Drawing a huge crowd to the arrowhead-shaped FDR Four Freedoms Park in New York's East
River, Hillary Clinton launched the second phase of her presidential
campaign sporting a blue pantsuit reminiscent of the one she wore
.
Phase one, the listening phase, consisted of small group meetings where
others did the bulk of the speaking - everyday Americans from whom she
wanted to hear. Now begins the phase with the big rallies and speeches
where she plans to outline the issues American want to see addressed
and how she plans to confront those issues.
that remains resonant today. She did not, as some forecast, mention
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt as her muse. Instead, she aligned herself
with Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Barack Obama, and William
Jefferson Clinton, who watched her with pride, and pointed to her
mother, Dorothy Howell Rodham, as the inspiration for her quest for the
White House.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Hillary
Clinton delivered her official campaign launch speech on New York
City’s Roosevelt Island. She talked about her personal story and how it
guides her fight for everyday Americans, and she outlined her guiding
principle that the true measure of America’s success shouldn’t be how
those at the top are doing, but how all American families are doing.
Thank you! Oh, thank you all! Thank you so very, very much. (Cheers, applause.)
It is wonderful to be here with all of you.
To
be in New York (cheers) with my family, with so many friends, including
many New Yorkers who gave me the honor of serving them in the Senate
for eight years. (Cheers, applause.)
To be right across the water
from the headquarters of the United Nations, where I represented our
country many times. (Cheers, applause.)
To be here in this beautiful park dedicated to Franklin Roosevelt’s enduring vision of America, the nation we want to be.
And in a place… with absolutely no ceilings. (Cheers, applause.)
You
know, President Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms are a testament to our
nation’s unmatched aspirations and a reminder of our unfinished work at
home and abroad. His legacy lifted up a nation and inspired presidents
who followed. One is the man I served as Secretary of State, Barack
Obama, (cheers, applause) and another is my husband, Bill Clinton.
(Cheers, applause.)
Two Democrats guided by the -- (cheering) Oh,
that will make him so happy. They were and are two Democrats guided by
the fundamental American belief that real and lasting prosperity must be
built by all and shared by all. (Cheers, applause.)
President
Roosevelt called on every American to do his or her part, and every
American answered. He said there’s no mystery about what it takes to
build a strong and prosperous America: “Equality of opportunity… Jobs
for those who can work… Security for those who need it… The ending of
special privilege for the few…(cheers, applause.) The preservation of
civil liberties for all… (cheers, applause) a wider and constantly
rising standard of living.”
That still sounds good to me. (Cheers, applause.)
It’s
America’s basic bargain. If you do your part you ought to be able to
get ahead. And when everybody does their part, America gets ahead too.
That bargain inspired generations of families, including my own.
It’s what kept my grandfather going to work in the same Scranton lace mill every day for 50 years.
It’s
what led my father to believe that if he scrimped and saved, his small
business printing drapery fabric in Chicago could provide us with a
middle-class life. And it did.
When President Clinton honored the
bargain, we had the longest peacetime expansion in history, a balanced
budget, (cheers, applause) and the first time in decades we all grew
together, with the bottom 20 percent of workers increasing their incomes
by the same percentage as the top 5 percent. (Cheers, applause.)
When
President Obama honored the bargain, we pulled back from the brink of
Depression, saved the auto industry, provided health care to 16 million
working people, (cheers, applause) and replaced the jobs we lost faster
than after a financial crash.
But, it’s not 1941, or 1993, or even 2009. We face new challenges in our economy and our democracy.
We’re still working our way back from a crisis that happened because time-tested values were replaced by false promises.
Instead
of an economy built by every American, for every American, we were told
that if we let those at the top pay lower taxes and bend the rules,
their success would trickle down to everyone else. (Jeers, booing.)
What happened?
Well,
instead of a balanced budget with surpluses that could have eventually
paid off our national debt, the Republicans twice cut taxes for the
wealthiest, borrowed money from other countries to pay for two wars, and
family incomes dropped. You know where we ended up.
Except it wasn’t the end.
As we have since our founding, Americans made a new beginning.
You
worked extra shifts, took second jobs, postponed home repairs... you
figured out how to make it work. And now people are beginning to think
about their future again – going to college, starting a business, buying
a house, finally being able to put away something for retirement.
So we’re standing again. But, we all know we’re not yet running the way America should.
You see corporations making record profits, with CEOs making record pay, but your paychecks have barely budged.
While
many of you are working multiple jobs to make ends meet, you see the
top 25 hedge fund managers making more than all of America’s
kindergarten teachers combined. And, often paying a lower tax rate.
So, you have to wonder: “When does my hard work pay off? When does my family get ahead?” “When?”
I say now. (Cheers, applause.)
Prosperity can’t be just for CEOs and hedge fund managers.
Democracy can’t be just for billionaires and corporations. (Cheers, applause.)
Prosperity and democracy are part of your basic bargain too.
You brought our country back.
Now it’s time -- your time to secure the gains and move ahead.
And, you know what?
America can’t succeed unless you succeed. (Cheers, applause.)
That is why I am running for President of the United States. (Cheers, applause, chanting.)
Here, on Roosevelt Island, I believe we have a continuing rendezvous with destiny. Each American and the country we cherish.
I’m running to make our economy work for you and for every American.
For the successful and the struggling.
For the innovators and inventors.
For those breaking barriers in technology and discovering cures for diseases.
For the factory workers and food servers who stand on their feet all day. (Cheers, applause.)
For the nurses who work the night shift. (Cheers, applause.)
For the truckers who drive for hours and the farmers who feed us. (Cheers, applause.)
For the veterans who served our country.
For the small business owners who took a risk.
For everyone who’s ever been knocked down, but refused to be knocked out. (Cheers, applause.)
I’m not running for some Americans, but for all Americans. (Cheers, applause.)
Our country’s challenges didn’t begin with the Great Recession and they won’t end with the recovery.
For decades, Americans have been buffeted by powerful currents.
Advances
in technology and the rise of global trade have created whole new areas
of economic activity and opened new markets for our exports, but they
have also displaced jobs and undercut wages for millions of Americans.
The
financial industry and many multi-national corporations have created
huge wealth for a few by focusing too much on short-term profit and too
little on long-term value… too much on complex trading schemes and stock
buybacks, too little on investments in new businesses, jobs, and fair
compensation. (Cheers, applause.)
Our political system is so
paralyzed by gridlock and dysfunction that most Americans have lost
confidence that anything can actually get done. And they’ve lost trust
in the ability of both government and Big Business to change course.
Now,
we can blame historic forces beyond our control for some of this, but
the choices we’ve made as a nation, leaders and citizens alike, have
also played a big role.
Our next President must work with Congress
and every other willing partner across our entire country. And I will
do just that -- (cheers, applause) to turn the tide so these currents
start working for us more than against us.
At our best, that’s
what Americans do. We’re problem solvers, not deniers. We don’t hide
from change, we harness it. (Cheers, applause.)
But we can’t do that if we go back to the top-down economic policies that failed us before.
Americans have come too far to see our progress ripped away.
Now, there may be some new voices in the presidential Republican choir, (laughter) but they’re all singing the same old song...
A song called “Yesterday.” (Laughter, cheers, applause.)
You
know the one -- all our troubles look as though they’re here to stay
(laughter)… and we need a place to hide away… They believe in yesterday.
And you’re lucky I didn’t try singing that, too, I'll tell you! (Laughter, cheers, applause.)
These
Republicans trip over themselves promising lower taxes for the wealthy
and fewer rules for the biggest corporations without regard for how that
will make income inequality even worse.
We’ve heard this tune before. And we know how it turns out.
Ask
many of these candidates about climate change, one of the defining
threats of our time, (cheers, applause) and they’ll say: “I’m not a
scientist.” (Laughter.) Well, then, why don’t they start listening to
those who are? (Cheers, applause.)
They pledge to wipe out tough
rules on Wall Street, rather than rein in the banks that are still too
risky, courting future failures. In a case that can only be considered
mass amnesia.
They want to take away health insurance from more than 16 million Americans without offering any credible alternative. (Booing.)
They shame and blame women, rather than respect our right to make our own reproductive health decisions. (Cheers, applause.)
They want to put immigrants, who work hard and pay taxes, at risk of deportation. (Booing.)
And they turn their backs on gay people who love each other. (Cheers, applause.)
Fundamentally,
they reject what it takes to build an inclusive economy. It takes an
inclusive society. (Cheers, applause.) What I once called “a village”
(cheers) that has a place for everyone.
Now, my values and a lifetime of experiences have given me a different vision for America.
I
believe that success isn’t measured by how much the wealthiest
Americans have, but by how many children climb out of poverty...
(cheers, applause)
How many start-ups and small businesses open and thrive…
How many young people go to college without drowning in debt… (cheers, applause)
How many people find a good job…
How many families get ahead and stay ahead.
I didn’t learn this from politics. I learned it from my own family.
My mother taught me that everybody needs a chance and a champion. She knew what it was like not to have either one.
Her
own parents abandoned her, and by 14 she was out on her own, working as
a housemaid. Years later, when I was old enough to understand, I asked
what kept her going.
You know what her answer was? Something very simple: Kindness from someone who believed she mattered.
The 1st grade teacher who saw she had nothing to eat at lunch and, without embarrassing her, brought extra food to share.
The
woman whose house she cleaned letting her go to high school so long as
her work got done. That was a bargain she leapt to accept.
And, because some people believed in her, she believed in me. (Cheers, applause.)
That's why I believe with all my heart in America and in the potential of every American.
To meet every challenge.
To be resilient… no matter what the world throws at you.
To solve the toughest problems.
I believe we can do all these things because I’ve seen it happen.
As
a young girl, I signed up at my Methodist Church to babysit the
children of Mexican farmworkers, while their parents worked in the
fields on the weekends. And later, as a law student, I advocated for
Congress to require better working and living conditions for farm
workers whose children deserved better opportunities. (Cheers,
applause.)
My first job out of law school was for the Children’s
Defense Fund. (Cheers, applause.) I walked door-to-door to find out how
many children with disabilities couldn’t go to school, and to help build
the case for a law guaranteeing them access to education. (Cheers,
applause.)
As a leader of the Legal Services Corporation, I
defended the right of poor people to have a lawyer. And saw lives
changed because an abusive marriage ended or an illegal eviction
stopped.
In Arkansas, I supervised law students who represented
clients in courts and prisons, organized scholarships for single parents
going to college, led efforts for better schools and health care, and
personally knew the people whose lives were improved.
As Senator, I
had the honor of representing brave firefighters, police officers,
EMTs, construction workers, and volunteers (cheers, applause) who ran
toward danger on 9/11 and stayed there, becoming sick themselves.
It took years of effort, but Congress finally approved the health care they needed. (Applause.)
There are so many faces and stories that I carry with me of people who gave their best and then needed help themselves.
Just
weeks ago, I met another person like that, a single mom juggling a job
and classes at community college, while raising three kids.
She
doesn’t expect anything to come easy. But she did ask me: What more can
be done so it isn’t quite so hard for families like hers?
I want to be her champion and your champion. (Cheers, applause.)
If you’ll give me the chance, I’ll wage and win Four Fights for you.
The first is to make the economy work for everyday Americans, not just those at the top. (Cheers, applause.)
To
make the middle class mean something again, with rising incomes and
broader horizons. And to give the poor a chance to work their way into
it. (Cheers, applause.)
The middle class needs more growth and
more fairness. Growth and fairness go together. For lasting prosperity,
you can’t have one without the other.
Is this possible in today’s world? (Crowd responds.)
I believe it is or I wouldn’t be standing here. (Cheers, applause.)
Do I think it will be easy? Of course not.
But,
here’s the good news: There are allies for change everywhere who know
we can’t stand by while inequality increases, wages stagnate, and the
promise of America dims. We should welcome the support of all Americans
who want to go forward together with us. (Cheers, applause.)
There are public officials who know Americans need a better deal.
Business
leaders who want higher pay for employees, equal pay for women (cheers,
applause) and no discrimination against the LGBT community either.
(Cheers, applause.)
There are leaders of finance who want less short-term trading and more long-term investing.
There
are union leaders who are investing their own pension funds in putting
people to work to build tomorrow’s economy. (Cheers, applause.) We need
everyone to come to the table and work with us.
In the coming weeks, I’ll propose specific policies to:
Reward
businesses who invest in long term value rather than the quick buck –
because that leads to higher growth for the economy, higher wages for
workers, and yes, bigger profits, everybody will have a better time.
I
will rewrite the tax code so it rewards hard work and investments here
at home, not quick trades or stashing profits overseas. (Cheers,
applause.)
I will give new incentives to companies that give their
employees a fair share of the profits their hard work earns. (Cheers,
applause.)
We will unleash a new generation of entrepreneurs and
small business owners by providing tax relief, cutting red tape, and
making it easier to get a small business loan.
We will restore
America to the cutting edge of innovation, science, and research by
increasing both public and private investments. (Cheers, applause.)
And we will make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century. (Cheers, applause.)
Developing renewable power – wind, solar, advanced biofuels…
Building cleaner power plants, smarter electric grids, greener buildings…
Using additional fees and royalties from fossil fuel extraction to protect the environment… (cheers, applause)
And
ease the transition for distressed communities to a more diverse and
sustainable economic future from coal country to Indian country, from
small towns in the Mississippi Delta to the Rio Grande Valley to our
inner cities, we have to help our fellow Americans. (Cheers, applause.)
Now,
this will create millions of jobs and countless new businesses, and
enable America to lead the global fight against climate change. (Cheers,
applause.)
We will also connect workers to their jobs and
businesses. Customers will have a better chance to actually get where
they need and get what they desire with roads, railways, bridges,
airports, ports, and broadband brought up to global standards for the
21st century. (Cheers, applause.)
We will establish an infrastructure bank and sell bonds to pay for some of these improvements.
Now,
building an economy for tomorrow also requires investing in our most
important asset, our people, beginning with our youngest. (Cheers,
applause.)
That’s why I will propose that we make preschool and quality childcare available to every child in America. (Cheers, applause.)
And
I want you to remember this, because to me, this is absolutely the
most-compelling argument why we should do this. Research tells us how
much early learning in the first five years of life can impact lifelong
success. In fact, 80 percent of the brain is developed by age three.
One
thing I’ve learned is that talent is universal – you can find it
anywhere – but opportunity is not. (Cheers, applause.) Too many of our
kids never have the chance to learn and thrive as they should and as we
need them to.
Our country won’t be competitive or fair if we don’t help more families give their kids the best possible start in life.
So
let’s staff our primary and secondary schools with teachers who are
second to none in the world, and receive the respect they deserve for
sparking the love of learning in every child. (Cheers, applause.)
Let’s make college affordable and available to all …and lift the crushing burden of student debt. (Cheers, applause.)
Let’s
provide lifelong learning for workers to gain or improve skills the
economy requires, setting up many more Americans for success.
Now, the second fight is to strengthen America’s families, because when our families are strong, America is strong.
And
today’s families face new and unique pressures. Parents need more
support and flexibility to do their job at work and at home. (Cheers.)
I believe you should have the right to earn paid sick days. (Cheers, applause.)
I
believe you should receive your work schedule with enough notice to
arrange childcare or take college courses to get ahead. (Cheers,
applause.)
I believe you should look forward to retirement with confidence, not anxiety.
That
you should have the peace of mind that your health care will be there
when you need it, without breaking the bank. (Cheers, applause.)
I
believe we should offer paid family leave (cheers, applause) so no one
has to choose between keeping a paycheck and caring for a new baby or a
sick relative. (Cheers, applause.)
And it is way past time to end
the outrage of so many women still earning less than men on the job
(cheers, applause) -- and women of color often making even less.
(Cheers, applause.)
This isn’t a women’s issue. It’s a family
issue. Just like raising the minimum wage is a family issue. (Cheers,
applause.) Expanding childcare is a family issue. Declining marriage
rates is a family issue. The unequal rates of incarceration is a family
issue. (Cheers, applause.) Helping more people with an addiction or a
mental health problem get help is a family issue. (Cheers, applause.)
In America, every family should feel like they belong.
So
we should offer hard-working, law-abiding immigrant families a path to
citizenship. (Cheers, applause.) Not second-class status. (Cheers,
applause.)
And, we should ban discrimination against LGBT
Americans and their families (cheers, applause) so they can live, learn,
marry, and work just like everybody else. (Cheers, applause.)
You
know, America’s diversity, our openness, our devotion to human rights
and freedom is what’s drawn so many to our shores. What’s inspired
people all over the world. I know. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
And these are also qualities that prepare us well for the demands of a world that is more interconnected than ever before.
So
we have a third fight: to harness all of America’s power, smarts, and
values to maintain our leadership for peace, security, and prosperity.
No
other country on Earth is better positioned to thrive in the 21st
century. No other country is better equipped to meet traditional threats
from countries like Russia, North Korea, and Iran – and to deal with
the rise of new powers like China.
No other country is better
prepared to meet emerging threats from cyber attacks, transnational
terror networks like ISIS, and diseases that spread across oceans and
continents.
As your President, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Americans safe. (Cheers, applause.)
And if you look over my left shoulder you can see the new World Trade Center soaring skyward. (Cheers, applause.)
As
a Senator from New York, I dedicated myself to getting our city and
state the help we needed to recover. And as a member of the Armed
Services Committee, I worked to maintain the best-trained,
best-equipped, strongest military, ready for today’s threats and
tomorrow’s.
And when our brave men and women come home from war or
finish their service, I’ll see to it that they get not just the thanks
of a grateful nation, but the care and benefits they’ve earned. (Cheers,
applause.)
I’ve stood up to adversaries like Putin and reinforced
allies like Israel. I was in the Situation Room on the day we got bin
Laden. (Cheers, applause.)
But, I know -- I know we have to be smart as well as strong.
Meeting
today’s global challenges requires every element of America's power,
including skillful diplomacy, economic influence, and building
partnerships to improve lives around the world with people, not just
their governments.
There are a lot of trouble spots in the world, but there’s a lot of good news out there too.
I
believe the future holds far more opportunities than threats if we
exercise creative and confident leadership that enables us to shape
global events rather than be shaped by them. (Cheers, applause.)
And
we all know that in order to be strong in the world, though, we first
have to be strong at home. That’s why we have to win the fourth fight –
reforming our government and revitalizing our democracy so that it works
for everyday Americans. (Cheers, applause.)
We have to stop the
endless flow of secret, unaccountable money that is distorting our
elections, corrupting our political process, and drowning out the voices
of our people. (Cheers, applause.)
We need Justices on the
Supreme Court who will protect every citizen’s right to vote, (cheers,
applause) rather than every corporation’s right to buy elections.
(Cheers, applause.)
If necessary, I will support a constitutional
amendment to undo the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United.
(Cheers, applause.)
I want to make it easier for every citizen to
vote. That's why I've proposed universal, automatic registration and
expanded early voting. (Cheers, applause.)
I’ll fight back against
Republican efforts to disempower and disenfranchise young people, poor
people, people with disabilities, and people of color. (Cheers,
applause.)
What part of democracy are they afraid of? (Cheers, applause.)
No matter how easy we make it to vote, we still have to give Americans something worth voting for. (Cheers, applause.)
Government is never going to have all the answers – but it has to be smarter, simpler, more efficient, and a better partner.
That means access to advanced technology so government agencies can more effectively serve their customers, the American people.
We need expertise and innovation from the private sector to help cut waste and streamline services.
There’s
so much that works in America. For every problem we face, someone
somewhere in America is solving it. Silicon Valley cracked the code on
sharing and scaling a while ago. Many states are pioneering new ways to
deliver services. I want to help Washington catch up. (Cheers,
applause.)
To do that, we need a political system that produces
results by solving problems that hold us back, not one overwhelmed by
extreme partisanship and inflexibility.
Now, I’ll always seek
common ground with friend and opponent alike. But I’ll also stand my
ground when I must. (Cheers, applause.)
That’s something I did as
Senator and Secretary of State -- whether it was working with
Republicans to expand health care for children and for our National
Guard, or improve our foster care and adoption system, or pass a treaty
to reduce the number of Russian nuclear warheads that could threaten our
cities -- and it’s something I will always do as your President.
We
Americans may differ, bicker, stumble, and fall; but we are at our best
when we pick each other up, when we have each other’s back.
Like
any family, our American family is strongest when we cherish what we
have in common, and fight back against those who would drive us apart.
People
all over the world have asked me: “How could you and President Obama
work together after you fought so hard against each other in that long
campaign?”
Now, that is an understandable question considering
that in many places, if you lose an election you could get imprisoned or
exiled – even killed – not hired as Secretary of State. (Cheers,
applause.)
But President Obama asked me to serve, and I accepted
because we both love our country. (Cheers, applause.) That’s how we do
it in America.
With that same spirit, together, we can win these four fights.
We can build an economy where hard work is rewarded.
We can strengthen our families.
We can defend our country and increase our opportunities all over the world.
And we can renew the promise of our democracy.
If we all do our part. In our families, in our businesses, unions, houses of worship, schools, and, yes, in the voting booth.
I want you to join me in this effort. Help me build this campaign and make it your own.
Talk to your friends, your family, your neighbors.
Text “JOIN” to 4-7-2-4-6.
Go to hillaryclinton.com and sign up to make calls and knock on doors. (Cheers, applause.)
It’s
no secret that we’re going up against some pretty powerful forces that
will do and spend whatever it takes to advance a very different vision
for America. But I’ve spent my life fighting for children, families, and
our country. And I’m not stopping now. (Cheers, applause, chanting.)
You know, I know how hard this job is. I’ve seen it up close and personal. (Laughter.)
All our Presidents come into office looking so vigorous. (Laughter.) And then we watch their hair grow grayer and grayer.
Well,
I may not be the youngest candidate in this race. But I will be the
youngest woman President in the history of the United States! (Cheers,
applause.)
And the first grandmother as well. (Cheers, applause.)
And
one additional advantage: You’re won’t see my hair turn white in the
White House. I’ve been coloring it for years! (Cheers, applause.)
So
I’m looking forward to a great debate among Democrats, Republicans, and
Independents. I’m not running to be a President only for those
Americans who already agree with me. I want to be a President for all
Americans.
And along the way, I'll just let you in on this little
secret. (Laughter.) I won’t get everything right. Lord knows I’ve made
my share of mistakes. Well, there’s no shortage of people pointing them
out! (Laughter.)
And I certainly haven’t won every battle I’ve
fought. But leadership means perseverance and hard choices. You have to
push through the setbacks and disappointments and keep at it. (Cheers,
applause.)
I think you know by now that I’ve been called many
things by many people (laughter) -- “quitter” is not one of them.
(Cheers, applause.)
Like so much else in my life, I got this from my mother.
When
I was a girl, she never let me back down from any bully or barrier. In
her later years, Mom lived with us, and she was still teaching me the
same lessons. I’d come home from a hard day at the Senate or the State
Department, sit down with her at the small table in our breakfast nook,
and just let everything pour out. And she would remind me why we keep
fighting, even when the odds are long and the opposition is fierce.
I
can still hear her saying: “Life’s not about what happens to you, it’s
about what you do with what happens to you – so get back out there.”
(Cheers, applause.)
She lived to be 92 years old, and I often
think about all the battles she witnessed over the course of the last
century -- all the progress that was won because Americans refused to
give up or back down.
She was born on June 4, 1919 -- before women
in America had the right to vote. But on that very day, after years of
struggle, Congress passed the Constitutional Amendment that would change
that forever.
The story of America is a story of hard-fought,
hard-won progress. And it continues today. New chapters are being
written by men and women who believe that all of us – not just some, but
all – should have the chance to live up to our God-given potential.
Not
only because we’re a tolerant country, or a generous country, or a
compassionate country, but because we’re a better, stronger, more
prosperous country when we harness the talent, hard work, and ingenuity
of every single American.
I wish my mother could have been with us
longer. I wish she could have seen Chelsea become a mother herself. I
wish she could have met Charlotte.
I wish she could have seen the America we’re going to build together. (Cheers, applause.)
An America, where if you do your part, you reap the rewards.
Where we don’t leave anyone out, or anyone behind.
An
America where a father can tell his daughter: yes, you can be anything
you want to be. Even President of the United States. (Cheers, applause.)
Thank you all. God bless you. And may God bless America. (Cheers, applause.)
