The night before yet another powerful series of primary contests,
Hillary sat down with Chris Matthews for a town hall in her home state.
At the Old State House in Springfield, in the room where Lincoln gave
his "house divided" speech, Hillary spoke out against divisiveness and
called for common ground.
Trump: Hillary calls him responsible for the fury and said he incites and encourages the violence.
"Leaders should be calming people down." She said protests should be peaceful and that
voting is the best protest.
Matthews
showed video of RFK speaking out against violence after MLK Jr.'s
assassination and of Trump encouraging people to act on protesters.
She
said Trump is inciting mob violence. "Donald Trump is fanning the
flames of violence. That isn’t leadership. It’s dangerous."
She
spoke about Bill Clinton's love of schmoozing and his curiosity about
people. Hillary pointed out that she doesn't campaign in poetry but she
does the job once she has it.
Matthews misspoke and said Sanders won Iowa. Hillary rapidly corrected him and said
she doesn't trust the polls. (I don't either!) She also pointed out the number of delegates she has collected thus far.
Re:
Trade - Hillary spoke about her vote against CAFTA (Central America
Free Trade Agreement), and said she had waited to see what was
in
TPP before speaking out against it. She proposes a clawback for
companies moving out of the country and leaving an unemployed work force
- an exit tax. "Companies that get tax breaks or government
investments shouldn’t be walking out on American communities."
In
Europe and Asia there is a set of trade conditions which governments
support whereas American companies are afloat without government
intervention. Hillary is firm that we cannot shut the door on global
trade but wants to see the playing field leveled and fair for American
companies that play by the trade rules.
Taking the title of his
show very literally, Matthews got down in the sand on the Iraq War vote.
Hillary set up the context of those days and the claim by George W.
Bush that the vote would permit the needed inspections to be completed.
This was a contentious exchange. She revisited Bush's promise to her
that she would get the money to rebuild New York after 9/11 and said
that was why she trusted his word.
In a Syrian context, Matthews
brought up our history of "knocking off leaders." (e.g. Mossadegh,
Allende, Lumumba, Trujillo, others). Question: Should we do that? Hillary said
we cannot paint with a broad brush.
Question about college debt: Hillary pointed to her
New College Compact. "It’s not enough to make college more affordable. We need to help people with the student debt they already have."
Question
from the Mayor of Springfield on sponsorship for immigrants. Hillary
said the screening process must be thorough and that there is an
organization arranging sponsorships that is dependable.
Matthews
asked Hillary to explain her journey from Goldwater girl to Eugene
McCarthy supporter. Hillary said she went to college as a Republican
but found herself in the civil rights / voting rights camp. Hillary
said her mother and her youth minister helped expose her to lives that
were different from her suburban upbringing.
Question
from a retired police officer on how to recreate a dialogue between the
Black community and police: Retraining of police as necessary led by
experienced people in law enforcement.
Reduction of gun violence: Hillary spoke about her
visit today to a wall of bricks dedicated to kids killed in gun violence. She said this needs to be a ballot issue.
Tomorrow is another big day. The voters will decide. From Women's Outreach:
Dear Women Leaders and Friends,
Tomorrow
is a big primary day - 5 states will go to the polls to award a total
of 792 delegates by the end of the night. Florida, Illinois, Missouri,
North Carolina, and Ohio are all important states and we're fighting for
every vote.
Thank you for all your hard work! Let's bring home some big wins tomorrow!
