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When someone charts a course at a young age, works to implement that course, and navigates with purpose toward the future -- that's vision. As bystanders at some vantage point, we can look back and call that the past, yet the truth is we are really seeing a continuation of a life's work. To say that Hillary Clinton is the status quo or from bygone days is spin and dead wrong. Also, I don't buy into the old Republican line that Hillary is too divisive.
I strongly support Hillary for President; however, I didn't at first. I thought she was too divisive and had too much baggage from the Clinton years. Then, I decided to give Hillary a real look. I decided to form my own opinion of her, instead of allowing the media and spin masters to form my opinion for me. I was amazed at how much she has accomplished, her commitment to this country, and how she has challenged and changed the establishment. I couldn't understand why more Americans didn't know more about Hillary's accomplishments, then naively, I realized we have all been duped by an anti-Hillary machine that is well-funded and fueled by anti-change, status quo, conservatives, and misogynists.
Not only does the next president need to be able to team-build and work across the isle to tackle domestic issues with the economy, deficits, Social Security, health care, and education, but they have to lead us out of Iraq responsibly, rebuild our international relationships, and confront terrorism. In addition to all this work, the next president must address issues of climate change both domestically and internationally and lead us into sustainability.
Who do you really think has the experience to make these kinds of major changes, who do you think can lead in all these areas?
I think it is clear at this point that Obama hopes for change and believes he can make it happen, Edwards wants to fight for change and believes he can make it happen, but Hillary has and will continue to successfully work for change and she has both the experience and record to make it happen. I believe that Hillary is truly the change and hope this country needs. There is gritty work to be done and I know this women will roll up her sleeves and get it done. Not only will she repair the damage of the Bush years, but lead us out of Iraq, energy dependence, and deficits into peace, sustainability, and prosperity for all.
I ask each of you reading this, one citizen to another, that you at least look at her record and background. Judge her for who she really is, not who the spinners and pundits want you to believe she is.
I pulled together some background information from various online sources. There is certainly much more detail out there, but I focused on her pre-Senate years since that seems to be where most questions arise about her experience; however, I did include links to her Senate legislative record.
http://encarta.msn.com/media_4...
http://www.whitehouse.gov/hist...
http://clinton.senate.gov/abou...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H...
http://www.firstladies.org/bio...
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1947 Born on October 26 in Chicago, Illinois. She was raised in a conservative, middle-class household in Park Ridge, Illinois. Her father owned a small business.
1969 Graduated from Wellesley College. In her freshman year, Hillary served as president of the Wellesley Young Republicans organization; however, due to her evolving views regarding the American Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, she stepped down from that position. She organized a two-day student strike and worked with Wellesley's black students for moderate changes, such as recruiting more black students and faculty. In that same year she was elected president of the Wellesley College Government Association. In 1969, Hillary attracted national attention when she delivered a controversial address as the first student to speak at commencement exercises for Wellesley College.
1973 Received law degree from Yale University. While at Yale, Hillary served on the Board of Editors of Yale Law Review and Social Action; interned with children's advocate Marian Wright Edelman; and met Bill Clinton. During her second year, she worked at the Yale Child Study Center. She also took on cases of child abuse at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and volunteered at New Haven Legal Services to provide free advice for the poor.
1973-1974 Post-graduate study on children and medicine at the Yale Child Study Center. Her first scholarly paper, "Children Under the Law", was published in the Harvard Educational Review in late 1973 and became frequently cited in the field. She served as staff attorney for Edelman's newly-founded Children's Defense Fund in Cambridge, Massachusetts and as a consultant to the Carnegie Council on Children. During 1974, Hillary was a member of the impeachment inquiry staff in Washington, D.C., advising the House Committee on the Judiciary during the Watergate scandal.
1974-1979 Taught law at the University of Arkansas Law School. She was one of two female faculty members.
1975 Married Bill Clinton.
1977-1992 Practiced law as an associate and then a partner in the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1979 she became the first woman to be made a full partner of Rose Law Firm. While continuing to practice law, she became the First Lady of Arkansas. She was listed as one of the one hundred most influential lawyers in America in 1988 and 1991.
1978 President Jimmy Carter appointed Hillary to the board of the Legal Services Corporation. She served on the board from 1978-1981.
1979-1981 and 1983-1992 First Lady of Arkansas. Bill Clinton appointed Hillary chair of the Rural Health Advisory Committee, where she successfully obtained federal funds to expand medical facilities in Arkansas' poorest areas without affecting doctors' fees. Balancing family, a law career, and public service, Hillary chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee, co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, and served on the boards of the Arkansas Children's Hospital, Legal Services, and the Children's Defense Fund. She was on the board of Wal-Mart, TCBY, and several other corporate and non-profit boards.
1980 Daughter, Chelsea, was born.
1993-2001 First Lady of the United States. Hillary was the first First Lady to hold a post-graduate degree and to have her own professional career up to the time of entering the White House. She was also the first First Lady to take up an office in the West Wing of the White House, first ladies usually staying in the East Wing. Since Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary is regarded as the most openly empowered presidential wife in American history. Some critics called it inappropriate for the First Lady to play a central role in matters of public policy; however, supporters pointed out that Clinton's role in policy was no different from that of other White House advisors. In 1993, Bill appointed Hillary to head a presidential task force on health care reform, hoping to replicate the success she had in leading the effort for Arkansas education reform. When the plan was attacked by opponents (Repubs, Dems, and special interests) as too complicated or an intention leading to "socialized medicine" the Clinton Administration decided not to push for a vote in the House or Senate and was abandoned in September 1994. However, along with Senator Ted Kennedy, Hillary was the major force behind the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in 1997, a federal effort that provided state support for children whose parents were unable to provide them with health coverage. She promoted nationwide immunization against childhood illnesses and encouraged older women to seek a mammogram to detect breast cancer, with coverage provided by Medicare. She successfully sought to increase research funding for prostate cancer and childhood asthma at the National Institutes of Health. She also worked to investigate reports of an illness that affected veterans of the Gulf War, which became known as the Gulf War syndrome. Together with Attorney General Janet Reno, Hillary helped create the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice. She initiated and shepherded the Adoption and Safe Families Act. She hosted numerous White House Conferences, including ones on Child Care (1997), Early Childhood Development and Learning (1997), and Children and Adolescents (2000), and the first-ever White House Conferences on Teenagers (2000) and Philanthropy (1999). While First Lady, she traveled to over 80 countries, meeting heads of state and dignitaries. In 1995, as keynote speaker at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, in Beijing China, she spoke for the rights of women and girls around the world. During her trips to Asia (1995), Africa (1997), South America (1995, 1997) and the Central European former Soviet satellite nations (1997, 1998), Hillary emphasized "a civil society," of human rights as a road to democracy and capitalism. She was one of the most prominent international figures at the time to speak out against the treatment of Afghan women by the Islamist fundamentalist Taliban that had seized control of Afghanistan. She helped create Vital Voices, an international initiative sponsored by the United States to promote the participation of women in the political processes of their countries. The Kenneth Starr and Monica years - Hillary became the only First Lady to be subpoenaed, testifying before a federal grand jury as a consequence of the Whitewater scandal in 1996. Hillary was never charged with any wrongdoing in this or several other investigations during Bill's administration. The state of her marriage to Bill was the subject of considerable public discussion following the Lewinsky scandal in 1998. However, during this time, Hillary continued to be a leading advocate for expanding health insurance coverage, ensuring children are properly immunized, and raising public awareness of health issues. She wrote a weekly syndicated newspaper column entitled "Talking It Over," which focused on her experiences as First Lady and her observations of women, children, and families she has met around the world. As First Lady, her public involvement with many activities sometimes led to controversy. Undeterred by critics, Hillary won many admirers for her staunch support for women around the world and her commitment to children's issues.
1996 Authored the best-selling book, It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us.
1997 Received a Grammy Award for her recording of It Takes a Village.
1998 - 2000 Authored Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets and An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History
2000 Became the junior US Senator from the state of New York. She is the first First Lady elected to the US Senate and the first woman elected statewide in New York.
2003 Authored autobiography, Living History.
2006 Reelected to US Senate with 67 percent of the vote.
2007 Announced run for US President.
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Hillary is on the following Senate Committees:
Senate Armed Services Committee
Subcommittees:
- Airland
- Emerging Threats and Capabilities
- Readiness and Management Support
Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works
Subcommittees:
- Subcommittee on Superfund and Environmental Health (Chair)
- Subcommittee Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
- Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
Subcommittees:
- Children and Families
- Employment & Workplace Safety
Senate Special Committee on Aging
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Hillary's Legislative Record:
107th Session (2001-2002) - Hillary sponsored 161 bills, cosponsored 495
108th Session (2003-2004) - Hillary sponsored 130 bills, cosponsored 688
109th Session (2004-2005) - Hillary sponsored 177 bills, cosponsored 720
(Source: http://clinton.senate.gov/sena... and the Library of Congress' Thomas service which maintains a complete record of legislative activity in Congress.)
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Several months ago I wrote on Monticello about Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd hiring my friend and fellow blogger Matt Browner Hamlin as his campaign blogger. Since that time MBH has done an outstanding job of keeping track of the Senator's travels and his journey toward the Democratic nomination for President.
