HuffingtonPost said that Hillary is going progressive for the election! Bless her!

[Akamai]

"Hillary Clinton Isn’t Tacking Right For The General Election" said HuffingtonPost. Great for her!

From that HuffPo article is the following -- and great for her!:

"Presidential candidates almost always follow the same pattern of ideological movement during election years. They play to their party’s base in the primaries, and then temper their message to win over moderates in the general.

"Hillary Clinton isn’t following this playbook on economic policy. She didn’t move much to the left during her battle with Bernie Sanders, and now that she is the presumptive nominee, she isn’t cutting right. In recent speeches in Ohio and North Carolina, Clinton’s economic pitch has been indistinguishable from the positions she laid out during the primary debates. She still supports expanding Social Security and guaranteeing debt-free college tuition. She stands by her defense of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, and mentions Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) by name when lauding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that the progressive icon established. Equal pay for equal work hasn’t gone anywhere, and neither has her call for federal childcare support.

"The policy that matters most in Clinton’s stump speech is her position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. When Clinton formally came out in opposition to the TPP in October, it was widely viewed as a reversal — she had worked on early drafts of the pact as Secretary of State, and promoted it as an important foreign policy. As recently as January, U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Thomas Donohue — the top corporate lobbyist in America, and a partisan Republican — predicted that Clinton would come back around on TPP if elected.

TPP sharply divided the Democratic party in 2015. While President Barack Obama and Republican leaders in Congress strongly back the trade pact with 11 other Pacific nations, most Democrats oppose it, as do many Tea Party Republicans. The discontent between Obama and congressional Democrats eventually festered into an ugly public battle with Warren. TPP critics note the deal empowers corporations to challenge domestic rules and regulations before an international court, and object to provisions designed to raise the prices of life-saving medicines. Obama and the Chamber maintain that it will boost economic growth and help workers both at home and abroad.

"But so far, Clinton isn’t budging on her TPP opposition.

"“We should renegotiate deals that aren’t working for Americans, and reject any agreements – like the Trans-Pacific Partnership – that don’t meet my high bar for raising wages or creating good-paying jobs,” Clinton said Tuesday in Ohio.

"Barney Frank, a top Clinton surrogate on economic matters, published an op-ed in The Boston Globe on Monday titled “RIP, TPP” in which he blasted calls for Congress to pursue a vote on TPP during the lame-duck session following the November elections. Although the White House has been eager for such a move, the rumor on Capitol Hill is that support for the pact has fallen through the floor since last year...."

Great for Hillary Clinton! As a Bernie supporter, contributor, etc., if this is your goal, I sure support you now!

Go Bernie's Ideas!

[Maru Kitteh]

1. Hillary Clinton IS A PROGRESSIVE

There, I fixed it for you.

[Akamai]

3. I sure hope she will not automatically take orders from Bill. Thom Hartmann regularly says that

Sec. Clinton is much more progressive than her husband and said that she is progressive on the issues of today, the issues that inform all of us.

I just sure hope she continues on with the path she is now establishing! Straight ahead Hillary, or maybe far more to the left!

I told my wife tonight that I am going to start making contributions to her campaign, based on her positions.

Time to hit up my Paypal account and start making a regular contribution!

[DemonGoddess]

4. Why would she start taking orders from him now??? n/t

[Maru Kitteh]

6. "Orders" from Bill?? Do you issue orders to your wife?

Because I think of no other Earthly reason why you would expect

1) President Clinton to issue "orders" to his wife
2) Any progressive woman to accept orders from a husband like a child or a dog

Listen, I want to be really clear here. I'm very happy that you're on board and contributing in the fight against Cheeto.

I'm just completely mystified here at your language. Language is very important. Words mean things.

ETA: I agree that historically candidates run to the outside and cut to the center; and while I believed from the start she would remain left, I am happy as well to see this affirmed.

[TwilightZone]

7. "I sure hope she will not automatically take orders from Bill."

What could possibly lead you to make a statement like that?

[DLCWIdem]

8. I don 't think you really know women

Actually I heard it from several DU members in the primary season. I said she be her own woman , and someone else said well she named him as an advisor. I guess that meant she was going to take orders from him. My advise to you don't tell a feminist woman she is going to obey her husband.

[athena]

15. Wow. I don't think I've ever read or heard an equivalent statement

made about a male candidate for president. Can you even imagine someone saying, "I sure hope Barack Obama will not automatically take orders from Michelle" or "I sure hope GWB will not automatically take orders from Laura?"

And "automatic"? Seriously? Because it's "automatic" for us women to take "orders" from our husbands?

What century are we living in, again?

[Akamai]

23. Bill is still a believer in "free trade" and he is not a believer in breaking up the banks, etc.

He is a moderate democrat and surrounded himself with people like Rubin who undercut many of the progressive promises he made in his run-up to the presidency.

I will feel better if Hillary doesn't let anyone like Rubin or Summers anywhere near her cabinet.

[athena]

33. I agree with you about the likes of Summers, but I see no reason to expect

that Bill's centrism will have any influence on Hillary. Hillary is her own person. If you look at her record, she has always been a progressive. Take a look at the following article. (And don't discard it because of the title. Read the whole thing; it's a nuanced article that doesn't lend itself to skimming. The content is very revealing about Hillary.)

https://www.thenation.com/article/can-hillary-clinton-win-over-the-left//?nc=1

[merrily]

26. I agree the statement is weird. However, in 2008, I was posting on a board where the board owner,

a female Hillary supporter who was a follower of the No Quarter website, posted an article alleging that Obama was submissive to strong women, citing his grandmother, his mother and Michelle. The article was probably from some RW source. It stuck in my mind because I thought it was so low. My point is, when it comes to politics, anything goes sometimes.

[ALBliberal]

27. If a man was running for president and his wife was a former president

You might hear something like.... (use first couple's names for fun assuming Michelle was.Pres.)...I sure hope Barack doesn't take orders from Michelle! Just a thought maybe poster was not being sexist but was deferring to the office.

[mcar]

21. Orders?

Really?

[MineralMan]

22. What orders? What husband worth anything gives his wife

orders in the first place. This doesn't make any sense.

[Akamai]

32. Some of my problems with Bill's decisions ...

From the NY Times article: Hillary Clinton Shapes Potential New Role for Bill Clinton
By AMY CHOZICKMAY 16, 2016

"“Hillary Clinton’s statement that if elected president she’d put Bill Clinton ‘in charge of revitalizing the economy … because, you know, he knows how to do it’ suggests she’s no longer touting the successes of the Obama economy, or even linking herself to it,” said Robert B. Reich, a secretary of labor during the Clinton administration who endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont in the Democratic primary."

When Hillary Clinton is president, I sure as hell do not want Bill cheerleading for the TPP or watering down raises in the minimum wage or continuing to support the "war on drugs" and the incarceration of so many Americans, or continuing to be opposed to restoring Glass-Steagal, etc. I do not want Wall Street bankers in charge of our economy, etc.

Bill Clinton did some very good things in his terms, but some very bad actions were: repealing Glass-Steagal, the Commodities and Modernization Act, his Telecommunications Act, forcing free trade on Haiti (this leading to an incredible loss of life with the earthquake there as farmers were driven off their land because of economics and had to live in the cities where the earthquake damage was horrific), etc.

Bill is very bright but seems to be very self-assured on many issues that he got wrong.

Any thoughts?

[athena]

35. Is this a genuine question?

Or are you trying to get around the new rules by trying to criticize the Democratic nominee in a way you think is "constructive"?

Because to me, it doesn't seem constructive at all to go around posting articles claiming that Hillary is a conservative in disguise.

If you have concerns about Hillary's progressive credentials, there is plenty of material on the internet, including on Hillary's web site. You don't need to demand that others on DU educate you.

[Akamai]

36. My view, I think, is pretty straightforward -- I support Hillary but I sure hope she doesn't rely

unquestionably on Bill, especially for questions of TPP, bank (non) regulation, etc.

These are very legitimate questions that a lot of Democrats are interested in having answered.

Stating these concerns is useful, I think, and may let Hillary know that some people have concerns about Bill's economic and legislative advice.

Seems to me you want me to say that whatever Bill says is fine! Well, it's not. Some of what he did was good and some wasn't. I sure hope Secretary Clinton doesn't accept unquestionably what he says on matters that affect us all.

As for your statement that I think she's conservative -- I don't think that at all. As Thom Hartmann noted she scores very, very high in terms of liberalism -- only several in the Senate were higher than she.

But as I now regret Obama embracing Summers' perspective, I hope that Hillary will not embrace the views of Rubin or anything like that.

[athena]

37. Please don't put words into people's mouths.

Where did I say that "whatever Bill says is fine"? You obviously know nothing about my views about Bill and his centrism. Did you even bother to read anything I posted? You seem to have ignored my substantive response to you earlier in the thread. You can't correctly guess what someone else is thinking if you don't listen to what they say.

As I stated elsewhere in this thread, it is extremely offensive to suggest that Hillary will "rely unquestionably on Bill" on anything. I can't even imagine people making such statements if the genders of Bill and Hillary were reversed.

I have seen enough here. Enjoy expressing your "concerns" about Hillary to others on DU. I don't share your concerns, but that is because I have actually looked into Hillary's past and her position on the issues.

[Akamai]

38. Great! You too don't want her to necessarily acquiesce in all things! Super!

And my concerns about possible poor outcomes from Bill's prior stances are on such things as banking deregulation, TPP, overgenerous laws on executive compensation, Free Trade, etc.

My views are certainly the majority views of progressive Democrats.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

9. Yup

[TheBlackAdder]

11. Perhaps she should divest from KXL and then fully renounce TPP, KXL and Fracking first.

.


It's tough to believe a person is against KXL when they are investing in it and remain silent as to its future.


As a Food & Water Watch member, it's troubling that so many Dems in congress are invested in KXL.


I'm voting party-line, but the optics aren't that great!

.

[BootinUp]

2. She will keep her promises. nt

[Grassy Knoll]

5. WOO HOO!! I'm With Her!!!!

[TCJ70]

10. Hopefully she stays that way after the election...

...we'll see.

[Akamai]

24. My fingers are crossed too!

[uponit7771]

12. Might as well go hard too... the mythical 6% angry white male isn't there

[Warren DeMontague]

13. She should come out for full descheduling of cannabis from the CSA.

Changing the scheduling from I to II does nothing to reconcile the conflict btw. Federal law and state laws legalizing both recreational and medical.

Plus a majority of Americans support full legalization AND it would help with bringing millennials to the polls.

[VulgarPoet]

14. Ha. I'll believe it when I see it. eom

[BlueMTexpat]

16. LOL, Hillary IS as "progressive"

as they come. Of course, in my day, the word "progressive" meant "liberal" and Hillary is that as well.

While I am very happy to see that you support Hillary now, why on earth do you believe that these are "Bernie's ideas?" Clinton's LONG track record shows that she has not only espoused progressive/liberal ideals ALL her political life, but has actually stood up and fought for them even when close advisors told her not to, such as when she gave her famous speech to the Women's Summit in Beijing in 1997. Is a woman not capable of her own ideas?

The Beijing speech was a watershed moment for international women's rights and one that progressive/liberal women around the globe will never forget even though many Americans seem to be very quick to. And that was only one of her impressive accomplishments that have actually improved the lives of real people even before she married Bill.

Hillary has always been to the left of Bill and I love that she is going to "be herself" in this general election.

[Armstead]

20. The concentration of wealth and power has been ignored

The political dialogue has not acknowledged the core problems Bernie has raised.

Just given lip service during crises points like 2008 crash....Even then it's referred to as a glitch, not a systemic problem

Thats the difference

[B Calm]

17. Wondering how progressive she will go with marijuana legalization. . .

[cyberpunk]

19. All the way, hopefully.

[Akamai]

25. Yup! That would bring her votes -- although it is mainly a state decision, but I sure endorse that!

[DemonGoddess]

31. She's already said how she wants to go with it on a federal level

which may not be what people who like weed want, but it's sensible. Mostly, she's leaving it in the states' hands, just like repeal of the Volstead Act was left in the hands of the state. States gut the prohibition, the federal government will follow.

[Maeve]

18. She has no need to tack to the right

She's not up against a reasonable opponent who makes conservative ideas sound sane--she up against Trumplethinskin. She's shown she can be tough; now she's freer to be herself than ever.

Am I the only one who remembers "Vote for Hillary's Husband" buttons back in the '90's, when we realized she was smarter and more liberal than Bill?

[MisterP]

28. like in December, February, and April?

[Orsino]

29. I would hope that the electoral map gives her the courage/capital to hold the line...

...or even to grow in a progressive direction.

I want to hear more about how she'll regulate Wall Street.

[Hiraeth]

30. bless her.

[loyalsister]

34. I don't think many doubted her progressivism on domestic issues

Foreign policy, on the other hand is where she is solidly to the right of Obama and possibly even her husband.