Hillary Clinton: Women’s Empowerment
Clinton has officially announced she will run for president in 2016.
Her political career began as Bill Clinton’s first lady, then New York’s Senator and most recently, until 2013, Barack Obama’s Secretary of State.
Much of Clinton’s support this time around will be from her image as an advocate supporter of women’s rights.
According to jacobinmag.com, during Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, the National Organization of Women (NOW) endorsed Clinton because of her “long history of support for women’s empowerment.” During that time, a group of 250 academics and activists calling themselves “Feminists for Clinton” praised her “powerful, inspiring advocacy of the human rights of women” as a policymaker.
And as a result of her recent announcement for 2016 candidacy, NOW and many other women’s rights organizations are ready to back her again. Along with women’s rights, Clinton is also making it well known that she is an LGBT supporter.
String of Controversial Scandals
As first lady during Bill Clinton’s presidency, there were many scandals that still remain a solid memory for many Americans.
In 1993, the Clintons were implicated in a Department of Justice investigation related to the Whitewater real estate project located in Arkansas. The project’s bank loan failed and cost the federal government $73 million, according to jacobinmag.com. Whitewater later became the subject of congressional hearings and an independent counsel investigation. In January 1996, the first lady was compelled to appear before a federal grand jury. No charges were ever filed against her.
Facing negative press again, in 1998, the White House became the front headlines of every national newspaper. Bill Clinton was entangled in the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. Although Hillary publicly supported her husband during the public fallout, it was reported that she did consider leaving her husband. Articles of impeachment were brought against Bill Clinton later that year, but in February 2009 the U.S. Senate failed to convict him and he remained in office for the rest of his term, according to jacobinmag.com.
What does Clinton Stand For? ontheissues.org reported:
Abortion:
- Make abortion rare by supporting adoption & foster care. (Apr 2008)
- Potential for life begins at conception, but don’t intrude. (Apr 2008)
- Opposed China’s forced abortion & Romania’s forced pregnancy. (Apr 2008)
Contraception:
- 1993 health plan included RU-486 & widely available abortion. (Jul 2007)
- Fought for years to get “Plan B” contraceptive on the market. (Dec 2006)
- Prevention First Act: federal funds for contraception. (Oct 2006)
- Advocates birth control but OK with faith-based disagreement. (Nov 2003)
Drugs:
- Medical marijuana now; wait-and-see on recreational pot. (Jul 2014)
- Medical marijuana maybe ok; states decide recreational use. (Jun 2014)
- Reduce sentencing disparity for crack, but not retroactively. (Dec 2007)
Education:
- OpEd: Common Core recycled from Clintons in 1980s and 1990s. (Jun 2013)
- Parents are a child’s first teachers. (Jan 2008)
- We have not yet reached consensus on education reform. (Sep 2007)
- It takes a village; American village has failed our children. (Jun 2007)
- Establish right to education from pre-school thru college. (Jun 2007)
- Early education affects things from IQ to lifelong earnings. (Dec 2006)
Energy and Oil:
- $100B per year by 2020 for climate change mitigation. (Jun 2014)
- $100B per year by 2020 for climate change mitigation. (Jun 2014)
- The steady march of climate change is obvious in the Arctic. (Jun 2014)
Environment:
- $5B for green-collar jobs in economic stimulus package. (Jan 2008)
- Voted against and consistently opposed to Yucca Mountain. (Jan 2008)
- A comprehensive energy plan as our Apollo moon shot. (Jan 2008)
- Advocate a cap and trade system. (Dec 2007)
- Better track kids’ products for exposures to toxic materials. (Dec 2007)
- Support green-collar job training. (Aug 2007)
Budget and Economy:
- We need bankruptcy reform, but we need the right kind. (Aug 2014)
- 1998: Personally lobbied Congress against bankruptcy bill. (Apr 2014)
- The economy is not working for middle class families. (Jan 2008)
- Look back to 1990s to see how I’d be fiscally responsible. (Dec 2007)
Civil Rights:
- Women in Public Service Project: 50% of officials by 2050. (Nov 2013)
- 1998: Hillary predicted female President in near future. (Oct 2007)
- 1962: met MLK Jr. preaching a sermon in Chicago. (Jul 2007)
- 1995: Politely criticized China’s human rights. (Jun 2007)
- Developmental thread: tragedy of race must be made right. (Jun 2007)
Affirmative Action:
- OpEd: “18 million cracks” meant “lingering sexism”. (Aug 2009)
- Heads movement of women looking to America’s true promise. (Aug 2009)
- Equal pay is not yet equal. (Jan 2008)
- MLK recognized that working within the system was necessary. (Jan 2008)
Gay Rights:
- I re-evaluated & changed my mind on gay marriage. (Jun 2014)
- We have all evolved on gay marriage since 1990s. (Jun 2014)
- DOMA discrimination holds us back from a more perfect union. (Jun 2013)
- I support gay marriage personally and as law. (Mar 2013)
- Telling kids about gay couples is parental discretion. (Sep 2007)
Want to learn more?
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2015/04/politics/hillary-clinton-2016-election-announcement/
http://www.ontheissues.org/hillary_clinton.htm
http://www.biography.com/people/hillary-clinton-9251306
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/03/hillary-clinton-womens-rights-feminism/