in India, you know, the market is just
overwhelmingly large.” [Remarks at London Drug Toronto, 11/4/13]
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