Protestors Confront Hillary Clinton in Portland, Maine Over Keystone XL Pipeline

[portlander23]

Video: Clinton rallies Maine supporters on presidential campaign swing

The small but lively crowd of about 400 people at King Middle School clapped and occasionally rose to their feet during Clinton’s remarks.

The former secretary of state and U.S. senator from New York didn’t take questions from the audience, but ran through her positions from supporting unions and a woman’s right to choose, to her opposition to drilling in the Arctic and the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision.

There was a minor disruption at the event when a half-dozen people stood up holding “Stop KXL” signs and refused to sit down again. Clinton has not yet spelled out her position on the Keystone XL pipeline, an $8 billion project to transport oil extracted from Canada’s tar sands to pipelines linked to Gulf Coast refineries.

“You will hear from me shortly, but you are not going to hear from me today,” she told them, as they filed out of their seats to stand in the back of the room. “Don’t interfere with other people trying to participate.”

The Clinton campaign’s low-profile events are in contrast to large rallies held by her Democratic rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. In July, Sanders drew more than 7,500 people to a rally at the Cross Insurance Arena.

Clinton takes a break from the trail in New Hampshire to stump in Maine

Sanders has also been branching out into states with primaries and caucuses beyond the traditionally make-or-break contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. Back in early July, he visited here, drawing more than 7,500 people to an evening rally — several times the number Clinton attracted on a Friday afternoon.

The event was disrupted briefly by a half-dozens protesters who held signs saying they are “Ready for Hillary” but opposed to the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, a project the left wing of Clinton’s party strongly opposes.

After the protesters here stood up, Clinton asked them to sit down because they were blocking other people’s views. Instead, they left the main seating area and stood on the periphery of the crowd with their signs.

Video: Hillary makes a campaign stop in Portland

A group of eight students from Bowdoin College were here today hoping to get a response from Hillary Clinton about her stance on the Keystone Pipeline. When Clinton started speaking about climate change that group of students stood up with signs asking for a response from Clinton.

“What I have said is you will hear from me shortly and you will,” Clinton said. “But you're not going to hear from me today so don't interfere with other people being able to participate ok?”

Video: Hillary Clinton campaigns in Portland

The former secretary of state was disrupted by a handful of protesters. They stood with signs that both support Clinton's presidential campaign and oppose the construction of the Keystone Pipeline.

Clinton came to Maine to attend a fundraiser in Cape Elizabeth and to try to shore up support in non-early-voting states like Maine.

Good on the protestors. This isn't some far away problem to Mainers. South Portland just recently defeated efforts to pipe tar sands oil through Portland Harbor.

Maine City Council Votes To Keep Tar Sands Out Of Its Port

For more than 70 years, the Portland Montreal Pipeline Corp. has pumped crude oil up through the pipeline, across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, to be refined in Montreal.

Now, Canada is in the midst of an oil boom and the company has expressed interest in using the pipeline to carry Canadian crude, including tar sands oil, in the opposite direction — from Montreal to Maine — for delivery to the world market.

But the city, citing environmental concerns, has passed an ordinance blocking tar sands oil and other raw crude from being loaded onto tanker ships at the city port.

[PowerToThePeople]

1. Hillary is bad news.

Just elect me, then you will get...

[murielm99]

2. It's fine to protest Hillary,

but God forbid anyone should interrupt Bernie.

Some DUers have permanently closed their minds to BLM because they dared to confront him.

[delrem]

4. Oh yes, the "Bernie supporters are racists" meme. Lovely.

So, have you contributed to #berniesoblack lately?

How long do you think David Brock and co. will be keeping the "Bernie supporters are racists" meme alive? Right through to the end? Is that the best you got?

[murielm99]

5. I said no such thing. n/t

[delrem]

6. Your last sentence (and you wrote only two) implied it.

No other interpretation exists.

So own what you said, murielm99.

[Cali_Democrat]

7. You've invented your own reality. LOL. nt

[delrem]

8. NO. And I absolutely challenge you on this.

ALL of you who've been doing it.

The sentence:
"God forbid anyone should interrupt Bernie.
Some DUers have permanently closed their minds to BLM because they dared to confront him."

That's a SLANDER. It's an insult - and YOU are now leveling it too, by joining in.

Don't you tell me that because I'm a Bernie supporter I've closed my mind to the fact that Black Lives Matter.

I'm listening to Jimi Hendrix tonight. Right now, in fact. Because a good DUer reminded me that he died this day in 1970, and I've got youtube. Right now, _Voodoo Child_, live 1969.
This will be listened to with the same awe in 200 years, and forever.
I'm so fucking sick and tired of you guys saying I'm a Bernie supporting racist, who doesn't think that Black Lives Matter.
I'm so fucking sick and tired of your racist meme.
It's false. It's false, and it's beneath contempt.

[murielm99]

9. My post was about the double standard in

acceptance of protesters at Hillary events and Bernie events. You are just proving my point by overreacting.

The same criticism could apply to the people and groups who endorse Hillary. I don't care if they are unions, Senators, Congressmen, superdelegates or celebrities. You run them down, and call them names.

I don't see what Jimi Hendrix has to do with it. I'm no racist, I listen to Jimi Hendrix? That sort of sounds like saying, "Some of my best friends are black."

[delrem]

11. You're saying that I said "Some of my best friends are black."

And you smear like a fucking machine.

[murielm99]

12. I said no such thing.

Again, you are trying to put words in my mouth. Nice try, though.

[delrem]

13. That is EXACTLY what you said.

Aren't you the cute one?

[Ken Burch]

19. You equated delrem's post to that, which is essentially the same thing.

The reality is, the most left-of-center presidential candidate was always going to be the one who'd be best on social justice issues, as well as economic justice issues(because social justice and economic justice, as has been repeatedly shown, are never in conflict as objectives and ultimately you have to achieve both to secure either).

[Ken Burch]

16. It wasn't a double standard to question the protests

when they were ONLY happening at Bernie's rallies. Are you saying that, if we thought it was unfair that BLM seemed to be focused solely Bernie, we have to be against anyone disrupting HRC as well?

.

[Ken Burch]

17. He wasn't saying anything you could summarize as"some of my best friends are black" and you know it.

He was saying he gets it...as Bernie gets it...unlike HRC, who talked to the BLM representatives like they were some unpaid summer interns in a congressional office, showing no empathy and looking as if she could barely stand to be in BLM's presence(unlike Bernie, who has met with BLM repeatedly and has always a passionate opponent of institutional racism(in a lifetime of deeds, which is far more important than what gets said in a stump speech, since speeches can always be disavowed and forgotten).

You are way out of line with delrem and you need to dial it back.

[Ken Burch]

14. A lot of Bernie supporters support BLM's objectives

Most Bernie supporters accept now BLM needs to raise the issues by any means necessary. BLM, for its part, has made it clear that it didn't actually mean to single Bernie out for attack.

Bernie is meeting with BLM now and forcefully speaking out on the issues that group raises(which he was always going to do)and the issue between Bernie and BLM has been put to rest.

You do agree that it was always wrong to for anyone to accuse Bernie as a person and a political figure of not caring about racism, right? And that the makeup of the crowd at his kickoff rally should ever have been an issue?

[murielm99]

20. I might as well talk to the four walls.

None of you listen.

Goodbye.

[Warren DeMontague]

18. And why is "don't interfere with other people being able to participate"

okay when it comes from Hillary Clinton, but not from people objecting to Bernie Sanders being bullied off of a stage?

[Nothingcleverjustray]

3. Holy shit! 400 people!

Capacity crowd. Didn't know that many people had $2700 to spare in Portland Maine.

[Indepatriot]

10. "You will hear from me shortly"...translation: Goldman Sachs has yet to tell me my position....

That smug, condescending look on her face sez alot about her attitude toward dissenters..... remember "Shame on you Barack Obama, shame on you"? Dreadful campaigner, just dreadful. She'll go down in flames in the GE if she gets the nomination.

[Ken Burch]

15. Yeah right...after the convention...when it's too late to matter...

And then she'll try to triangulate, which isn't actually possible when it comes to fracking.